CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA – Jackson Balzan allowed one run and struck out nine in a complete-game performance and Sky Rahill and Cullen McAuliffe each homered as nationally sixth-ranked Salisbury defeated 15th-ranked Cortland, 11-1, during the opening day of the NCAA Division III Baseball World Series.
Cortland (31-8) will face Rowan University in an elimination game Saturday at 4:30 p.m. (Central), while Salisbury (30-4) will play Wheaton (Mass.) in a winner's bracket game at 7:45 p.m., with both games part of the four-team "Bracket 2" double-elimination pod in the tournament.
Salisbury struck early with four runs in the bottom of the first on a Kavi Caster RBI single and, three batters later, a Rahill three-run homer. The Sea Gulls added single runs in each of the next three innings. Caster singled in a run in the second, Jacob Ference hit an RBI single in the third, and McAuliffe homered to lead off the fourth.
Cortland picked up its run in the top of the fifth on a one-out
James Varian (Hopewell Junction/Trinity-Pawling) homer to left. Salisbury scored in the sixth on a Scott Cameron RBI double, and the Sea Gulls put the game away with three in the seventh on a Luke Weddell two-run double and a McAuliffe RBI double.
The Red Dragons had two decent scoring chances to by the boards in the first six innings. Cortland had runners on first and third with one out in the second after singles by
Mat Bruno (Rye) and
Daniel Coleman (Saratoga Springs), but Balzan struck out the next two batters. Cortland also had runners on first and third with two outs in the sixth before a flyout ended the threat.
Rahill finished 3-for-4 with a homer, walk, three RBI and three runs scored, McAuliffe was 2-for-3 with a homer, double and two RBI, and Ference and Caster each finished 2-for-4 for the Sea Gulls. Marzan, now 8-1 on the season, gave up nine hits, struck out nine and didn't walk anyone.
Bruno and
Scott Giordano (Croton-on-Hudson/Croton-Harmon) each were 2-for-4 and Varian finished 1-for-3 with a homer and hit by pitch for Cortland.
Scott Roberts (Escondido, CA/Del Norte) started for Cortland and took the loss after allowing five hits and seven runs, five earned, in three and a third innings.
Spencer Weyand (Hornell) gave up four runs in three and a third innings with eight hits allowed, and
Dan Hobbs (Saratoga Springs) struck out two and didn't allow a hit or a run over the final inning and a third.
Cortland played a game in the month of June for just the second year in school history – the Red Dragons played two games on June 1, 2010, during the final day of the World Series that year, defeating Linfield before losing to Illinois Wesleyan in the championship game to finish second nationally.
Tournament Web Page (will include links to post-game press conferences)
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