CORTLAND, N.Y. – Senior
Courtney Kane (Yaphank/Bellport) tossed her second no-hitter of the season as Cortland defeated visiting Buffalo State, 4-0, to complete a sweep of a non-league doubleheader with the Bengals. The Red Dragons won the opener, 10-2 in six innings, after breaking open a tight game with six runs in the sixth.
Cortland, a member of the SUNYAC East this spring, improved to 16-6 with the wins. Buffalo State, a Western Division member, is now 11-11.
Kane is the first Cortland pitcher to throw two seven-inning no-hitters in the same season since Elena Drescher in 1987. Kane previously no-hit Plattsburgh on April 3.
Prior to the doubleheader, Kane was one of eight Cortland players honored on Senior Day, along with graduate student
Kelly O'Gorman (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) and seniors
Karlee Weeden (Maybrook/Valley Central),
McKenna Mattison (Horseheads),
Taylor Felicello (Marlboro),
Sabrina Caputo (Westbury/W.T. Clarke),
Cailey Cuttita (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) and
Jess Miller (Campbell Hall/Goshen).
Cortland will play at Oswego in a non-league doubleheader Tuesday at 3 p.m. The twinbill was originally scheduled for Monday, but has been moved due to predicted poor weather.
Cortland 10, Buffalo St. 2 (6 inn.)
Weeden allowed two runs on seven hits over six innings as she improved to 8-1 on the spring. She struck out four and walked one. Five Red Dragons finished with two hits each as part of a 13-hit showing. Felicello was 2-for-2 with a walk and sacrifice fly,
Lexi Szesnat (Colonie) and
Megan Weber (Lockport/Starpoint) each went 2-for-3 with an RBI,
Alyssa Finno (Hurley/Kingston) went 2-for-3 with two runs, and Cuttita finished 2-for-4.
Taylor Benton led Buffalo State with a 3-for-3 effort as she finished a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.
Weeden got out of trouble in the first as the Bengals had the bases loaded with one out. The next batter hit a short flyout to center, and O'Gorman threw out the runner from third trying to tag up to end the inning.
Cortland scored in the first on a Szesnat RBI double – her first of two doubles in the game – but Buffalo State tied it in the second on back-to-back doubles from Benton and Ashlyn Swink to start the inning. Weeden struck out a batter with two runners on to keep the game tied.
An RBI bunt single by Weber and a two-out Felicello RBI double put the Red Dragons up 3-1 in the bottom of the second. Benton blasted a homer to left to lead off the top of the fourth to cut Cortland's lead to 3-2.
Weber led off the bottom of the fifth with a single and stole second. She took third on a groundout and scored on Felicello's sac fy to center. Cortland forced the eight-run rule with its six-run sixth inning, highlighted by a Caputo two-run triple and a
Tori Reich (Cornwall) RBI single. Cortland eventually scored the winning run on a wild pitch.
Cortland 4, Buffalo St. 0
Kane, now 7-2 this season, allowed only two baserunners. She walked Kayla Wolinski with two outs in the first and issued a one-out walk to Swink in the second. Swink, however, was erased when Cortland ended the inning with a 6-4-3 double play, and Kane retired the side in order in each of the last five innings.
Kane also used her glove to erase the biggest threat to the no-hitter when she made a diving catch on a short popup to the right of the pitching circle by pinch hitter Samantha Kelly. The Bengals tried to reach on a bunt to lead off the seventh, but Kane was able to make the play, and the final two outs came on groundouts to Felicello at shortstop, the second of which briefly looked like it might be heading up the middle for a hit before Felicello cut it off and made the throw to first.
Cortland scored in the first when O'Gorman led off with a double and scored on a Felicello single. Finno singled to lead off the second and eventually scored from second on a Reich RBI double. The Red Dragons added two key insurance runs in the fifth. O'Gorman hit a leadoff double and took third on a wild pitch. Felicello walked, Cuttita hit an RBI single up the middle and, with two outs, Miller hit an RBI single to center.
Felicello was 2-for-2 with a walk and RBI and finished the doubleheader a combined 4-for-4 with two walks and a sac fly. O'Gorman went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Buffalo State starter Carli Bogue allowed four runs on eight hits in four innings. Olivia Carr tossed two scoreless innings of relief, giving up just one hit.
