Led by a big offensive game from Ethan Johnson, the No. 5 Cortland baseball team scored in all but one inning to win 10-3 over No. 12 Carthage in the first round of the Section III Class A tournament Tuesday at Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex. Cortland moves onto the quarterfinals, where it will be on the road against Westhill at 5 p.m. Thursday.
Ethan Johnson had his best day at the plate of the season on Tuesday, going 3-for-3 with five RBIs. The senior, who has had an up-and-down year at the plate, was happy to come up big in a postseason game. He had an RBI triple in the first, a two-run single in the third, an RBI single in the fourth and a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
“The guys in front of me have just been consistently getting on base all season long and I’m glad it happened again (Tuesday),” Ethan Johnson said. “They put me in spots to succeed and I’m glad I could come through.”
Cortland head coach Ben Albright was also impressed with his starting catcher’s day at the plate and saw everything they’ve been working on come together at a big time.
“He definitely stepped up (Tuesday) and was ready,” Ben Albright said. “It’s huge for him to get hot right now. We’ve been working on things throughout the season. He’s been barreling up a lot of baseballs this season and it’s right at people. It’s just the nature of the game.”
Ethan Johnson led Cortland’s offense, but he was not alone. The top of Purple Tigers’ lineup all produced at a high level. Leadoff hitter Owen Johnson went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a walk, Cal Albright went 2-for-4 with two runs, Caden Albright went 1-for-2 with a walk, an RBI and three runs and Danny Jackson went 1-for-4 with an RBI batting fifth. Antonio Terrazas and Robbie Atkins each added a hit.
“We’re a dangerous team when we’re swinging the bats good,” Ben Albright said. “When we’re able to score 10 runs, we’re going to beat teams.”
“I’m glad we’re all getting hot at the same time,” Ethan Johnson added. “I feel like this whole season we all haven’t been clicking at the same time. For it to come now, it’s a great time.”
Cortland struck first with two runs in the bottom of the first inning, but Carthage responded with a three-run second. Those three runs would be the final productive offensive inning from the Comets.
Cortland starting pitcher Cal Albright tossed four innings, allowing three runs on four hits and struck out four. Owen Johnson then threw three scoreless innings in relief, walking four batters, allowing a hit and recording a strikeout.
“Cal has had a great year on the mound, but this was not his best outing,” Ben Albright said. “He battled though and got through four innings. We came in here after that and said, ‘OK, we got the lead, let’s go to the next arm.’ Owen was ready to go and took care of business.”
Cortland is 0-2 against Westhill this year, but the Purple Tigers know they can compete with the Warriors.
“We just got to stay together and get on them early,” Ethan Johnson said. “I think if we can play clean baseball and do the little things right we can compete with anybody.”
“I expect us to go up there and give them a run for their money,” Ben Albright added. “There’s a reason we’re a five and they’re a four seed, it’s because we’re both close to each other in how we play.”
BOYS TENNIS
CORTLAND
Tyler Cranfield won the Section III Division II singles championship by beating No. 3 Evan Lyga 6-0, 6-0 at Oneida High School. Cranfield was the tournament’s top seed and won seven of his eight sets 6-0 to claim a sectional title.
Cranfield will next compete in the Boys Tennis Singles State Championships on May 31 at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing.
BASEBALL
No. 7 CENTRAL VALLEY ACADEMY 5, No. 10 HOMER 0
Homer was two-hit by CVA ace Logan Judd and the Thunder capitalized on four Homer errors. CVA will play No. 2 New Hartford Thursday in the Section III Class A quarterfinals.
Mitchell Earle tossed all six innings for the Trojans, giving up five unearned runs on four hits, a walk, a hit batter and 16 strikeouts. He finished the game with 117 pitches, 82 going for strikes.
Andrew Kline and Max Franco had Homer’s only two hits, with Evan Sullivan drawing a walk and Tyler VanEtten getting hit by a pitch.
Homer finished its season with an 8-8 record.
No. 5 MCGRAW 12, No. 12 COPENHAGEN 8
McGraw opened up an 8-5 lead through two innings and tacked on three more in the fifth to win in the Section III Class D first round. The Eagles will play No. 4 Poland in the quarterfinals Thursday.
Blair Mulcahy led McGraw’s offense, going 4-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored, Owen Lea went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs, Thomas Lea was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run, Brennan Wilson doubled and knocked in three runs, Calob Sutton singled, walked and scored twice, Jaydon Bassett singled, walked, drove in a run and scored one, Foster Eaton doubled, knocked in a run and scored, Riley VanLiew singled, drew a walk and had an RBI and Owen Mulcahy walked once and scored twice.
Blair Mulcahy threw 4.2 innings, allowing three runs, one earned, on two hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. Owen Mulcahy got two outs and walked a batter and Bassett allowed five runs, four earned, on four hits and a walk with a strikeout in 1.2 innings.
No. 6 TULLY 16, No. 11 FRANKFORT-SCHUYLER 9
Four Tully players had three-hit days as the Black Knights advanced to the quarterfinals of the Section III Class C tournament, where they will face the winner of No. 3 Pulaski and No. 14 Weedsport Thursday. Nate Melton was 3-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, four RBIs and two runs scored, Andy Polak went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs, Dan Duffy finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs and Connor Bastedo was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Zeke Mohat went 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs, Will Lund walked three times and scored three runs, Ben Fleckenstein drew two walks and scored once, Wyatt Lund had a walk, an RBI and a run scored and Oscar Breitzka walked once.
