Box Score After grabbing a 3-0 lead to start the game, the Webster University baseball team slowly succumbed to SUNY-Cortland St, 10-3, at the Russ Matt Central Florida Invitational at Auburndale, FL, on March 11. The Red Dragons, ranked #4 in the latest NCAA III poll, ran off nine unanswered runs over the first four innings and coasted to victory.
Webster jumped on the board in the first when Cody Stevenson (SR, Centralia HS, IL) led off with a walk and Corey Lasky (JR, College of Lake County, IL) singled. They advanced to second and third on an errant pick-off attempt and Stevenson scored on a Ryan Hall (JR, Central Arkansas, MO) single. Lasky came home on a passed ball, moving Hall to second. Brett Buchanan (JR, Willowbrook HS, IL) made it 3-0, when he singled Hall home.
Cortland St. countered with two runs in the bottom half of the first on a single, a walk, and a two-out double that scored two. Starter Isaac Behme (SO, Harrisburg HS, IL) then got himself into deep water with two consecutive walks to load the bases, but avoided further trouble by closing out the inning with a strikeout. Behme got into another jam in the third when the first batter reached on an error by Behme, followed by a single. After a strikeout, the Red Dragons doubled to score one, and Buchanan was brought over from first base to relieve Behme. After a sac fly, Cortland St. led, 4-3.
A five-run fifth by the Red Dragons put the Gorloks in a 9-3 hole. A single, hit batsman, and a walk loaded the bases with no outs. A Buchanan wild pitch scored one, prompting his being relieved by Kevin Lashley (JR, St. Clair HS, MO). Lashley loaded the bases back up with a walk, and was then touched for a two-run double. With one out, Lashley hit a batter to load the bases again. A throwing error on the next batter by catcher Ian Foege (JR, Eureka HS, MO) sent two more runners home. Ryan Martinez (SR, Illinois Valley CC, IL) was summoned to be the third pitcher of the inning for Webster, and he struck out the final two to end the frame.
The Red Dragons, who are now 8-1, would score one more run in the eighth for the 10-3 final. Hall wound up two for four on the afternoon, with an RBI and run scored. Foege was two for three and Lasky was one for three, with a run scored and Buchanan was one for two with an RBI. Behme took the loss and is now 1-2.
The Gorloks are 3-5 on the season. They take on Central College (IA) on March 12, then have a day off before facing St. Joseph's College (ME) on March 14, as the Russ Matt Invitational continues.
