CORTLAND, N.Y. – Cortland hit four home runs and senior Mike Hughes (Albany) allowed one run over seven innings as the Red Dragons defeated Oswego, 16-1, in the championship round of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament at Wallace Field.

Cortland (34-9), ranked third nationally in Div. III, won their third straight league crown and 31st overall. The Red Dragons earned an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament and will make their 21st consecutive NCAA appearance – the longest active streak nationally in Div. III. NCAA pairings will be announced May 13, and Cortland is likely to be sent to a regional at Falcon Park in Auburn, N.Y., that Ithaca College is hosting.

Junior first baseman Max Rosing (Rockville Centre/South Side) was named the tournament MVP and was joined on the all-tournament team by Hughes, senior second baseman Bryan Mistretta (Commack), senior shortstop John Adornetto (Commack), senior outfielder Brian Barry (Nesconset/Smithtown East) and junior catcher P.J. Rinaldi (Bethel, CT). Also on the all-tournament team were Oswego's Mike McMullen, Andrew Lazzaro and Brian Hamilton, Fredonia's Kenny Johnston and New Paltz's David Lostaglio.

Hughes improved to 6-1 on the season with the victory. He struck out four, walked one and scattered six hits.

Cortland took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second on two-out, back-to-back homers by Barry and sophomore Donny Castaldo (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane). Barry's sacrifice fly extended the lead to 3-0 in the third, and the Red Dragons broke the game open with six runs in the fifth on a Rosing two-run single, a Rinaldi two-run homer, a Barry RBI double and a Castaldo RBI single.

Rinaldi's two-run double and junior Chris Jackson's (Wappingers Falls/Roy C. Ketcham) two-run homer in the sixth put Cortland ahead 13-1. The final three runs came in the eighth on RBI singles by freshman Connor Griffin (Cortland) and junior James Quinn (Guilderland) and an RBI double by freshman Conrad Ziemendorf (Penfield/Webster Schroeder).

Barry finished 3-for-3 with a homer, two doubles, sac fly, three RBI and two runs scored. Rinaldi went 3-for-4 with a homer, double, four RBI and three runs and Castaldo was 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI. Senior Zack Graczyk (Carmel) finished 2-for-5 with two runs and Adornetto reached base three times on a single and two hit-by-pitches.

Oswego (25-15) scored its run in the sixth when Scott Buniak tripled with two outs and scored on a McMullen single up the middle. The Lakers had only two runners reach at least second base – Buniak with his triple in the sixth and Mike Stark after a walk and two-out Hamilton single in the fourth.