Cortland to Host Four-Team NCAA Baseball Regional May 20-22
Cortland Sports Information Department
The SUNY Cortland baseball team has received a berth into the 60-team NCAA Division III playoffs for the 29th straight season and the 30th time overall. The Red Dragons (33-10) will be the top seed and host of a four-team, double-elimination regional Friday through Sunday, May 20-22, at Wallace Field on the Cortland campus.
Cortland will play fourth-seeded Bridgewater St. (Mass.) (30-13) on Friday at 10 a.m., followed by second-seeded Endicott (Mass.) (36-7) versus third-seeded St. John Fisher (30-14) at 1:30 p.m. The regional will continue with three games on Saturday, starting at 8:30 a.m., and a championship round of one or two games Sunday at 11 a.m. Ticket prices will be announced.
The winner of the Cortland regional will face the winner of the SUNY Brockport-hosted regional in a best-of-three super regional May 27-28, with that winner advancing to the NCAA Division III World Series June 3-8 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The championship will be in Cedar Rapids for the third time (2019, 2021-22).
Cortland, led by 23rd-year head coach Joe Brown, earned its NCAA berth after winning its second straight State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title and 36th overall last weekend in Oswego. The Red Dragons, seeded second and ranked 12th nationally in Division III, went 3-0 at the tournament with a 6-5 win over third-seeded and 22nd-ranked Brockport in the first round, an 11-9 win over top-seeded and 11th-ranked Oswego in the winner's bracket final, and a 12-9 victory versus Brockport in the championship round.
Cortland's run of 29 straight national tournament appearances (1993-2019, 2021-22) extends its NCAA Division III record. The Red Dragons' streak is the second-longest longest active streak on an NCAA level, behind only Division I Florida State (43 straight from 1978-2019, 2021).
Cortland has won 16 regional titles (1995, 1997-2001, 2005, 2007-08, 2010, 2012, 2014-16, 2019, 2021). Of those, 15 sent the Red Dragons to the World Series. In 2019, Cortland hosted and won a four-team regional before losing in a super regional at Babson in the first year the regional/super regional format was employed. Last year, Cortland won a six-team regional in Auburn, N.Y. to advance to the World Series as the NCAA playoffs featured a reduced field and temporarily reverted back to a regional/World Series format due to COVID-19 concerns.
Cortland won the 2015 national title and finished second in both 2005 and 2010. The Red Dragons have also placed third nationally four times (1997, 1998, 2016, 2021) and fourth twice (2007, 2012) among their 15 World Series trips.
Bridgewater State is making its 15th NCAA tournament appearance and first since back-to-back trips in 2011 and 2012. The Bears earned an NCAA automatic berth after winning the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) tournament last weekend.
Endicott has qualified for the NCAA playoffs for the seventh time overall and first since 2014. The Gulls won the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship last weekend to earn an NCAA automatic bid.
St. John Fisher is making its second straight NCAA showing and seventh overall. The Cardinals earned a berth after successfully defending their Empire 8 title last weekend. St. John Fisher advanced to the Division III World Series in 2016.
2022 NCAA Division III Baseball Regional - at Wallace Field (Cortland, N.Y.)
Friday, May 20
Game 1: #1 SUNY Cortland (33-10) vs. #4 Bridgewater St. (30-13), 10 a.m.
Game 2: #2 Endicott (36-7) vs. #3 St. John Fisher (30-14), 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 21
Game 3: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 8:30 a.m.
Game 4: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 12 p.m.
Game 5: Winner of Game 3 vs, Loser of Game 4, 3:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 22
Game 6: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5, 11 a.m.
Game 7: Same teams as Game 6, if necessary