Mohat tossed a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. Wyatt Lund went 1.1 innings, giving up four runs, one earned, on a hit and three walks with a strikeout. Polak threw 1.2 frames, giving up three unearned runs on two hits and a walk with a strikeout. Jesse Morgan surrendered two runs, one earned, on two hits and two walks with a strikeout in an inning. Oscar Breitzka went two scoreless innings, walking two and striking out one.
SOFTBALL
No. 9 ONEIDA 4, No. 8 CORTLAND 3
Cortland had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the seventh and failed to score, then Oneida pushed across the game-winning run in the top of the eighth to end Cortland’s season. The Express will face No. 1 Camden in the Section III Class A quarterfinals Thursday.
Brenna Hogan struck out 18 Oneida batters, giving up three unearned runs on just one hits and four walks.
Hogan also singled and walked three times at the plate, Sophie Mayer had a single, an RBI and a run scored, Madelyn Kim singled, walked and scored once, Nellie Lucas singled twice, Jadyn Willey singled once and Natalie Burns and Danika Peck each drew a walk.
The Purple Tigers end their season with a 7-10 record.
No. 1 TIOGA 26, No. 8 MARATHON 2
Marathon couldn’t overcome a few errors and a potent Tioga offense in the Section IV Class C quarterfinals. Tioga will face No. 5 Greene in the semifinals Thursday.
The Olympians end their season with a 9-12 record.
No. 11 COOPERSTOWN 17, No. 6 TULLY 3
Tully couldn’t overcome eight errors as the Black Knights’ season ended early. Cooperstown will take on No. 3 Cato-Meridian in the quarterfinals of the Section III Class C tournament Thursday.
Julia Wortley paced Tully’s offense with a double, a home run, two RBIs and a run scored, Hayley Brenchley doubled twice, Susan Kuty singled twice, Anna Pierce singled and scored, Grace McKenna singled and walked, Maria Altman had a hit and Reaghan Flanagan scored a run.
Brenchley gave up 17 runs, seven earned, on 15 hits, three walks and a hit batter with six strikeouts in seven innings of work.
The Black Knights finish their season with a 10-6 record.
GIRLS LACROSSE
No. 3 WESTHILL 17, No. 6 HOMER 4
Maria Partis and Eila Spanbauer each scored twice for Homer, but the Trojans got down 13-2 at halftime. Westhill will face No. 2 Skaneateles in the Section III Class D semifinals Thursday.
Lilly Sorenson added an assist and three draw controls for the Trojans. Spanbauer and Emma Effinger each had two draw controls, Partis controlled a draw and Izzy Small got a ground ball. Aislynn Cobb made eight saves for Homer.
The Trojans finish their season with a 12-6 record.
No. 2 FULTON 22, No. 7 SOUTHERN HILLS 11
Mackenzie Loughlin, Aliyah Mattox and Maddy Lund all had hat tricks, but Southern Hills couldn’t contain a potent Fulton offense. The Red Dragons will face No. 3 Jamesville-Dewitt in the Section III Class C semifinals Thursday.
Loughlin added three assists, Gabby Flatt and Gracie Burns each scored once, Maddie Simmons had two assists and Kameryn Meaney contributed one assist.
Kiera Reed made 13 saves, got four ground balls and forced a turnover for the Storm. Lund controlled three draws, got a ground ball and forced a turnover, Mattox controlled three draws, Flatt had a draw control, a ground ball and two forced turnovers, Simmons contributed a draw control and a forced turnover, Charlotte Hourigan picked up two ground balls, Ellie McElhannon and Wren Lawton each had a ground ball and two forced turnovers, Meaney got a ground balll and Loughlin caused a turnover.
Southern Hills ends its season with an 8-9 record.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
BASEBALL
No. 3 Moravia at No. 2 Trumansburg, 4:30 p.m. today
No. 5 Cortland at No. 4 Westhill, 5 p.m. Thursday
No. 5 McGraw at No. 4 Poland, 4:30 p.m. Thursday
No. 6 Tully vs. No. 3 Pulaski or No. 14 Weedsport, Thursday
SOFTBALL
No. 5 Oriskany at No. 4 McGraw, 5 p.m. Thursday at Blodgett Mills Softball Field
No. 9 Brookfield at No. 1 Cincinnatus, 5 p.m. Thursday
BOYS LACROSSE
No. 6 Indian River at No. 3 Homer, 7 p.m. today
No. 7 Tully/F-P at No. 2 Skaneateles, 6:30 p.m. today at Corcoran High School
TRACK & FIELD
Cortland at East Syracuse-Minoa, 4:30 p.m. today
Marathon at home, 4 p.m. today
Dryden at Sidney, 3 p.m. today
BOYS GOLF
Dryden, Moravia at Soaring Eagle Golf Course, 9 a.m. today
GIRLS GOLF
Moravia at Soaring Eagle Golf Course, 9 a.m. Thursday
