FREDONIA, N.Y. – Dan Schweitzer (Poughquag/Arlington) homered and drove in four runs and Scott Giordano (Croton-on-Hudson/Croton-Harmon) reached base four times and finished with two RBI and three runs scored as Cortland defeated Fredonia, 17-4, for its 11th straight win.
The Red Dragons improved to 18-8-1 overall and are 9-0 in SUNYAC play. Cortland has scored at least seven runs in each of its nine league victories.
Fredonia (9-13, 6-3 SUNYAC) led 3-1 after scoring three times in the bottom of the second on a Billy Sanborn RBI double and a Nicolas Fiore two-run single. Cortland, however, answered with four runs in the top of the third. Giordano walked, went to third on a Colin BeVard (Syracuse/West Genesee) single and scored on an error. Schweitzer hit a three-run homer to give the Red Dragons a 5-3 lead.
Cortland added three runs in the fourth on a Giordano RBI triple, a wild pitch, and a Schweitzer RBI double. The Blue Devils got a run back in the bottom of the fourth on a Kevin Yirinec sac fly, but the Red Dragons put two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings and four in the seventh to take a 16-4 lead.
The fifth featured RBI singles by Andrew Michalski (Buffalo/St. Francis) and Mike O'Connor (Buffalo/North Tonawanda), the sixth included an O'Connor bases-loaded walk and a Giordano RBI groundout, and the seventh featured a Matt Krafft (Cornwall) two-run double, a Joseph Dwy (Hillsdale/Taconic Hills) RBI single and a Cole Burgess (Greenwich) sac fly. Cortland's final run came in the ninth on Matthew Funk's (Pine Plains) RBI single.
Ryan Flansburg (Queensbury) entered in relief in the second and was the pitcher of record when Cortland took the lead for good in the top of the third. He improved to 3-0 with the victory. Flansburg allowed three hits, two walks and a run in two innings with two strikeouts. Mitchell Cavanagh (Oneida) went three and two thirds scoreless innings after Flansburg and gave up only one hit and one walk with three strikeouts. Shane Mugnolo (Howard Beach/Xaverian) and Nick Morena (Holbrook/Sachem North) wrapped up the game with one hitless and scoreless inning each. Mugnolo struck out two and walked none and Morena fanned one and walked one.
Schweitzer finished 2-for-4 with a homer, double and four RBI and BeVard went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs. Giordano had a triple and three walks in his five plate appearances and O'Connor finished 1-for-2 with two walks and two RBI.
Fiore was 2-for-3 with two RBI and Sanborn went 1-for-3 with a walk, RBI and two runs for Fredonia. Starter Nicholas Lawlor suffered the loss. He gave up eight runs, seven earned, on five hits and four walks in three and a third innings.
Cortland will travel to Ithaca on Tuesday 4 p.m. for a non-league game.