CORTLAND, N.Y. – Lizzy Byers (New Paltz) homered twice and drove in seven runs to lead Cortland past visiting Potsdam, 11-4, in the second game of a SUNYAC softball doubleheader. The Red Dragons also won the first game, 6-0, behind Karlee Weeden's (Maybrook/Valley Central) one-hit shutout. 
 
With the wins, Cortland (20-12, 11-3 SUNYAC) clinched a berth into the six-team SUNYAC playoffs. The Red Dragons will travel to Ithaca Wednesday for a non-league doubleheader before closing out their SUNYAC regular-season slate with home doubleheaders Friday versus league-leading Geneseo and Saturday against Brockport. 
 
Cortland 6, Potsdam 0 
 
Weeden struck out a career-high nine batters and walked only one on the way to her 10th victory of the season. The only hit she allowed was a two-out single to Potsdam's pitcher, Anna Brown, in the top of the fourth. After that hit, Weeden retired the final 10 batters she faced.  
 
Cortland took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an Elaina Ornstein (Yorktown Heights/Yorktown) bunt single, a one-out Halle Wright (Ballston Spa) walk and McKenna Barry's (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) two-run double to center. 
 
Alyssa Finno (Hurley/Kingston) singled in a run in the third to make it 3-0, and the Red Dragons plated three in the fifth on a Finno RBI double and Byers' two-run single. 
 
Hannah Fairbrother (Wayland/Wayland-Cohocton) went 3-for-3, Finno was 2-for-2 with a double, walk and two RBI, and Barry finished 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Wright walked three times and scored three run, and Byers was 1-for-3 with two RBI. 
 
Cortland 11, Potsdam 4 
 
Cortland jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first on a Wright RBI single, a Finno RBI fielder's choice and a Byers grand slam to straightaway center. Byers hit a three-run homer to left center in the second to extend the lead to 9-0. 
 
Byers has hit three grand slams this season, and her 12 homers are tied for the third-best single-season total at Cortland. Meaghan Kohler hit 17 round-trippers in 2012, Hannah Feldman hit 14 homers in 2018, and Carin Piacente hit 12 homers in 2002.

Potsdam (0-27, 0-14 SUNYAC) twice avoided an eight-run rule loss. The Bears scored four times in the top of the fourth to cut Cortland's lead to 11-4. Vanessa Brandt doubled, Danielle Moscarello singled and, following a fielder's choice, Kat Tompkins walked to load the bases. An error on a fielder's choice allowed a run to score, followed by an Emily Beck RBI groundout, a wild pitch that scored a run, and a Madison McCormick RBI single. 
 
Cortland was in position to force the eight-run rule in the bottom of the fifth, scoring twice on a Wright RBI single and a Julz Koch (New City/Clarkstown South) RBI fielder's choice. Potsdam, however, threw out a runner trying to score on a squeeze bunt to keep the margin at seven runs. 
 
Isabel Milazzo (Elmira/Elmira Notre Dame) earned the win after allowing five hits and one walk with three strikeouts over four innings. All four runs she allowed were unearned. Barry, seeing her first pitching action since March 15, followed Milazzo with three shutout innings for the save. She gave up four hits and didn't walk anyone. Potsdam starter Sierra Ashley went the distance and gave up five hits and eight walks with three strikeouts in six innings. 
 
Byers finished the game 2-for-3 with two homers, a walk, seven RBI and two runs scored. She drove in nine runs during the doubleheader. Wright was 2-for-4 with two RBI and extended her on-base streak to 17 games. Ornstein walked four times and Finno finished with an RBI and two runs scored. McCormick was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Moscarello and Anna Grottola each went 2-for-4 for Potsdam.