CORTLAND, N.Y. – Junior Brandon Nemeti (Lancaster) pitched four scoreless innings and junior Michael DeCarr (Syracuse/Westhill) drove in two runs as Cortland defeated non-league foe SUNY Institute of Technology, 7-3, in the Red Dragons' home opener.
Cortland, ranked second nationally by D3baseball.com and third by the ABCA, improved to 14-4 with the win. SUNYIT is now 5-8.
Nemeti started and allowed three hits and one walk with five strikeouts over four innings. He was awarded the win since Cortland predetermined that it would throw at least three pitchers and Nemeti left the game with a 6-0 lead. Freshman Travis Laitar (Fergus, ON/Centre Wellington) gave up two hits and struck out four in two scoreless innings of relief.
Sophomore Donny Castaldo (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) finished 2-for-2 with an RBI and senior Zack Graczyk (Carmel) was 2-for-3 with a walk, RBI and run scored. DeCarr tripled in two runs during a three-run third inning and senior John Adornetto (Commack) reached base three times on a single, hit-by-pitch and walk. He scored twice and drove in a run.
Ryan Wegner went 3-for-4 and Connor Passalacqua was 2-for-5 for the Wildcats. Joseph O'Rourke finished 1-for-2 with two walks and an RBI. Michael Rose took the loss after allowing six runs, four earned, in three innings. He gave up five hits and three walks.
Cortland scored three times in the first with the help of three SUNYIT errors. Graczyk led off with a single and Brian Barry (Nesconset/Smithtown East) reached on an error on a sacrifice bunt. Adornetto's single drove in Graczyk, with Barry also scoring on the play when a throw from right field sailed over the third baseman's head. Adornetto advanced to third on the play and scored when P.J. Rinaldi (Bethel, CT) reached on an error.
In the third, Adornetto was hit by a pitch, Rinaldi walked and Max Rosing (Rockville Centre/South Side) bunted the runners to second and third. DeCarr followed with a two-run triple to left center, and he scored on Castaldo's single to right center.
Cortland's final run came in the sixth. Chris Jackson (Wappingers Falls/Roy C. Ketcham) led off with a double to the right field fence. He scored three batters later on a Graczyk RBI single.
SUNYIT made things interesting with a rally in the eighth. Ryan Dungey led off with a bunt single, Jim Sass walked and Passalacqua reached on an infield single to load the bases. Anthony Ragosta then hit a ball to third, but the throw home was wild to allow Dungey to score. O'Rourke then walked to force in a run and cut Cortland's lead to 7-2.
Junior Steven Kimmelman (Riverhead) entered to pitch and struck out the next three hitters to leave the bases loaded. Jake Shelley (Owego/Owego Free Academy) allowed a run on two hits, including a Passalacqua RBI single, in the ninth.
Cortland will play three SUNYAC games at Plattsburgh this weekend. The teams will play a doubleheader Saturday at noon and a single game Sunday at noon.