CORTLAND, N.Y. – The Cortland baseball team, ranked 24th nationally, closed out its regular-season schedule with a 12-2 win over Fredonia in SUNYAC action at Wallace Field. The game was called in the eighth inning due to the league's 10-run rule.
Cortland improved to 28-10-1 overall and first in the SUNYAC with a 16-2 record. The Red Dragons will be the host and top seed in the four-team, double-elimination SUNYAC tournament May 9-11 and will open against fourth-seeded Plattsburgh Thursday at noon.
Devin Georgetti (Rochester/Gates Chili) improved to 4-2 on the season, allowing two runs on seven hits over seven innings. He struck out seven batters and walked one.
Matthew Nochowitz (Glen Head/North Shore) tossed a scoreless eighth inning.
Fredonia (13-23, 3-15 SUNYAC) threatened first, loading the bases with one out in the top of the second on consecutive singles by Andrew Tucker, Brady Ventura and Max Koller. Georgetti, however, struck out the next two hitters to keep the Blue Devils off the board.
Cortland scored three runs in the bottom of the second.
Mitchell Kelly (Webster/Webster Thomas) doubled,
Zachary Kringdon (Larchmont/Mamaroneck) singled and, with one out,
Nick Marola (Saratoga/Scotia-Glenville) doubled in a run.
Chris Bonacci (Syracuse/West Genesee) grounded out to bring in a run and
Mat Bruno (Rye) added an RBI infield single.
Kringdon and
Luke Schartner (Bayport/Bayport-Blue Point) hit back-to-back RBI singles in the third to make it 5-0. Fredonia put up two runs in the top of the sixth on Tyler Curtis' RBI fielder's choice and Tucker's run-scoring double. Cortland, however, scored five times in the bottom of the frame.
Nolan Smith (Hamburg) singled in a run and
Dylan Mackenzie (Canandaigua/Canandaigua Academy) hit a two-run single. Two batters later Kelly walked to force in a run and Kringdon hit a sac fly to left to account for the last run. Bruno's sac fly in the seventh made it 11-2, and Bonacci ended the game in the eighth with a two-out, bases-loaded RBI single.
Kringdon finished 2-for-3 with two RBI, Smith was 2-for-4 with a triple, walk and RBI, and Bonacci and Bruno each drove in two runs for the Red Dragons. Marola went 1-for-3 with a double, RBI and two runs. Tucker went 2-for-3 with an RBI for Fredonia. Peyton Ahlstrom allowed 10 runs over five and a third innings and suffered the loss.
