AUBURN, N.Y. – Junior Brandon McClain threw a complete game shutout to lead the nationally first-ranked SUNY Cortland baseball team to a 7-0 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), in championship of the NCAA New York Regional, Saturday at Falcon Park. With the win, the Red Dragons advance to the College World Series, while the Engineers conclude their season with a 29-17 record.
McClain (Coram, NY/Longwood) allowed four hits, while striking out 10 to improve to 5-1 on the season. RPI junior righthander
Stephen Schiavone (White Plains, NY/White Plains) went 5.0 innings in his first start of the year, surrendering four runs (3 earned) on five hits.
The Red Dragons broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the 4th, taking advantage of an RPI fielding error. Cortland added another in the 5th, when freshman catcher Justin Teague (Syracuse, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) hit into a double play with runners on the corners.
Senior Vinny Bomasuto (Dunkirk, NY/Dunkirk) doubled the Cortland lead in the 6th, launching his second home run of the regional and seventh of the year, with a runner aboard. Later in the inning, junior Austin Clock (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) delivered an RBI-single and Teague brought home another on a fielder's choice to make it 6-0.
A run-scoring double off the bat of junior Fabio Ricci (Hawthorne, NY/Westake) capped the scoring in the 8th.
RPI senior centerfielder
Jared Jensen (Kingston, NY/Kingston) went 2 for 4, while classmate
Tim LeSuer (Oak View, CA/Nordoff) picked up his 200th collegiate base hit, going 1 for 4. Sophomore
Matt Lawrence (Chicago, IL/University of Chicago High School) finished 1 for 3.
Jensen, who hit .450 (9 for 20) was named to the All-Tournament Team. He was joined by junior
Greg Echeverria (Longmeadow, MA/Longmeadow), who threw a 9.0-inning complete game in beating Old Westbury, 12-2, on Thursday.
Regional All-Tournament Team
Tim Ingram (Old Westbury)
Mike Odenwaelder (Amherst)
Felix Baez (Keystone)
Kyle Decker (Oberlin)
Benjamin Whitener (Oberlin)
Greg Echeverria (RPI)
Jared Jensen (RPI)
Fabio Ricci (Cortland)
Anthony Simon (Cortland)
Brandon McClain (Cortland)
MVP - Vinny Bomasuto (Cortland)
