Justin Teague drove in two runs in Sunday's game (Darl Zehr Photography)
BALTIMORE, MD. – Mike Smith hit a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to give Johns Hopkins a 6-5 victory over Cortland in non-league baseball action.
Cortland, ranked second nationally in Division III, dropped to 5-2 with the loss. The host Blue Jays improved to 3-1, with another home game versus Keystone to follow.
Cortland took a 5-4 lead in the top of the ninth when Jon Warner (Tully) led off with a walk, stole second, went to third on a one-out Steven Figueroa (Bronx/St. Raymond's) single, and scored on a Jack Massa (Shoreham/Shoreham-Wading River) sacrifice fly to right.
In the bottom of the ninth, Dillon Bowman singled with one out and stole second on a strikeout. Smith ended the game by hitting a 3-1 pitch over the fence in left.
Cortland took a 1-0 lead in the first on a Figueroa RBI double. The Red Dragons extended the lead to 3-0 in the fifth. Warner led off with a double. Paul Dondero (East Islip) reached on a bunt single, with an error on the play allowing Warner to score. Dondero stole second and eventually scored on a Justin Teague (North Syracuse/Cicero-North Syracuse) RBI single.
Hopkins was held hitless for the first five innings by Cortland starter Alex Weingarten (East Rockaway/Lynbrook). With one out in the sixth, Tommy Mee reached on an error and Brian Lin broke up the no-hit bid with a single to right. Conor Reynolds walked to load the bases. Weingarten finished the day allowing only one hit, three walks and two unearned runs with six strikeouts in five and a third innings.
Reliever Jake Casey (Homer) entered and got a foul out for the second out, but Ryan Orgielewicz drove in a run with an infield single, and reliever Billy Goncalves (Manorville/Eastport-South Manor) walked Smith to force in a run and cut Cortland's lead to 3-2.
Cortland picked up a run in the seventh. Figueroa reached on a one-out error, moved to third on a Massa double and scored on a Teague fielder's choice. Hopkins, however, tied the game in the bottom of the seventh on a Bowman two-out, two-run single.
Patrick Merryweather (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) entered at that point and struck out the next batter to keep the game tied. Hopkins loaded the bases in the eighth off Merryweather, but he registered another inning-ending strikeout to escape trouble. Merryweather, however, suffered the loss after allowing the two runs in the ninth.
Figueroa finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and Massa went 1-for-2 with two walks and an RBI for Cortland. Smith ended 2-for-3 with two walks and three RBI and Bowman was 2-for-3 with two RBI for Hopkins. Reliever Preston Betz earned the win after recording the final two outs in the top of the ninth.
Cortland will being its spring break trip on Friday at Arcadia University in Pennsylvania. The Red Dragons will play 10 games in nine days in Pennsylvania, Virginia and New York, capped by three SUNYAC games at New Paltz March 17-18.
