CORTLAND, N.Y. – Cortland scored six runs in the bottom of the first inning and the nationally sixth-ranked Red Dragons defeated visiting Mount St. Mary College, 13-1, in a non-league game at Wallace Field. Cortland won its ninth straight game to improve to 27-8 on the season. Cortland tied an NCAA Div. III single-game record with five sacrifice flies. The mark was previously set by Rutgers-Camden in 2002 and by Colby-Sawyer in 2000.
Junior Matt Holling (Horseheads), the first of Cortland's five predetermined pitchers, earned his first win as a Red Dragon. He allowed four hits and three walks and struck out three in four and a third scoreless innings before being removed due to his pitch count. Freshman Tyler Brien (Ilion) followed with an inning and two thirds of hitless relief with one walk. Junior Steve Komanecky (Auburn) and junior Cody Petre (Silver Springs/Letchworth) each tossed one hitless and scoreless inning. Freshman Jake Shelley (Owego/Owego Free Academy) allowed an unearned run in the ninth.
Junior Michael DeCarr (Syracuse/Westhill) hit a three-run homer to cap Cortland's six-run first and finished 1-for-2. Junior Anthony Iacomini (South Salem/John Jay-Cross River) and freshman Austin Clock (Niskayuna) each went 2-for-2 off the bench, while seniors Brian Barry (Nesconset/Smithtown East) and Bryan Mistretta (Commack) were each 2-for-3. Tim Stauder finished 2-for-4 and Matt Cahill was 1-for-2 with two walks for the Knights (13-16). Silverio Santiago took the loss after allowing nine runs, seven earned, in four innings.
Cortland opened the scoring when Zack Graczyk (Carmel) stole third on the front end of a double steal and scored on a throwing error on the play. P.J. Rinaldi (Bethel, CT) drove in a run with a sacrifice fly liner to right, and three batters later Tim Panetta (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) hit a sacrifice fly to right to drive in a run. DeCarr followed with a three-run shot to left for his first homer of the season.
The Red Dragons added three runs in the fourth on a dropped fly ball that allowed a run to score, a Rinaldi RBI fielder's choice and a Chris Jackson (Wappingers Falls/Roy C. Ketcham) sacrifice fly on a ball caught by the second baseman running into foul territory in right field. Graczyk added a sacrifice fly in the fifth, and Cortland scored three times in the seventh on a wild pitch, a Graczyk RBI single and a Bryan Marotta (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) sac fly. The Knights got on the board in the ninth. Cahill led off with a single and Stauder singled with one out. The runners moved up on a groundout, and Cahill scored when Tyler Rivera reached on an error.
Cortland will host Cazenovia on Wednesday at 2 p.m. The game time was moved from 4 p.m. to 2 p.m. due to forecasted bad weather.