Devils vanquish Dragons
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Baseball
FREDONIA, N.Y -- The Fredonia State baseball team used the clutch hitting of Jeremy Borst and the complete-game pitching effort of Ricky Carlson to take game two of a SUNYAC doubleheader, downing No. 15 Cortland State, 8-4. Cortland claimed the opener 16-4.
Cortland jumped out to a 2-0 lead in game two, using solo home runs by Kevin Jackson in the second, and Andy Gardner in the third.
With Cortland up 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning, the Devils loaded the bases with one out with a walk to Joe Kephart, and back-to-back singles by Jordan Basile and Josh Greco. Rob Herrmann drove home a run with a sacrifice fly to right field. Taylor Gahagen was then hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Jeremy Borst followed with a low liner to left field, for a double. The ball scooted passed the left fielder, allowing three runs to score. A wild throw ensued in an attempt to nail Gahagen at the plate, and Borst circled the bases to put the Devils up 5-2.
Cortland fought right back, plating two runs in the top of the fourth. Steve Nickel led off with a double. Kevin Jackson singled him home. Andrew Pezzuto followed with another single, and eventually scored on a Mike Gimblette base hit.
Carslon would hold steady the rest of the way, allowing four hits over the final five innings.
The Devils tacked on run in the fifth on an RBI double by Herrmann.
They added two more in the seventh -- the first on a bases loaded hit batter, and the second on a groundout by Josh Melquist. Bryan Bongiovanni the lined out to center to end the inning.
Carlson improved to 4-0 on the season, striking out eight and walking one. Starter Nick Blanco falls to 3-3 for Cortland.
Basile finished with three hits for the Devils, and Melquist added a pair of hits. Jackson, Pezzuto and Jason Simone had two hits apiece for Cortland.
The Devils took an early lead in game one. Doubles by Greco and Gahagen put them up 1-0.
Cortland would take charge of the game with two runs in the second and six in the third, giving them a 6-1 lead. Included was Gardner's first of two home runs on the day.
The fourth and fifth saw Cortland add seven more runs, giving them a 13-2 lead. Kephart grounded out to score Bongiovanni for the Devils' second run.
Fredonia State tacked on two more in the sixth, on an RBI single by Basile, and an error by the Cortland third baseman.
Blue Devil hurler Ricky Webster would eventually slow the Cortland bats. He pitched the final four innings, allowing one run on four hits.
Matt Tone took the win and improves to 4-0 for Cortland. The Red Dragons stand at 16-7 overall, and 3-1 in SUNYAC play.
The Devils now stand at 13-5 on the season, and 3-3 in conference play. Monday's game vs. Oswego has been postponed.