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Welcome to the home of
SUNY Cortland Club Baseball 2009 North Atlantic Region-Northern Conference Champions
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SUNY Cortland Fights In Playoffs, Finishes Second Overall In North Atlantic Region-North Conference
May 11, 2009
SUNY Cortland opened playoff play against the University of Pittsburgh in Oneonta, NY to kick off tournament play. Cortland lost a tough one 4-1. Cortland couldn't seem to get any type of rally going all game, which is surprising for the high octane offense that they have. Josh Britt was the tough luck loser giving 4 runs in 5 and a third well pitched innings. The lone run scored in the game for the Red Dragons was an RBI single from Greg Thide in the first frame. Pittsburgh rode their strong pitching and timely hitting to the victory. Cortland faced an elimination game next.
Cortland faced Lafayette next and was on the brink of elimination. Toby MacCart pitched them into the next elimination game with a complete game giving up 3 runs and striking out 4 on the way to a big 8-3 win. Cortland scored 3 runs in both the 3rd and 4th innings to secure the win. Pj Keil had 2 clutch RBI's as did senior Gabe Schaub. Phil Steinkraus and Tim Holder added 2 hits and an RBI a piece. On to the next game and a rematch with the University of Pittsburgh.
Cortland would hold on and advance to the championship round of the tournament by beating Pittsburgh 5-4 in a well played game by both teams. Freshman Mike Schepp gave Cortland everything he got and earned the win in 4 innings of work giving up just 2 runs on 2 hits. Ed Gitlitz threw 3 innings of relief to pick up the save. PJ Keil, Mike Torres, Chris Mekelburg, and Gabe Schaub all had RBI's to give Cortland a boost. Cortland would be matched up against a Club Baseball powerhouse, Penn State University, in the championship game and had to beat them twice since they had not lost a game in the tournament.
SUNY Cortland would be overmatched in the championship by a deep Penn State team. Cortland was a tired team and their pitching was depleted in this game and they knew it was going to be tough. After 5 innings Cortland was hanging in there only down 4-1 but in the 6th inning the wheels fell off as they gave up 7 runs in the frame. Penn State would go on to win the game 14-2 and advance to the NCBA World Series. Cortland finished in a modest second place and finished up the season ranked 24th in the entire nation. Quite the season for the Red Dragons as we look forward to a promising 2009-2010 campaign.
Cortland Takes 2 out of 3 From UMass To Take The Conference Crown
May 3, 2009
SUNY Cortland came into the weekend needing to win at least 2 out of 3 to have any shot at qualifying for the North Atlantic Region-North Conference tournament. And that is just what they did. SUNY Cortland took the first and third games of the series, the clincher in thrilling fashion, to clinch a playoff spot.
Cortland came out of the gate in Game 1 of a 2 Game doubleheader on Saturday firing on all cylinders and jumped all over UMass pitching and got the mercy victory 11-1. The offense was supplied with power by both Alex Santa and Mike Torres who each hit home runs (Santa's a 2-run shot while Torres' was a 3-run shot). Phil Steinkraus added two RBI's while Tim Holder added two hits and two RBI's. Josh Britt shined on the mound going 5 innings allowing just 1 earned run on 3 hits along with 3 strikeouts.
Cortland didn't get the result they wanted in Game 2 of the doubleheader, getting crushed by UMass 17-2. One of the only highlights of the game from Cortland was a 2 run opposite field home run by Tim Holder in the third inning. UMass brought their bats out this game and this would leave the conference up to one more game on Sunday morning.
Cortland got the clinching victory Sunday morning in a thrilling 12 inning game as they came back and held on 14-13. Cortland entered the bottom of the third inning down 8-0 and seemed all but done. They went on to score 3 in that inning to cut the lead to 8-3. UMass scored 2 runs each in the 5th and 6th and one in the 7th. But Cortland scored 6 in the 6th and 1 in the 7th to force make it a 13-12 game in favor of UMass. The big hit of the game for the Red Dragons was a 6th inning grand slam by Matt Mitchell to put Cortland back into the game. Cortland tied it with one run in the bottom of the 8th. Neither team scored in the 9th, so extra innings were going to happen. After 3 shutout innings, Cortland finally scored a run in the bottom of the 12th on a game winning RBI single by Gabe Schaub. This advances Cortland to the N.A.R.-N.C tournament where they will vie for a chance to get to the World Series in Florida.
