Checking in on baseball season

Fourth-ranked SUNY-Cortland defeated Ithaca College 9-5 today at Freeman Field in a battle of two of the premier Division III baseball schools in the northeast. As has been the trend over the last few years in the Route 13 rivalry, the Red Dragons emerged victorious.

Ithaca, which now sits at 20-7 overall, is still in position for a deep playoff run, while Cortland remains one of the favorites to win the National Championship. A quick look at the latest rankings shows the top few teams in the country, including undefeated Trinity University and Carthage College. Defending National Champion Kean University sits in the No. 8 spot, having already lost six games.

When Cortland loses, Ithaca wins

One of the many season-ending events that I missed in my month or so of inactivity was the Division III men’s lacrosse National Championship game between Salisbury University and SUNY-Cortland. Salisbury was victorious by a score of 15-9, securing its seventh National Championship in school history.

Being a Bomber at heart, any time the Cortland Red Dragons lose, I feel like it’s a small victory for the Blue and Gold. So much for objective reporting. But seriously, Cortland defeated Salisbury in last year’s title game, so they got what they deserved. It makes it even sweeter that Cortland jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, before squandering the lead and ultimately, the game. But now I guess I’m just being mean.

Hats off to Salisbury for not only collecting their fourth title in the last five years, but for beating up on Cortland in the process.

Sweet weather…

Well, so much for the 40 degrees and cloudy that was predicted last night. The baseball game between Ithaca and Cortland was postponed today, with no make-up date announced. To say that Hat Trick is disappointed would be an understatement. Hopefully this game happens at some point this season. As soon as a make-up date is released (if it is), I’ll have it posted here.

Rivalry transcends all sports

Anyone in the Ithaca area tomorrow should swing by Ithaca College’s Freeman Field at 4 p.m. to check out the Ithaca - SUNY-Cortland baseball game. Of course, this is assuming the weather cooperates. As of now the forecast says it will be around 40 degrees and cloudy with a 10 percent chance of rain, so things look good.

The Ithaca - Cortland rivalry is one of the best in all of college sports. The two schools are best known for the annual Cortaca Jug football game every fall. But in reality, the schools face each other in virtually every sport. In fact, the baseball teams have an intense competition going, one that has seen Cortland defeat Ithaca in the New York State Regionals each of the past two seasons.

The Red Dragons, ranked third in the nation, also handed the Bombers a 9-4 loss on April 3rd in Cortland. The score stood at 4-3 in favor in Cortland before senior right fielder Dan Maycock belted a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning to put the game out of hand.

Ithaca enters the game with an overall record of 12-8, while Cortland has an impressive 22-3 overall record. Maycock is in the midst of a career season for the Red Dragons, sporting a .470 batting average, five home runs and 37 RBIs. For Ithaca, junior right fielder Eric Ferguson leads the team with 22 RBIs, while senior right fielder Jeremy Peters leads the team in batting average (.425) and hits (31).

Make sure to check theithacan.org later Wednesday night for a complete recap of the game.