NEWARK, N.Y. – P.J. Rinaldi (Bethel, CT) and Max Rosing (Rockville Centre/South Side) combined to drive in eight runs as nationally fifth-ranked Cortland defeated Farmingdale State, 14-5, in a winner's bracket game at the NCAA Div. III New York Baseball Regional.
The game started on Thursday, but was halted by rain in the bottom of the seventh with Cortland leading 10-5. The contest resumed Friday at 4:30 p.m. and took 29 minutes to complete.
Cortland (33-8) will face either Kean (N.J.) or Amherst (Mass.) in the winner's bracket final of the eight-team, double-elimination tournament Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
Rinaldi finished 3-for-4 with a double and five RBI and Rosing went 2-for-5 with a double and three RBI. Mark DeMilio (Valhalla) was 3-for-6 with an RBI and two runs.
Three other Red Dragons registered multiple hits. Anthony Iacomini (South Salem/John Jay-Cross River) ended 2-for-5 with a triple, walk, RBI and three runs, Conrad Ziemendorf (Penfield/Webster Schroeder) was 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs and Tim Panetta (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) finished 2-for-5 with a double, RBI and two runs.
Brandon Serio (Bedford Hills/Fox Lane) threw six innings on Thursday and improved to 9-2 with the win. He allowed six hits and five runs, three earned, with two strikeouts and three walks. Steve Komanecky (Auburn) took the mound on Friday when play resumed and threw the last three innings for his third save of the season. He gave up no runs on one hit and three walks and fanned two.
Farmingdale starter Matt Seelinger suffered his first loss in four decisions this spring after being knocked out in the first inning. Tom Rydzewski went 2-for-3 with a walk and Ryan Levine drove in a pair of runs for the Rams (26-12).
Cortland took a 10-0 lead after three and a half innings. The Red Dragons scored four in the first on a Rinaldi sacrifice fly, a Rosing RBI single, a wild pitch and a balk. Iacomini led off the third with a triple and scored on a Rinaldi RBI single. In the top of the fourth, Cortland scored on a Iacomini bases-loaded walk, a Rinaldi two-run single and a Rosing two-run double.
Farmingdale got back in the game with five runs in the bottom of the fourth as the Rams posted four of their seven hits. Mike Scarlato drove in a run with a groundout, pinch hitter Levine hit a two-run single and Sal Sanquini singled in a run. With two outs, Edward Bergmann hit an RBI single and the Rams trailed 10-5.
Cortland, however, allowed only two hits and no runs over the last five innings. The Red Dragons scored in the eighth on a Rinaldi RBI double and added three in the ninth on a Panetta RBI double, a DeMilio RBI single and a Ziemendorf sac fly.