Cortland Sweeps Weekend Series Vs. Cornell
April 18-19, 2009
Ithaca, NY
The Cortland baseball club (9-3) swept a 3 game series against Cornell this past weekend. Trailing in the first game in the top of the 7th, Tim Holder hit a game tying home run. Using this momentum, the Red Dragons scored four more runs that inning. Toby MacCart pitched a complete game, and the Red Dragons won 8-4.
In game two, the Red Dragons jumped to an early lead and never looked back, winning 10-4. Rob Terry helped earn the win by pitching two strong innings in relief. Adding to the success were home runs hit by Steve Campbell and Greg Thide.
On Sunday, during the final game the Red Dragons won 10-6, behind 7 strong innings from Josh Britt, and home runs hit by Scott Hamlin, and Alex Santa. Cortland will host UMass this Saturday and Sunday at Beaudry Park in Cortland. Double-header action kicks off at 12pm on Saturday and again on Sunday at 12pm.
Cortland Upended By Syracuse This Weekend, Lose 2 out of 3
April 1, 2009
Cortland faced off with Syracuse this past weekend at Dryden Elementary School for 3 games. The first game of a doubleheader this past Saturday was a good start for SUNY Cortland, who mercied Syracuse 10-0, but that would be their only good news of the weekend. Toby MacCart toed the rubber for the Red Dragons and threw 5 shutout innings along with seven strikeouts and only surrendered three hits. Junior Greg Thide cranked a two run home-run in his first Club Baseball at bat and added another RBI in a later at bat and Cortland never looked back from there. Ryan Elsasser and Dan Barcavage each hit solo shots for the Dragons to power the offense. Josh Britt threw an inning of shutout ball. Tim Holder went 2 for 2 with 2 RBI's and Cortland's defense also looked very well. But this would be their only highlight of the weekend.
The second of this doubleheader didn't work out as well as the first as Syracuse hung in there and won 7-6 on a walk-off home-run in the bottom of the 7th to give SUNY Cortland their first loss of the season. Bruce Bradley went 5 and a third innings surrendering 5 runs on 5 hits while striking out 6 and walking only one. He left with the lead thanks to Steve Campbell's 3 for 4 effort and P.J. Kiel's 3 for 3 day along with 2 RBI's. Josh Britt relieved Bradley and would blow the lead in the bottom of the 6th by giving up 3 runs. Cortland entered their last at bat down one and needed that run to keep the game alive. Tim Holder lead off with an opposite field double and than moved to third on a wild pitch. P.J Kiel drove in the game's tying run with a sac fly to right field. Cortland had new life but that would soon be gone. With one out in the bottom of the 7th, Britt yielded a high fly ball to center and the ball was just out of the reach of center fielder Steve Campbell and sailed over the fence for a game winning solo home-run.
On Sunday, these two teams faced off for the rubber game of a 3 game set. What occurred was a slugfest as Syracuse wound up on top with an 18-15 victory. There were a combined 26 hits (Cortland 10, Syracuse 16), 30 walks (Cortland 16, Syracuse 14) and 11 errors (Cortland 3, Syracuse 8). Pitching was not the story here as Ed Gitlitz started and gave up 5 runs (1 earned) in 1 and a third innings pitched and earned the loss. A combined relief effort of Mike Schepp, Anthony Nappi, and Robinson Terry could not get the job done either as they surrendered a combined 13 runs. Some hitting highlights for Cortland were Steve Campbell's three-run blast, Mike Torres' two-run bomb and Phil Steinkraus' home-run. Pitching just couldn't get it done as Cortland tried to rally in the top of the 9th with 4 runs but couldn't push across anymore for the day. After this series Cortland is tied for first with a 4-2 record and Syracuse sits in second behind the three way tie at 3-3.
