AUBURN, N.Y. –
Ryan Flansburg (Queensbury) allowed four runs over six-plus innings, including scoreless ball for the first five frames, followed by three scoreless innings of relief from
Liam Krasney (Greenville), as Cortland defeated Tufts, 6-4, to force a final game in the NCAA Division III Baseball Auburn Regional at Falcon Park.
Cortland, the second seed, and Tufts, the fifth seed, will play for the regional title Monday at noon. The winner advances to the NCAA Division III World Series in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Cortland improved to 30-7 with the victory for its 16th straight 30-win season and 26th in the last 27 years (excluding 2020). The Red Dragons will be appearing in an NCAA regional final for the 22nd time.
Colin BeVard (Syracuse/West Genesee), making his first appearance in the regional after battling an injury, went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored.
Scott Giordano (Croton-on-Hudson/Croton-Harmon) was 1-for-3 with a double, two walks and two RBI,
Andrew Michalski (Buffalo/St. Francis) went 2-for-4 with a run scored,
Chris Bonacci (Syracuse/West Genesee) was 1-for-2 with a walk and run scord, and
Daniel Coleman (Saratoga Springs) doubled and drove in a run.
Tufts (15-7) was led by Nate Bozzella, who hit a three-run homer, and Peter DeMaria, who finished 1-for-3 with two walks.
Flansburg bounced back after being knocked out in the second inning versus Tufts on Thursday in an opening-round 21-17 loss to the Jumbos. He improved to 6-1 on the season with the win, allowing seven hits and three walks and striking out four. Krasney notched his first save with three hitless innings, although he did walk four batters and hit one. He ended with two strikeouts.
Tufts starter Lucas Gustavson allowed six runs, four earned, over seven innings. He walked six, struck out two, and permitted seven hits. Jack Schwartz gave up only one hit and faced the minimum six batters over the final two innings.
Cortland took a 1-0 lead in the first on a
Matthew Krafft (Cornwall) leadoff walk and a one-out Giordano RBI double. The Red Dragons extended the lead to 4-0 in the top of the fifth. Michalski singled through the left side and Bonacci reached on a bunt single. A throwing error on a Krafft bunt loaded the bases, and after a fielder's choice resulted in a force at home, Giordano walked to force in a run. BeVard followed with a two-run single down the left field line.
Tufts had a shot to score in the fifth after a walk, a groundout and a two-out Jimmy Evans single, but on the hit right fielder
Mat Bruno (Rye) threw out the runner trying to score from second to end the inning.
The teams traded runs in the sixth – Cortland scoring when Michalski singled, moved to second on a Bonacci sac bunt, took third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch. Tufts tallied in the bottom of the inning on a Brandon Bay solo homer to left, breaking a streak of 23 scoreless innings by Cortland's pitchers since allowing three runs to Tufts in the top of the ninth Thursday. Cortland scored what proved to be a valuable insurance run in the seventh. BeVard singled with one out and Coleman hit a double to deep center to drive home the run.
Tufts knocked out Flansburg in the seventh with three straight hits on first pitches – a single by Ozzie Fleischer, a double by Ryan Noone, and Bozzella's three-run homer to left. Krasney entered at that point and recorded a lineout, a strikeout, a walk, and another strikeout.
A one-out Tufts walk in the eighth was erased by a double play. In the ninth, Bozzella was hit by a pitch with one out, and with two outs both Bay and DeMaria walked to load the bases and put the potential tying run in scoring position and winning run at first. Krasney, however, got the next batter to hit into a fielder's choice to short for a game-ending force at second.
