HOBOKEN, N.J. – Brian Corporan (Bronx/H.S. for Environmental Studies) hit two homers and drove in three runs and Isiah Hudson (Hyde Park/FDR) earned a save with three innings of one-hit scoreless relief with seven strikeouts as nationally 16th-ranked Cortland rallied from an early four-run deficit to defeat host Stevens Institute, 7-4. Cortland won its third straight game to improve to 6-4-1 on the season.
Corporan finished 3-for-4 with a walk, two solo homers and a double in five plate appearances. Dan Schweitzer (Poughquag/Arlington) was 1-for-3 with a solo homer, two walks and two runs, Wyatt Myers (Chittenango) went 2-for-5 with a double, and Scott Giordano (Croton-on-Hudson/Croton-Harmon) finished 1-for-3 with an RBI double and two walks.
Three Cortland relievers combined to allow only one run on three hits and two walks over the final seven innings. Mitchell Cavanagh (Oneida) gave up a run in two innings on one hit with two strikeouts and two walks. Ryan Flansburg (Queensbury) started the fifth and gave up a hit and a hit batsman with one strikeout in two innings. He earned his first win as Cortland took the lead for good in the seventh while he was the pitcher of record.
Hudson came in the bottom of the seventh to protect a 5-4 lead. He struck out the side in order in the seventh, and struck out three straight in the eighth after giving up a leadoff double to Patrick Rood. Hudson closed the game with a 1-2-3 ninth on a flyout, strikeout and popup.
Ryan Larsen started for Stevens (2-5) and went six inning plus one batter into the seventh. He struck out nine and walked five, allowed five hits and gave up two runs. Four relievers followed, with Hunter Counton suffering the loss. Rood led the Ducks' offense by going 2-for-3 with two doubles and a hit by pitch and Matthew Pasko went 1-for-3 with a walk and two RBI.
Stevens took a 3-0 lead in the second on a Charles Kwong RBI single and Pasko's two-run single. Rood started that rally with a one-out double. The lead grew to 4-0 in the third on a one-out J.C. Hanley ground-rule double and two wild pitches.
Cortland loaded the bases with no outs in the third but Larsen was able to pitch out of the jam without allowing a run. The Red Dragons got on the board in the fourth when Corporan led off with a homer to center, and he hit another solo shot to right in the sixth to cut the hosts' lead to 4-2.
The Red Dragons grabbed the lead with a three-run rally in the seventh. With one out, Joe Tardif (Cutchogue/Mattituck) walked and stole second, and Giordano hit an RBI double to right center. Following a Schweitzer walk, Myers singled to load the bases, and with two outs Corporan drew a walk to force home the go-ahead run.
Cortland tacked on two insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Schweitzer led off with a homer to right. Marcos Perivolaris (Mattituck) beat out a grounder to short with one out and Corporan doubled to right, just missing his third homer of the game. An intentional walk to Colin BeVard (Syracuse/West Genesee) loaded the bases and Mat Bruno (Rye) hit into a fielder's choice force out to drive home Perivolaris.
Cortland is scheduled to play eight games starting next Friday on a spring break trip to Georgia. The trip starts with neutral-site games versus Marietta of Ohio Friday and Adrian of Michigan Saturday in a tournament at by Berry College in Rome, Ga., followed by a game Sunday versus the host Vikings.