SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Wesley Burghardt went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI and three of Cortland's five errors led to five unearned runs as Brockport defeated the nationally second-ranked Red Dragons, 6-3, under the lights at Onondaga Community College.
Cortland had a seven-game win streak snapped and is now 18-2 overall and 5-1 in the SUNYAC. Brockport improved to 11-8 overall and 4-5 in the league.
Zack Lander earned the win for Brockport. Now 3-1, Lander allowed six hits and three runs, two earned, in six and a third innings. He walked four and struck out four. Seve Kowalski threw an inning and two thirds of hitless relief with one walk, and Nick Pontari earned his second save with a scoreless ninth after entering following a leadoff walk.
Alex Weingarten (East Rockaway/Lynbrook) started for Cortland and is now 3-1 on the season. He permitted six hits and walked one in five innings. Weingarten struck out five batters, and only one of the six runs he allowed was earned. Adam Brant (Staatsburg/Our Lady of Lourdes) did not allow a hit or run in three and a third innings. He struck out one, and the only batter to reach of the 11 he faced came on an error in the eighth. Turner Parry (Camillus/West Genesee) retired both batters he faced to end the top of the ninth.
Nick Hart (Fredonia) and Anthony Simon (Suffern/Don Bosco Prep (NJ)) recorded five of Cortland's seven hits. Hart finished 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored and Simon was 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBI.
Cortland took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a Simon sacrifice fly. Brockport broke through for four runs in the fourth. Anthony Barbetto singled and took second on an error. With one out, Chris Davis hit a grounder to short, and a wild throw to third allowed Barbetto to score. Burghardt followed with an RBI double, and two batters later John Craig hit an RBI double down the left field line. Luke Gilbert closed the scoring with an RBI single to right.
The Golden Eagles added two unearned runs in the fifth. Barbetto reached on a one-out error, and with two outs Davis walked and Burghardt hit a two-run double down the left field line.
Cortland got a run back in the fifth when Hart singled with one out, stole second during a strikeout and scored on Simon's single to center. The Red Dragons tallied a run in the seventh on an error, a Vinny Bomasuto (Dunkirk) single, a Simon walk and a Fabio Ricci (Hawthorne/Westlake) RBI groundout, but left runners on second and third.
Hart led off with a walk to start the bottom of the ninth. Pontari entered and recorded two flyouts. Ricci then hit a high pop-up that a Brockport infielder lost in the lights for a hit, but Pontari got the next batter to line back to him to end the game. Cortland left 12 runners on base compared to Brockport's four.
Cortland will host league leader Oswego (9-0 SUNYAC) Tuesday at 3 p.m. The Red Dragons have also rescheduled their three league games at Fredonia that were postponed March 27-28. The teams will play a doubleheader Sunday, April 12, and a single game Monday, April 13, at Fredonia.