Aberdeen, Md. – Senior catcher
JUSTIN BATES delivered a walk-off single in the second game of a doubleheader to help the Montclair State baseball team sweep No. 25 SUNY-Cortland Sunday.
The Red Hawks (7-4) slugged their way to a 15-10 win in the opener before edging the Red Dragons (4-7) 11-10 in the nightcap.
The Red Hawks took a 1-0 lead after two innings in the opener, with rookie
MILES FEASTER driving in
JUSTIN BATES with a single through the right side. Starting pitcher
SEAN LEWANDOSKI got through the first three innings while allowing just three runners on no hits, but ran into trouble in the fourth. The Red Dragons tagged Lewandoski for six runs on seven hits, including four consecutive singles to open up a 6-1 advantage. Sophomore
MATTHEW MINCIELI entered in relief and got out of the inning with a flyout and a caught stealing.
The Red Hawk bats came alive in the bottom of the frame, sending 16 batters to the plate en route to scoring 12 runs. Rookie Mchael Schweyher singled to lead off the inning before Bates, and
HAYDEN REYES reached base on an error and single, respectively. Feaster laced a two-run single to center before senior
BRODY LABBE reached on an error to reload the bases. Classmate
JOE NORTON cleared the bases with a three-run double down the left-field line.
Montclair wasn't finished, as
PETER COSENTINO knocked in Norton with a single to left field.
CHRISTOPHER WALKER came up two batters later and delivered the big blow, a three-run home run to left field. Schweyher singled on a bunt for his second hit of the inning, while Bates walked. Reyes singled both of them home with a single to left-center before Norton collected his fourth RBI of the frame with a sacrifice fly.
Cortland got a run back in the fifth before Montclair finished off their scoring in the bottom half of the inning. With the bases loaded, Bates singled senior
ANDREW OLLWERTHER home while Reyes brought Walker home with a run-scoring groundout. Mincieli set the Red Dragons down 1-2-3 in the sixth and escaped unscathed after putting two runners on in the seventh. Cortland cut the deficit to five with two tallies in the eighth but was unable to get any closer.
The Red Dragons wasted little time, scoring in the top of the first inning to get the nightcap underway.
PATRICK CUCCURULLO surrendered a pair of two-out singles in the second but induced a ground out to prevent any runs from scoring in the frame. Montclair pulled level in the home half of the inning, as Labbe knocked in
ANTHONY GUARINO, who led off with a single through the right side.
Cortland pushed across four tallies in the third, starting with a two-run single from Ben Rhodes. The following hitter was Wyatt Myers, and the third basemen smacked a two-run home run to left field, opening up a 5-1 edge. The Red Hawks got to within a run in their at-bat, as Guarino and Reyes had run-scoring singles in addition to a fielder's choice from Schweyher.
Nicholas Sefcik entered in the fourth and was tagged for two runs on three hits. Rhodes notched another RBI, this time driving a run in on a groundout. Norton reached on a one-out single and promptly stole second before Ollwerther laced a two-out triple to right field to trim the gap to two at 7-5. Sefcik got through the fifth without allowing a run, and MSU was able to grab a lead in their following time up at the plate.
Guarino worked a leadoff walk and was brought in on a triple by Reyes. The senior came home on a throwing error to tie the game before Cosentino gave the team the lead with a single down the left-field line. Ollwerther capped the inning off with a two-run knock through the left side, plating Cosentino and Norton.
TYLER HIGGINS entered in the sixth and shutout down the Red Dragons, including a 1-2-3 frame in the seventh. Higgins needed just seven pitches in the seventh to retire the side.
Montclair loaded the bases in the seventh, but a double-play and a strikeout prevented any runs from crossing the plate. Cortland got within two thanks to an RBI single by James Varian, and it was Varian's two-run double in the ninth that leveled the game at 10. Cortland looked to take the lead on the play, but a textbook play by Ollwerther to Reyes to Guarino nailed the go-ahead run at the plate.
Norton started the ninth-inning rally with a single up the middle and moved to third on a single by Ollwerther. After an intentional walk to Walker, Bates came up as a pinch-hitter and lined a single up the middle to score Norton and give MSU the walk-off win.
Norton went 7-for-12 over the two games, knocking in four runs while Guarino was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate in the second game. Reyes had five RBI on the day, as Ollwerther went 4-for-6 with three RBI in the second game. Bates recorded a hit and an RBI in both contests. Varian had six RBI for Cortland, while Rhodes added three.
Montclair returns to action next Sunday, heading to Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pa. for a doubleheader beginning at 12 pm.
