AUBURN, N.Y. –
Scott Roberts (Escondido, CA/Del Norte) and
Bailey Gauthier (Camillus/West Genesee) combined on a six-hit shutout and Cortland manufactured three runs despite recording just two hits as the Red Dragons defeated Mitchell College, 3-0, in an NCAA regional game at Falcon Park.
The Red Dragons (29-7) are one of three teams remaining in the six-team, double-elimination regional. Tufts, currently 2-0 in the regional, will face Merchant Marine, currently 2-1, on Sunday at 11 a.m., and Cortland will play Tufts at 2:15 p.m. If Cortland beats Tufts, the Red Dragons will advance to the regional title game, either facing Merchant Marine Sunday at 5 p.m. or Tufts Monday at noon.
Roberts went seven innings on the mound and allowed six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts to improve to 2-0 on the year. Gauthier struck out two batters over the final two innings and allowed only one baserunner on a hit batsman with two outs in the eighth for his second save.
Eddie Kaftan started for Mitchell (26-9) and gave up two hits and three walks with one strikeout over three-plus innings. He gave up three runs, two earned. Bryce Bedard entered with runners on first and third and no outs in the fourth and retired all 15 Cortland batters that he faced. The first batter,
Ben Rhodes (Amsterdam), hit a sacrifice fly to give Cortland a 3-0 lead, and Bedard allowed nothing after that. He struck out three hitters.
Cortland took a 2-0 lead in the third without the benefit of a hit.
Andrew Michalski (Buffalo/St. Francis) and
Chris Bonacci (Syracuse/West Genesee) led off the inning with walks, and a balk moved them to second and third with no outs.
Paul Franzese (Somers) hit a grounder to the first baseman, who elected to throw home, but Michalski slid around the tag to give Cortland its first run.
Matthew Krafft (Cornwall) followed with a sacrifice fly to right to plate Bonacci.
Daniel Coleman (Saratoga Springs) led off the fourth with a single to center and went all the way to third on a misplay by the center fielder. After
Mat Bruno (Rye) was hit by a pitch, Rhodes hit the sac fly to right that drove in Coleman.
Mitchell had a few early scoring opportunities go by the boards. Dougie DelaCruz doubled with two outs in the top of the first but was stranded, and Anthony Laureano walked and went to second on a one-out hit batter in the second, but was thrown out trying to steal third. In the fifth, Logan Casala doubled with one out and went to third on Lelo Martinez's two-out infield single, but Roberts got the next batter to foul out to the catcher to end the threat. The Mariners did not get another runner in scoring position the rest of the game.
Krafft and Coleman registered Cortland's two hits. Martinez and Hunter Yaworski each finished 2-for-4 for Mitchell.
