AUBURNDALE, FLA. – Senior Matt June's (Colonie) one-out, bases-loaded single capped a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning as nationally 24th-ranked Cortland defeated 16th-ranked Wheaton College (Mass.), 4-3. Cortland improves to 7-4 on the season and finishes the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational with a 7-1 record.
The Red Dragons trailed 3-1 entering the bottom of the ninth. Junior Brian Barry (Smithtown/Smithtown East) led off with a walk and sophomore Max Rosing (Rockville Centre/South Side) was hit by a pitch. A sacrifice bunt by sophomore Tim Panetta (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) moved pinch runner James Quinn (Guilderland) and Barry to second and third with one out and pinch hitter Chris Jackson (Wappingers Falls/Roy C. Ketcham) walked to load the bases.
Junior Bryan Mistretta (Commack) was hit by a pitch to force in a run and cut the deficit to 3-2. Junior Michael LaTempa (LaGrangeville/Arlington) walked to force in the tying run and June hit a ball over the drawn-in right fielder for the game-winning hit.
Cortland took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Zack Graczyk (Carmel) singled, moved to second on a groundout and scored on a two-out Rosing double. Wheaton, playing its season opener, took the lead with two runs in the top of the eighth. Hal Landers and Eric Jensen each walked with one out. Sean Ryan singled to drive in Landers and move Jensen to third, and Dan Haugh followed with a sacrifice fly.
The Lyons added a run in the top of the ninth. They loaded the bases on a Dan Gusovsky single, Justin Connor walk and a two-out Landers single. Senior Tom Nagy (Greenville/Minisink Valley) entered in relief and struck out the next batter, but a wild pitch on the play allowed Gusovsky to score. Nagy registered another strikeout to escape further damage, and he earned the victory as he was the pitcher of record when Cortland rallied.
Junior Mike Hughes (Albany) started for Cortland and struck out 11 batters in seven and a third scoreless innings. He allowed four hits and two walks. Cortland pitchers combined for 16 strikeouts – 11 by Hughes, three by senior Brendan Hourihan (Yorktown Heights/Lakeland) and two by Nagy, the Red Dragons' fifth reliever. Graczyk finished 2-for-4 and June was 2-for-5.
Frank Holbrook started for Wheaton and gave up four hits and a walk in seven innings. He allowed one run and struck out six. Ryan Grant, the Lyons' second reliever, suffered the loss after entering the game to start the ninth. Of the six batters he faced, he walked three and hit two. Jordan Wylie gave up June's winning hit. Landers finished 3-for-3 and Ryan was 3-for-5 to account for six of Wheaton's seven hits.
Cortland will play at Staten Island on Friday, March 16, at 3:30 p.m., followed by a doubleheader at Purchase College on Saturday at noon and a single game at Mt. St. Vincent Sunday at noon.