The second-seeded Cortland varsity baseball team topped seventh-seeded New Hartford, 14-2, in the Section III Class A quarterfinals on Thursday at Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex.
“That was a great win. All of the bats were heavy,” said senior outfielder Maximillian Gambitta.
The Tigers (18-3) move on to face third-seeded Christian Brothers Academy in the semifinal round at 4 p.m. Saturday at Onondaga Community College.
Cortland’s impending matchup against the Brothers is a rematch of last season’s sectional semifinal contest. CBA came away with a 6-3 victory in that game.
“I’m pumped. It’s time to get some revenge,” Gambitta said.
Against the Spartans (9-7) Thursday, Cortland 10 runs between the second and third innings for a commanding 10-0 advantage. After New Hartford scored two runs in the top of the fourth for a 10-2 deficit, the Tigers scored four more runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth to round out their scoring effort.
“Our bats helped us out early there, which is always fun to see. It took a lot of pressure off of our pitching staff,” Cortland coach Ben Albright said.
Tyler Blake led the Tigers with two triples, a single, three runs scored and two RBIs. Caden Albright had two singles, scored twice and drove in four runs. Kooper Knabe tripled, singled, scored three runs and knocked in a run. Andrew Partigianoni chipped in a double, two singles, an RBI and two runs scored. Gambitta singled three times, drove in two runs and scored a run. Caden Congdon finished with a single, a run scored and an RBI.
“I think we hit really well. Defensively, we were really good,” Knabe said.
Knabe, who started on the mound for the Tigers, went four innings. He gave up two runs, three hits and a walk while striking out two.
“Kooper was very efficient today. It allowed us to go to our other guys,” Albright said.
In relief, Congdon and Luke Rogoff combined to pitch three scoreless innings. The duo allowed just one hit and fanned three batters.
“Our pitchers pitched great. We just kept scoring today to help them out,” said senior infielder Tyler Blake.
