CORTLAND, N.Y. – Cortland split a home doubleheader versus visiting Johnson & Wales University, winning the nine-inning first game, 7-5, before letting a late lead slip away in a 10-9 loss in the seven-inning nightcap. The teams are tentatively scheduled to play a single game Saturday at 11 a.m. at Wallace Field 
 
Cortland 7, Johnson & Wales 5 
 
Cortland led 7-0 after five innings before holding off a late charge by the Wildcats. The Red Dragons scored four times the second on a James Varian (Hopewell Junction/Trinity-Pawling) two-run single, an Andrew Michalski (Buffalo/St. Francis) squeeze bunt and a Matthew Krafft (Cornwall) RBI single. Danny Coleman (Saratoga Springs) doubled in the third and eventually scored on a Pragana RBI infield single to make it 5-0, and Mat Bruno (Rye) hit a two-run homer in the fifth to extend the lead to 7-0. 
 
Johnson & Wales plated four runs in the seventh on a Griffin Snyder three-run homer and an Owen Davis solo shot. In the ninth, the Wildcats scored on an Xavier Botelho RBI groundout and had the potential tying run at the plate before a strikeout ended the contest. 
 
Krafft and Coleman each finished 2-for-3 with a double, while Pragana and Varian each were 2-for-3. The Cortland defense recorded four double plays. Miles Kelly was 2-for-4 with two runs scored for Johnson & Wales. 
 
Zack Durant (Verona/V-V-S) notched the win for Cortland, giving up only two hits and a walk with five strikeouts in six scoreless innings. Patrick Dalton (Bethpage), the Red Dragons' fourth reliever, recorded the final two outs for his second save. Dane DellaValle gave up seven runs on 10 hits in five innings in the start for Johnson & Wales.

Johnson & Wales 10, Cortland 9 
 
Cortland looked on its way to a sweep after erasing an early 2-0 deficit with five runs in the second, two in the fourth and one in the fifth to take an 8-2 lead. The Wildcats, facing their final three outs in the top of the seventh, mounted an improbable comeback with eight runs on four hits and three walks in the inning. Cortland scored a run in the bottom of the seventh and had the potential tying run on third with one out before coming up short. 
 
Johnson & Wales scored in the first on a double play grounder and again in the second on a Nicolas Fortes solo homer. Cortland's five-run second featured a Bruno solo homer, a Michalski RBI sac bunt, and a Hunter Holliday (Camden) three-run double. The Red Dragons scored their two fourth-inning runs on a double play and a Holliday RBI double, and Coleman homered to lead off the bottom of the fifth. 
 
The Johnson & Wales seventh-inning comeback started with a walk, a wild pitch, a Botelho single and another walk to load the bases with no outs. A passed ball allowed a run to score and, following a strikeout, Davis singled in a run to make it 8-4. After another walk, EJ Leone hit a two-run double and Cortland's lead was down to 8-6. 
 
Cortland elected to intentionally walk the next batter to load the bases, and the following hitter lined out for the second out. Trevor Juan, however, hit a three-run double to right center to give the Wildcats a 9-8 lead, and an error on the next at-bat allowed Juan to score to push the lead to 10-8. 
 
Cortland quickly got a run back in the bottom of the seventh on back-to-back doubles by Pragana and Coleman. Pinch runner Luke Schartner (Bayport/Bayport-Blue Point) moved to third on a Kameron Hartenstein (Meriden, CT/Maloney) sac bunt, but a groundout and lineout left the runner stranded. 
 
Ben Rhodes (Amsterdam) finished 3-for-3 with two runs scored, Holliday was 2-for-4 with four RBI, Coleman went 2-for-4 with two RBI, and Bruno was 2-for-3 with an RBI as part of Cortland's 10-hit attack. The Wildcats also finished with 10 hits, led by Botelho going 3-for-4 with a walk and Davis finishing 2-for-4 with an RBI. Juan was 1-for-3 with two walks, three RBI and three runs. 
 
Garrett Fusco, the first of three Johnson & Wales relievers, tossed four innings for the win as he was the pitcher of record when the Wildcats took the lead in the seventh. He gave up three runs, two earned, on five hits with a strikeout and two walks. Noah Reeder entered after Cortland's back-to-back doubles in the seventh and notched the save. 
 
Will McCarthy (Farmingdale), who entered in relief in the first inning, went six innings for the Red Dragons and took a no-decision after giving up six hits, two walks and two runs. He struck out five batters.