ITHACA, N.Y. -- The top-seeded Cortland Red Daragons (40-7) defeated the sixth-seeded Polytechnic Fighting Blue Jays (32-11) 7-3 in Saturday's first game of the NCAA Division III Softball Regional hosted by Ithaca College. The Red Dragons will face the winner of the King's-Lebanon Valley game in an elimination game at 4 p.m.; Polytechnic is eliminated from the tournament.
The Red Dragons opened up a 6-0 lead, scoring in each of the first four innings, and outhit Polytechnic 14-9. Second baseman Donnalyn Cross and first baseman Emily Ringen had three hits apiece and three other Red Dragons recorded multiple hits.
Cross singled to lead off the game then stole the first of Cortland's four steals on the day and scored on a oneout single by Ringen. She and Ringen recorded RBI singles in the second after catcher Katie Fusco singled and third baseman Jackie Begnoche reached on an error. Cross picked up her third hit in as may innings with a run-scoring triple. The Red Dragons also scored third-inning runs on a throwing error and a wild pitch.
Center fielder
Brooke Weidman's RBI single in the fourth capped the Cortland scoring.
Shrandt hit a two-run home run in the fifth for Polytechnic. The Fighting Blue Jays scored their first run on a third-inning sacrifice fly by
Annamarie Smith.
shortstop
Shelby Bruns, catcher
Natalie Stockinger and
Laura Buzzard.
Buzzard also held Cortland scoreless with three innings of one-hit relief.
Lyndsay Roswell earned the win for Cortland, allowing two earned runs over seven innings.
Box score
