Baseball Drops Heartbreaker To No. 20 SUNY Cortland

3/17/2011 12:00:00 AM

AUBURNDALE, Fla. (March 17, 2011) – Senior catcher Denis Ackermann gave the Ducks a 1-0 edge in the sixth with an RBI single to left, but two late SUNY Cortland runs in the eighth gave the 20th-ranked Red Dragons a hard-fought 2-1 come-from-behind victory over the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team in Auburndale, Fla. With the loss, the Ducks dropped to 1-7 overall on the season, while Cortland, fresh off an NCAA Division III World Series appearance in 2010 and winners of seven of their last eight, improved to 7-4 on the year.

Junior second baseman Tom Phillips had a hit and run scored for the Ducks in the loss, while Ackermann added a hit and an RBI. Fellow senior Russ Grimes finished 2-for-4 on the day. Stevens' sophomore starter Tyler Courter put together a strong seven and a third innings, striking out three, while allowing two runs on nine hits.

Cortland sophomore John Adornetto (Commack, N.Y.) went 2-for-2 for the Red Dragons, while freshman P.J. Rinaldi (Bethel, Conn.) finished 2-for-3. Senior righthander Scott Hartling (Pleasant Valley, N.Y.) went the distance for Cortland in the win, surrendering just one unearned run on four hits, while striking out 13.

With the game scoreless through five, the Ducks pulled ahead with a run in the top half of the sixth. Phillips got things started with a one-out single to center, before advancing to third on a Red Dragons error off of Corey Linden's ground ball to third. With runners on the corners, Ackermann came through with a big base-knock through the left side, scoring the game's first run. Looking for more, the Ducks would load the bases, still with one out, but Hartling worked out of the jam, getting a much-needed strikeout before inducing a pop-fly.

Still down by one in the bottom of the eighth inning, Cortland came roaring back notching a pair of runs off some timely hitting of their own. With a runner on first after a one out single, Adornatto singled to right, advancing to second on the throw into third, putting both Red Dragons runners in scoring position. After a Ducks' pitching change, Stevens got a strikeout to inch closer toward getting out of trouble, but pinch-hitting senior Alex Coffey (Hilton, N.Y.) ripped a two-out, two-run, RBI single through the left side, to secure the Red Dragons' victory.

Stevens wraps up play in Florida on Friday, March 18 against Transylvania University.
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