CORTLAND, N.Y. – Tournament MVP
Danny Jackson (Lagrangeville/Arlington) singled home the winning run with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth as top-seeded Cortland defeated second-seeded Oswego, 4-3, in the final game of the SUNYAC Championship best-of-three series.
Cortland (29-10-1), ranked 25th nationally by D3baseball.com, won its second straight league title and 38th overall. The Red Dragons earn an NCAA Division III tournament automatic berth, extending their Division III record to 33 consecutive NCAA appearances. The national pairings will be announced Monday at noon on NCAA.com and regional play begins Friday.
Oswego (23-16) trailed 3-1 before rallying to tie the game in the top of the ninth. Dylan Rosenberg walked and reliever
Tommy Lynch (West Seneca/Canisius) allowed a single to Brogan Olson. A passed ball moved Rosenberg and pinch runner Ronan Rowe to third and second, and Harry Uvena hit a two-run single up the middle to draw the Lakers even. Lynch, however, escaped further damage by striking out the next two hitters and inducing a foul out to first base. He earned the win when Cortland rallied for the win.
Trey McGowan (Blue Point/Bayport-Blue Point) led off the bottom of the ninth with a double down the left field line. Pinch hitter
Nolan Smith (Hamburg) grounded out to second base to advance McGowan to third, and Oswego intentionally walked both
Talon Elkins (Syracuse/West Genesee) and
Tristan Gatchalian (Manorville/Eastport-South Manor). Jackson followed by lining an 0-2 pitch to left for the game-winning hit.
Oswego took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Rosenberg doubled with one out and scored on Olson's RBI single through the right side. Cortland answered in the bottom of the fourth with two runs to take the lead. Gatchalian walked, Jackson singled and
Joe Yovino (Levittown/Division Avenue) was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs.
Anthony Carlo (North Bellmore/St. Anthony's) hit a sacrifice fly to center to drive in Gatchalian and
Jack McFerran (Selkirk/Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk) singled through the left side to bring home Jackson.
Cortland added a run in the fifth. Elkins started the inning with a single and Gatchalian was hit by a pitch. Jackson's sac bunt moved the runners up a base, and Yovino hit a sac fly to center to scored Elkins.
Warren Miller (Plattsburgh) started for Cortland and allowed one run on four hits with six strikeouts and no walks in seven and a third innings. After he allowed a one-out single to TJ Harrington in the eighth, Yovino moved from designated hitter to pitcher. Pinch hitter Andrew Dempsey singled to put runners on first and third, but Yovino kept the Lakers off the board with a popup to the second baseman in shallow center field and a strikeout.
McGowan finished 3-for-5 with a double, Jackson and McFerran each went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Gatchalian was 1-for-2 with two walks and a hit by pitch to lead Cortland's offense. Jackson batted .600 in six tournament games - three versus Oneonta in the semifinals series in addition to three against Oswego in the finals - and the shortstop handled 27 fielding chances (19 assists, eight putouts) without an error. He was joined on the all-tournament team by Gatchalian, McGowan, Miller,
Lucas Granger (Horseheads) and reliever
Zack Zarrilli (Farmingdale).
For Oswego, Olson went 2-for-4 with an RBI, Rosenberg was 1-for-3 with a double, walk and two runs scored, and Uvena ended 1-for-3 with a hit by pitch and two RBI. Matthew Krul started for Oswego and gave up two runs in three and two thirds innings. Matthew Drillings, normally Oswego's closer, turned in his longest outing of the season with four and two thirds innings and gave up two runs. Each Laker pitcher allowed five hits and two walks, with Krul fanning three batters and Drillings two.
Rosenberg, Harrington, Brendan Mair and Mason Sands represented Oswego on the all-tournament team, and Oneonta's Alex Halwick also earned an all-tournament nod.
2026 SUNYAC Baseball All-Tournament Team
Alex Halwick (Oneonta)
Mason Sands (Oswego)
TJ Harrington (Oswego)
Brendan Mair (Oswego)
Dylan Rosenberg (Oswego)
Zack Zarrilli (Cortland)
Warren Miller (Cortland)
Lucas Granger (Cortland)
Trey McGowan (Cortland)
Tristan Gatchalian (Cortland)
MVP -
Danny Jackson (Cortland)