Spring Season Preview
February 27, 2009
The season looks very bright for the Red Dragons this season and Manager Bruce Bradley gave us a bit of an outlook of what to expect and what he looks forward to. Bradley says, "The spring season is very important for us, we are currently 3-0 and in first place in our conference. If we play well we will be going to Oneonta for regionals. We have 12 games against our conference this semester and all of them are important. Look out for leadoff man Steve Campbell in center field, he hits well and covers a lot of ground in center field. Also we have Mike Torres coming back for his last semester, he hit a big grand-slam for us in the Williamsport tournament that we won." Other notable players to watch out for are Starting Pitchers Toby MacCart and Bruce Bradley, Right Fielder Gabe Schaub, and Shortstop Tim Holder. Bradley was also quoted saying, "I think we have a great team. We have a solid pitching staff and a great lineup that can hit for power and average. The Williamsport Warmup tournament showed that we can compete with the best teams in our region. I think we have what it takes to win the conference this year." So look out for a big season from this team and hopefully they get deep into playoff baseball.
2008 Williamsport Champions
October 6, 2008 -- Cortland Club Baseball Team Claims 2nd Williamsport Championship in 3 Years
The Club Baseball team went into Williamsport, PA with a young team, but a winning mindset as they tried to vindicate a sub-par showing in last year’s tournament. They won 4 out of their 5 games due to timely hitting and great pitching on their route to the title.
In the team’s first game, they squandered a great pitching performance by Junior Toby MacCart (5 IP, 1ER, 2H, 7K, 7BB) against the University at Buffalo. The Red Dragons took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the 7th inning where consecutive singles, a defensive miscue, and a walk-off homerun lead to them losing 7-4. Sophomore Tim Holder went 2-4 with a double and a run scored in the loss.
Since the tournament’s format is “Pool Play”, Cortland’s next game vs. Lafayette College was a must-win. Starting pitcher and Coach Bruce Bradley took this mindset into the game. “Yea there’s always nerves when you’re starting a must win-game, but we just had to keep the game close, limit the damage, and give ourselves a chance to win,” said Bradley. Bradley did give his team a chance to win, going 5 strong innings giving up 2 runs, 3 hits, 5 strikeouts, and 4 walks. With the team being down 2-0 after two innings, the Red Dragons responded by scoring 6 runs in the 3rd, which was capped by a majestic 400-foot grand slam by Senior Mike Torres. That inning and also a pinch-hit home run by Sophomore Phil Steinkraus propelled Cortland to a 9-5 win. “Torres’ grand slam really turned the tournament for us,” said Bradley
In the afternoon game, the team played Alfred University. An 8-run first inning which included 8 walks and 8 stolen bases boosted them to a 17-1 victory which locked them up the number 1 seed in Sunday’s championship rounds. Freshman Alex Santa went 2-3 with a double and 2 runs scored.
Cortland played the University of Pittsburgh in their semi-final game. Sophomore Josh Britt was the starting pitcher for the Red Dragons as he went 4 1/3 innings and gave up 2 earned runs. Senior Dan Huestis entered the game as pitcher in the 5th inning with 1 out and 2 men on. He proceeded to strike out the next two batters, squandering the Panthers rally. Huestis finished as the winning pitcher, going 2 2/3 innings giving up 0 earned runs, 0 hits, and 0 walks, leading to a 4-2 win. “I felt like my pitches were working, and that would allow me to deny their offense,” said Huestis.
In the championship game, the team played Hofstra University. Cortland took a 1-2 deficit into the bottom of the 5th inning, when Britt led off the inning with a single, which started an 8-run rally for the Red Dragons. In the rally, Torres added a 2-RBI single, and Senior Gabe Schaub added a 3-run triple with the bases loaded. They took the momentum of that rally and great relief pitching by Toby MacCart (2 IP, 1K, 0 ER, 1 BB) to beat Hofstra 9-5.
Cortland has a 3-game series against the University of Albany this weekend at home.
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