Cortland Season Ends with Tight NCAA Regional Losses to Salve Regina and W&J
Cortland Sports Information Department
CORTLAND, N.Y. – The Cortland baseball team had its 2024 season come to a close after losing a pair of tight decisions during the second day of the NCAA Division III regional hosted by the Red Dragons at Wallace Field.
Cortland, ranked 21st nationally in Division III and the second seed in the four-team regional, lost its first game of the day to top-seeded and eighth-ranked Salve Regina, 4-2. The Red Dragons then fell in an elimination game to Washington and Jefferson, 3-1, to end the season with a 31-14-1 record. Cortland was making its 31st straight NCAA tournament appearance, extending its Division III record for consecutive NCAA showings. The 31 straight NCAA tournaments is the longest current active streak among any NCAA level.
Salve Regina and Washington and Jefferson will play for the regional title on Sunday. They will meet at 11 a.m., and if Salve Regina wins the regional is over. If W&J wins, the teams will play again for the title.
Salve Regina 4, Cortland 2
Salve (35-8), the official "home" team in the game, scored three times in the bottom of the seventh to erase a Cortland 2-1 lead. The Seahawks scored three three runs on just one hit. Brady Smolinski led off the inning with a walk and Michael Breen bunted him to second. After Smolinski moved to third on a wild pitch, Brandon Grover was hit by a pitch. Evan O'Rourke hit a grounder to short that drove in the tying run, and Grover was safe at second after a dropped throw. Grover and O'Rourke executed a double steal of third and second, and Christian Homa followed with a two-run single to right center.
Salve opened the scoring in the third when Breen doubled with one out, Grover singled and O'Rourke hit an RBI single to center.
Cortland took its 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth. Luke Schartner (Bayport/Bayport-Blue Point) and pinch hitter Mitchell Kelly (Webster/Webster Thomas) each singled with one out to put runners on first and third, and pinch hitter Nick Chemotti (Syracuse/West Genesee) singled to right to drive in a run. After Nick Marola (Saratoga/Scotia-Glenville) walked, Chris Bonacci (Syracuse/West Genesee) hit a sac fly to center to drive in Kelly.
Jason Arrigo earned the win for Salve in relief of starter Sean Mulligan. Arrigo allowed two hits, no walks and no runs and struck out three over the last three innings. Mulligan gave up five hits and five walks, struck out six and allowed two runs.
Cortland starter Nick Jessen (Syracuse/West Genesee) allowed only one run in four innings. He gave up six hits and struck out one batter. Ryan Banks (Woodbury/Syosset) didn't allow any hits over two and a third inning, walked two and struck out one, but he was charged with the first two runs of the seventh and took the loss.
Homa and Wil McCarthy each went 2-for-4 for Salve. Mat Bruno (Rye) was 2-for-4 with a walk for Cortland.
Washington & Jefferson 3, Cortland 1
Ethan Marszalek tossed a complete game for the win for W&J, allowing one run on seven hits with two walks and nine strikeouts. Cortland starter Devin Georgetti (Rochester/Gates Chili) allowed three runs on nine hits over six and two thirds innings. He struck out five and didn't walk anyone. Justin Patsey (Hyde Park/Franklin D. Roosevelt) threw the final inning and a third and allowed one hit and no runs with two strikeouts.
W&J, the designated "home" team, scored in the bottom of the first when Drew Garth doubled with one out, took third on a wild pitch and scored on a Nolan Lutz groundout. Cortland tied the game in the top of the second when Dylan Mackenzie (Canandaigua/Canandaigua Academy) led off with a triple to deep center and scored on a Schartner single through the left side.
The Presidents (34-13), who stayed alive earlier in the day with a 7-0 win over Colby, took a 2-1 lead in the fourth when Brian Feldman led off with a double, tagged and went to third on a lineout to right, and scored on a Brendan Cruz sac fly to left. W&J added a key run in the seventh when Jacob LaDuca reached on a two-out infield single and scored on a Garth triple.
Cortland went down fighting in the ninth as Mackenzie led off with a walk and Schartner doubled to left center to put runners on second and third with no outs. Marszalek worked out of the jam, however, with a strikeout and two flyouts, the second of which was caught in deep left field to end the game.
Garth went 4-for-4 with a triple and double and Zac Stern was 2-for-4 for W&J. Mackenzie finished 3-fo4-3 with a triple, double and walk, Nolan Smith (Hamburg) was 2-for-3 with a walk and Schartner finished 2-for-4 with an RBI for Cortland.
