LEXINGTON, S.C. – Marietta scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and the nationally 20th-ranked Pioneers defeated 17th-ranked Cortland, 7-4, at the Lexington County Stadium.
Marietta (7-4) and Cortland (5-5) will complete their three-day, three-game series in Lexington Saturday at noon.
Chris Bonacci (Syracuse/West Genesee) finished 2-for-5 for the Red Dragons.
Dylan Mackenzie (Canandaigua/Canandaigua Academy) homered and
JJ DeLawder (Hyde Park/F.D. Roosevelt) and
Kameron Hartenstein (Meriden, CT/Maloney) each went 1-for-3, with Hartenstein driving in a run.
Anthony Fusco (Yorktown Heights/Yorktown) started for Cortland and allowed three runs on two hits with two strikeouts and four walks in three innings.
Mikey Wandell (Newark Valley) pitched a scoreless fourth inning and
Liam Krasney (Earlton/Greenville) allowed only one run on one hit with no walks and three strikeouts in three-plus innings.
Shane Van Dam (Cranford, NJ) took the loss after giving up three runs in the eighth.
Brett Carson homered, walked, drove in three and scored twice for Marietta, and he also earned the save after striking out two in a scoreless ninth. Ty Davis was 2-for-3 with a walk and Alex Richter went 1-for-2 with a triple, two walks, an RBI and two runs. Starter Gino Sabatine took a no decision after allowing three runs on four hits with five strikeouts and two walks in five and a third innings. Jared Bees, the Pioneers' third reliever, gave up one hit and no walks and fanned three in two innings and earned the win after Marietta took the lead in the eighth.
Marietta grabbed a 3-0 lead in the third on a Nick Bonnizzio two-out walk, a steal, a Richter walk and Carson's three-run homer. Cortland got a run back in the top of the fourth when Bonacci singled,
Matthew Krafft (Cornwall) walked, Bonacci advanced to third on a lineout to right, and
Mat Bruno (Rye) hit an RBI fielder's choice.
Cortland tied the game in the sixth when Krafft walked and Mackenzie hit a two-run homer. The Red Dragons took a 4-3 lead in the seventh.
Nick Chemotti (Warners/West Genesee) was hit by a pitch and pinch runner
Jon Munoz (Yorktown Heights/Yorktown) stole second and went to third on a passed ball. Hartenstein followed with an RBI single.
Marietta's winning rally started with a Ben Kaplin single and a Bonnizzio sac bunt. Richter tripled to tie the game, and the Pioneers eventually scored two runs on wild pitches and another on a bases-loaded hit batter.
