AUBURN, N.Y. – Cortland rallied from a nine-run deficit to close within one but couldn't complete the comeback as the Red Dragons lost to Tufts University, 21-17, during the opening day of the six-team, double-elimination NCAA Division III Baseball Auburn Regional.
Cortland (27-7), the second seed, will face top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State in an elimination game Friday at 9:30 a.m. The start time for that game has been moved earlier due to the forecasted weather. Eastern Connecticut lost to sixth-seeded Merchant Marine, 2-1, in Thursday's opening game, while third-seeded Keystone defeated fourth-seeded Mitchell, 7-1, in the final game of the day.
Cortland and Tufts combined for 39 hits in a game that lasted four hours and six minutes. The Red Dragons took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first without a hit as Tufts made three errors in the inning, but the Jumbos (13-6) responded with nine runs on eight hits in the top of the second to take a 10-3 lead.
Trailing 11-3 in the third, Cortland scored six runs to close with two, but Tufts tallied four times in the fifth and two in the sixth to go up 18-9. The Red Dragons scored three times in the bottom of the sixth, kept Tufts off the board in the seventh and eighth innings, then scored five times in the bottom of the eighth to cut the lead to one at 18-17. Cortland recorded the first two outs in the ninth before Tufts rallied to score three times to finish the scoring.
Matthew Krafft (Cornwall),
Chris Bonacci (Syracuse/West Genesee) and
Andrew Michalski (Buffalo/St. Francis) each finished with three hits for Cortland. Krafft was 3-for-4 with two hit by pitches, four RBI and two runs scored, Bonacci finished 3-for-4 with a walk, hit by pitch and two runs, and Michalski went 3-for-6 with two RBI and two runs.
Paul Franzese (Somers) homered, walked twice and drove in two runs,
Ben Rhodes (Amsterdam) was 2-for-6 with three RBI, and
Daniel Coleman (Saratoga Springs) finished 2-for-5 with a walk, RBI and three runs scored.
Scott Giordano (Croton-on-Hudson/Croton-Harmon) added a three-run double during Cortland's five-run eighth.
Jackson Duffy was 5-for-7 with six RBI, Peter DeMaria went 3-for-4 with a walk, two hit by pitches, three RBI and five runs, and Clay Sowell finished 4-for-7 with three RBI for Tufts. Kyle Cortese homered, walked and drove three runs, and Nate Bozzella was 3-for-6 with an RBI and two runs.
Silas Reed, the first of four Tufts relievers, was awarded the win after giving up three runs over three and two thirds innings after entering in the third for starter Michael Volgende. Cortland starter
Ryan Flansburg (Queensbury) took the loss after allowing four runs over one-plus innings since Cortland never caught the Jumbos after that point.
