CORTLAND, N.Y. - Tanner Whiteman (Cazenovia) allowed one run on six hits in a complete-game showing as top-seeded and nationally top-ranked Cortland defeated fourth-seeded Fredonia, 8-1, to open play at the four-team, double-elimination SUNYAC Baseball Tournament at Wallace Field.
Cortland (35-5) will face third seeded Brockport in a winner's bracket game Saturday at 1 p.m. Brockport defeated second seed Oswego, 10-8, in Friday's other contest. Oswego and Fredonia will play in an elimination game Saturday at 10 a.m., with that winner also facing another elimination game Saturday at 4 p.m. against the Cortland/Brockport loser.
Whiteman ran his record to 7-0 with the victory. He struck out six batters and walked only one. Fredonia's Zachary Jordon shut out Cortland for the first five innings before allowing two runs in the sixth. He was also charged with five of the Red Dragons' six runs in the bottom of the seventh. Jordon allowed seven hits and five walks and struck out five in six and two thirds innings.
Fredonia took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Dan Cecilia, who finished 2-for-4, led off with a double. He was bunted to third by Steve Zaprowski, and Patrick Sheehan drove him home with a groundout to second.
Cortland had one baserunner in each of the first five innings, with two reaching second. The Red Dragons broke through for two runs in the sixth with the benefit of just one hit. Fabio Ricci (Hawthorne/Westlake) drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a one-out wild pitch. Conrad Ziemendorf (Penfield/Webster Schroeder) walked, and the runners moved to second and third after tagging on a long flyout. Seth Lamando (Hopewell Junction/Roy C. Ketcham) pinch hit and hit a shallow fly ball that landed fair just inside the right field foul line for a two-run single.
The Red Dragons sent 11 batters to the plate in their six-run seventh inning. Ricci doubled in a run, and four batters later Ralph Nuzzi (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) drew a bases-loaded walk. Connor Griffin (Cortland) broke the game open with a three-run triple to right center, and Justin Teague (North Syracuse/Cicero-North Syracuse) drove home Griffin with a single to right center.
Fredonia (20-20) had only two baserunners reach scoring position versus Whiteman over the last seven innings. Cecilia led off the fourth with a single but was eventually stranded at third base, and Zaprowski doubled to lead off the seventh but was caught stealing.
Austin Clock (Niskayuna) finished 3-for-5, Teague and Ricci were each 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Nick Hart (Fredonia) went 1-for-3 with two walks for Cortland.