May 20, 2016
Red Dragons Pull Away from Ramapo, 13-4, to Advance to Regional Championship Round
Cortland Sports Information Department
AUBURN, N.Y. – Nick Hart (Fredonia) went 5-for-7 and Steven Figueroa (Bronx/St. Raymond's) homered and drove in three runs as Cortland advanced to the championship round of the NCAA Division III New York Regional with a 13-4 win over Ramapo College.
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Cortland improved to 40-5 for its second straight 40-win season and the eighth in school history. The Red Dragons will play noon Saturday against an opponent to be determined needing one win to advance to the NCAA Division III World Series. If Cortland loses that game, a winner-take-all game will follow Saturday for the regional crown.
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Tournament Web Page
Jeff Cooke (Rome/Rome Free Academy) pitched into the ninth inning for his seventh win in eight decisions this spring. He allowed three runs in the third and was charged with a run in the ninth after he exited. He scattered 10 hits, struck out nine and walked three.
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Cortland finished the game with 20 hits and seven walks and left 16 runners on. Figueroa hit a solo homer in the first and also doubled for his two hits in seven at-bats. He scored twice in addition to his three RBI. Matt Personius (Binghamton/Chenango Valley) was 3-for-4 with two RBI, and Connor Griffin went 1-for-3 with a three-run double and three RBI.
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Also for the Red Dragons, Fabio Ricci (Hawthorne/Westlake) and Justin Teague (North Syracuse/Cicero-North Syracuse) each went 2-for-5 with a walk and Conrad Ziemendorf (Penfield/Webster Schroeder) and Paul Dondero (East Islip) were each 2-for-6 with an RBI.
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Scott Paulus and Joe Crabbe each went 2-for-4 for Ramapo (35-11-1), which has to play Friday night versus either Susquehanna or Castleton for the right to move into Saturday's championship round. Eli Garcia started for the Roadrunners and allowed eight hits and four runs in four and a third innings with a walk and two strikeouts.
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Cortland led 2-0 after two and a half innings on Figueroa's homer in the first and his RBI groundout in the third. Ramapo, however, took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the third. Brandon Martinez singled in two runs and, with two outs, Paulus hit an RBI single through the right side.
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Cortland regained the lead with two runs in the top of the fifth. Ricci doubled with one out and scored on an Austin Clock (Niskayuna) double. Tyler Curto relieved Garcia and Ziemendorf singled up the middle to drive home Clock and put Cortland up 4-3.
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The Red Dragons pushed across four runs in the sixth to go up 8-3. Hart, who recorded hits in each of the last four innings, led off with sixth with a single. He is the first Cortland player this season to record five hits in a game. Figueroa doubled down the left field line to score Hart and Ricci walked. Ramapo got the next two Cortland batters out, but Dondero hit an RBI single through the left side and, after a steal, Personius lined a two-run single up the middle.
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Cortland finished its scoring with five runs in the top of the ninth. Griffin hit a two-out, three-run double, followed by a Teague RBI single and Hart RBI double.
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Cooke faced the first two Ramapo batters in the top of the ninth and got a groundout before pinch hitter Jared Ensmenger doubled. Jason Martin (Turin/South Lewis) relieved Cooke and, after a walk, ended the game with a strike out/caught stealing double play. Ensmenger crossed the plate from third during the play to create the final score.
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AUBURN, N.Y. – Nick Hart (Fredonia) went 5-for-7 and Steven Figueroa (Bronx/St. Raymond's) homered and drove in three runs as Cortland advanced to the championship round of the NCAA Division III New York Regional with a 13-4 win over Ramapo College.
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Cortland improved to 40-5 for its second straight 40-win season and the eighth in school history. The Red Dragons will play noon Saturday against an opponent to be determined needing one win to advance to the NCAA Division III World Series. If Cortland loses that game, a winner-take-all game will follow Saturday for the regional crown.
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Tournament Web Page
Jeff Cooke (Rome/Rome Free Academy) pitched into the ninth inning for his seventh win in eight decisions this spring. He allowed three runs in the third and was charged with a run in the ninth after he exited. He scattered 10 hits, struck out nine and walked three.
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Cortland finished the game with 20 hits and seven walks and left 16 runners on. Figueroa hit a solo homer in the first and also doubled for his two hits in seven at-bats. He scored twice in addition to his three RBI. Matt Personius (Binghamton/Chenango Valley) was 3-for-4 with two RBI, and Connor Griffin went 1-for-3 with a three-run double and three RBI.
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Also for the Red Dragons, Fabio Ricci (Hawthorne/Westlake) and Justin Teague (North Syracuse/Cicero-North Syracuse) each went 2-for-5 with a walk and Conrad Ziemendorf (Penfield/Webster Schroeder) and Paul Dondero (East Islip) were each 2-for-6 with an RBI.
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Scott Paulus and Joe Crabbe each went 2-for-4 for Ramapo (35-11-1), which has to play Friday night versus either Susquehanna or Castleton for the right to move into Saturday's championship round. Eli Garcia started for the Roadrunners and allowed eight hits and four runs in four and a third innings with a walk and two strikeouts.
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Cortland led 2-0 after two and a half innings on Figueroa's homer in the first and his RBI groundout in the third. Ramapo, however, took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the third. Brandon Martinez singled in two runs and, with two outs, Paulus hit an RBI single through the right side.
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Cortland regained the lead with two runs in the top of the fifth. Ricci doubled with one out and scored on an Austin Clock (Niskayuna) double. Tyler Curto relieved Garcia and Ziemendorf singled up the middle to drive home Clock and put Cortland up 4-3.
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The Red Dragons pushed across four runs in the sixth to go up 8-3. Hart, who recorded hits in each of the last four innings, led off with sixth with a single. He is the first Cortland player this season to record five hits in a game. Figueroa doubled down the left field line to score Hart and Ricci walked. Ramapo got the next two Cortland batters out, but Dondero hit an RBI single through the left side and, after a steal, Personius lined a two-run single up the middle.
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Cortland finished its scoring with five runs in the top of the ninth. Griffin hit a two-out, three-run double, followed by a Teague RBI single and Hart RBI double.
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Cooke faced the first two Ramapo batters in the top of the ninth and got a groundout before pinch hitter Jared Ensmenger doubled. Jason Martin (Turin/South Lewis) relieved Cooke and, after a walk, ended the game with a strike out/caught stealing double play. Ensmenger crossed the plate from third during the play to create the final score.
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