PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Cortland scored 25 runs on 27 hits in the nine-inning opener and Alex Weingarten (East Rockaway/Lynbrook) threw a two-hit shutout in the seven-inning nightcap as the nationally top-ranked Red Dragons swept host Plattsburgh, 25-8 and 6-0, in a SUNYAC doubleheader. Cortland (31-2, 16-1 SUNYAC) has won 30 or more games each of the last 11 years and 21 times over a 22-year span.
The teams will complete their three-game series Sunday at noon. The Red Dragons have already secured the league's regular-season title and will host the four-team SUNYAC tournament starting next Friday. The tournament seeds were finalized Saturday with Brockport and Fredonia securing the third and fourth seeds, respectively. Cortland will face Fredonia Friday at noon and Oswego will play Brockport at 3:30 p.m.
GAME 1: Cortland 25, Plattsburgh 8
Brandon Serio (Bedford Hills/Fox Lane) was the beneficiary of Cortland's offensive outburst in the opener to improve his record to 6-0. He allowed six hits and three runs, one earned, in six innings with two walks and four strikeouts.
Matthew Michalski (Buffalo/St. Francis) led the offense by going 4-for-5 with two hit-by-pitches, five RBI and six runs scored. His six runs are the most by a Cortland player since at least the 1998 season, and only three players since 1998 scored five times in a game.
Vinny Bomasuto (Dunkirk) homered and finished 3-for-4 with four runs scored. Donny Castaldo (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) went 2-for-3 with a walk, four RBI and two runs and Conrad Ziemendorf (Penfield/Webster Schroeder) was 3-for-4 with two RBI.
Nick Hart (Fredonia) ended 2-for-4 with a double and three runs and Justin Teague (Syracuse/Cicero-North Syracuse) went 2-for-3 with a walk, RBI and two runs. Ralph Nuzzi (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) came in as a mid-game replacement and finished 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBI. Also off the bench, Fabio Ricci (Hawthorne/Westlake) went 2-for-2 with a double, walk and three runs, Patrick Schetter (Beacon) was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI and Connor Griffin (Cortland) drove in two runs.
T.J. Montabano was 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBI to lead Plattsburgh. Frank Buksa ended 2-for-5 with a double, three runs and an RBI and Nick Lupo was 2-for-5 with an RBI, while Matt Krogh doubled, walked and drove in two runs in four plate appearances. Mike Vargues allowed 11 runs, five earned, over four innings as Plattsburgh's starter.
Cortland scored three or more runs in seven innings, including five in the seventh and four in the second. The Red Dragons scored in double figures for the 15th time this spring, with more than 20 runs three times. Plattsburgh scored five of its eight runs over the final two innings.
GAME 2: Cortland 6, Plattsburgh 0
While offense dominated the first game storyline, the second game revolved around Weingarten's pitching gem. He allowed only three baserunners over the game's seven innings on a Vargues infield single in the second, a Chris Pescetti two-out single in the seventh and a Vargues hit-by-pitch. Weingarten struck out seven batters and upped his record to 6-1.
Castaldo finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs and was a combined 5-for-7 with five RBI and five runs in the doubleheader. Ricci went 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored and Matt Personius (Binghamton/Chenango Valley) was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Cortland took a 1-0 first-inning lead on a Ziemendorf RBI groundout. The Red Dragons have scored at least once in the first inning 22 times this spring, including nine of the last 10 games.
The lead grew to 4-0 in the second on a Personius RBI double and RBI singles by Castaldo and Mark DeMilio (Valhalla). The Red Dragons added a run in the sixth when Ricci tripled with two outs and scored on an Austin Clock (Niskayuna) single, and the scoring closed in the seventh on a Castaldo leadoff triple and a wild pitch.