Fabio Ricci had both a double and a triple in the fifth inning. Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com

Postgame news conferences

By Jim Dixon
D3baseball.com

GRAND CHUTE, Wis. – Cortland overcame a slow start and exploded for 11 runs in the fifth inning en route to a 17-4 win over the Frostburg State Bobcats to advance to the first-ever D-III Championship Series.

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"The game started out like the regionals did," Cortland head coach Joe Brown said. "We got down a little bit, fighting with each other, yelling and screaming at each other as we are ultra-competitive. That has a tendency to bring out some special things out in us."

"Cortland was just better than us today," Frostburg State head coach Guy Robertson said. "We did a great job for four and a half innings and just got to a tough spot in the fifth inning. They got to us and we could do nothing to stop the bleeding, just a great job by them. We believed all year long that would get to tomorrow and it was just not good enough today."

Frostburg drew blood first in the third inning with three two-out runs. Lane Farmer singled through the left side of the infield. Following a sacrifice, walk and strikeout, Ricky Castro loaded the bases with an infield single that handcuffed the Red Dragons' shortstop. Zach Weiss followed with a two-run single and Nick Walker a one-run shot to right to give the Bobcats a 3-0 advantage.

"After the third inning everyone's morale was pretty high," Walker said. "Once we score the first run we normally are able to finish."

"I give their pitcher some credit, he had us early in the game," said Brown. "We were not sticking to the game plan and got outside a little bit. Five or six of our 12 outs were fly ball outs which is not us."

Frostburg starter Ryan Callahan was cruising through four innings, allowing four baserunners, but was unable to make it out of the fifth inning. Fabio Ricci led the fifth inning off with a double to left center. Matthew Michalski's single and Justin Teague's hit-by-pitch loaded the bases. A walk to Mark DeMilio brought home Cortland's first run of the inning and with a 2-0 count on Nick Hart, the Bobcats' skipper went to the bullpen with Frostburg leading 3-1.

Jason Stephens was called upon to stop Cortland's rally. Stephens finished off walking Hart and got Vinny Bomasuto to pop up to the third baseman. A Conrad Ziemendorf double, sandwiched between two singles spelled the end of the day for Stephens with Cortland ahead 6-3. The second reliever of the inning, Daniel Richardson, was greeted with a triple to deep center by Fabio Ricci, his second extra-base hit of the inning. Singles by Michalski, Teague, and Hart would combine to drive in five more runs bringing the inning total to 11.

"I was seeing the ball very well today," Ricci said. "I was happy that I was the one today that started the party. Tomorrow it would be someone else and the next day someone else again."

"We had that big inning with quality at-bats with hit after hit after hit," Brown said. "It was good to see especially after a day off."

Garrett Wiles opened the sixth inning for Frostburg, giving up two runs on three hits as the Red Dragons legenthed their lead to 13-3. Ricci and Michalski both collected an RBI on their third hits of the game.

"This was the biggest inning, you score 10-11 runs and the game is long from over," Brown said. "I have been on both sides and thats why it was important to keep the pedal down. The best thing that a coach can do at this juncture of the season is stay out of the way. Sometime we have a tendency to overanaylize, overcoach. It is best let the boys play and get quality at-bats. You play 200 odd days and keep playing the game. The game knows how you are treating it."

The fireworks continued into the ninth inning with Cortland and Frostburg scoring runs. Cortland tacked on four while Frostburg State added one.

The Cortland starter, Alex Weingarten, was in control, retiring 16 of 17 at one point in the game.

"I was just trying to keep the other batters off-balance all game, working both sides of the plate," Weingarten said.

"I though he competed through that [third] inning which could have been a worse inning, a four or five run inning," Brown said. "It was a big key to the game three runs is good and [the opposing pitcher] made some quality pitches."

Weingarten (9-1) pitched all nine innings giving up four runs, all earned, on eight hits and two walks.  He struck out nine. Callahan (5-2) took the loss with five runs, all earned in four innings. He allowed three hits and three walks, striking out two. Stephens, Richardson, Wiles, Kyle McCormack, and Tyler Hoffman all pitched in relief.

Michalski was 4-for-4 and Ricci had three hits to lead the Red Dragons. Ricci had three runs scored and was part of a trio of Cortland players, Hart and Ziemendorf, with three RBI. Casto had three hits with Walker and farmer with two. Zach Weiss was the only Bobcat with multiple RBI with two.

Cortland will play the winner of Pool B in a best-of-three series at a time to be announced. Trinity (Texas) and UW-La Crosse decide the Red Dragons' opponent on Tuesday morning, with Cortland's next game to follow, against the winner.

"Whoever we will play will be a quality baseball team," Brown said. "We are exited and confident. One of our goals is to play at the end of the season. We will get that opportunity."

"They deserve to be No. 1 in the nation," Robertson said. "Whoever plays Cortland will have a tough task. They have a complete ball club."