The Baseball Observer April 2015 vol 2 | Page 14

Cortland Sweeps Oswego to Clinch SUNYAC Regular-Season Crown; Triple Play Ends Game 1 Courtesy Cortland Athletics 4/21/15: OSWEGO, N.Y. – The Cortland baseball team clinched the SUNYAC regular-season title and earned the right to host the four-team conference postseason tournament May 1-3 with a doubleheader sweep at Oswego. The nationally top-ranked Red Dragons (29-2, 14-1 SUNYAC) turned a triple play in the bottom of the seventh to seal a 3-1 win in the seven-inning opener. Cortland locked up the league's top seed with a 5-1 victory in the nine-inning nightcap. Cortland has hosted the SUNYAC tournament every year since 1997. That includes every season since 1998, the first year that the conference switched from a divisional format to a full-league format in which the top seed is granted tournament hosting rights. Game 1: Cortland 3, Oswego 1 (Box Score) Junior Seth Lamando threw a three-hitter with six strikeouts and two walks to improve to 4-0 on the season. He retired the first 11 batters he faced before allowing an Eric Hamilton solo homer in the fourth that cut Cortland's lead to 3-1. In the bottom of the seventh, Hamilton drew a leadoff walk and Myles Kutscher singled through the right side. The next batter then popped up a bunt to Lamando, who threw to shortstop Anthony Simon to double up Hamilton. Simon then threw to first baseman Austin Clock to double up Kutscher to end the game and give Cortland's its first triple play since the opening game of the 2010 NCAA Div. III Regionals versus Castleton State. Cortland took the lead with two runs in the third off Oswego starter Brendyn Karinchak. Sophomore Matthew Michalski led off with a single and went to second on a wild pitch. On an ensuing bunt by Patrick Schetter, Michalski was caught in a rundown between second and third. A throwing error, however, allowed Michalski to reach third and Schetter to go to second. Justin Teague followed with an RBI groundout to second. Donny Castaldo was hit by a pitch, and Conrad Ziemendorf brought in a run with a fielder's choice force out. The Red Dragons added a run in the fourth when Simon singled, moved to second on a Clock sac bunt and scored on Mark DeMilio's RBI single to center.