UNION, N.J. - Cortland cut an early six-run deficit to one after four innings but neither team scored the rest of the way as third-seeded Middlebury defeated the second-seeded Red Dragons, 6-5, during the opening day of the NCAA Division III Baseball regional hosted by Kean University.
 
Cortland (29-12) will face fourth-seeded Husson University in an elimination game Saturday at 11 a.m., followed by Middlebury (28-11) versus top-seeded Kean in a winner's bracket game at 2:30 p.m. The Cortland-Husson winner will face the Middlebury-Kean loser Saturday at 6 p.m. in an elimination game. The regional will conclude on Sunday.
 
Nathan Samii went 3-for-5 with two RBI and Kyle McCausland and Ben Slaughter each homered for the Panthers. Emmet George started for Middlebury and allowed four runs in three and two thirds innings. Jacob Sherf was awarded the win after allowing one unearned run in an inning and a third. Dylan Knightly followed with three shutout innings, giving up no hits and one walk, and Stefano Yozzo earned his fourth save with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth.
 
Zachary Kringdon (Larchmont/Mamaroneck) went 2-for-4 and Chris Bonacci (Syracuse/West Genesee) finished 2-for-5 with an RBI for Cortland. Starter Luis Misla (Tampa, FL/Riverview) fell to 9-3 after allowing six runs on five hits in six and a third innings. He struck out eight batters and walked three. Misla upped his strikeout total to 115 on the season, breaking his own school single-season record of 114 from last year.

Tommy Lynch (West Seneca/Canisius) gave up one hit and one walk and fanned three over two and two third scoreless innings of relief.
 
McCausland's one-out solo homer gave Middlebury a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, and Cortland loaded the bases but couldn't score in the bottom of the inning. The Panthers went up 6-0 in the third on a Samii two-run single and Slaughter's three-run homer.
 
Cortland got back in the game with five runs in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs, Luke Schartner (Bayport/Bayport-Blue Point) walked and JJ DeLawder (Hyde Park/Franklin D. Roosevelt) hit a fly ball to left center that fell in for a hit. Schartner raced around to score, just beating the tag at the plate, and DeLawder took second on the throw.
 
A Dylan Tierney (East Greenbush/Columbia) single and a Nick Marola (Saratoga/Scotia-Glenville) hit by pitch loaded the bases. Talon Elkins (Syracuse/West Genesee) then beat out a chopper behind the bag at third, extending his hitting streak to 23 games, and a throwing error to first after Elkins was already safe allowed two more runs to score and moved Elkins to third. Bonacci then popped up a bunt, but it sailed over the pitcher's head for a hit to drive in Elkins and make it 6-5.
 
Cortland got runners on base in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings, but in each case was unable to advance the runner into scoring position.