2001 NCAA Division III Baseball New York Regional
Tournament Statistics
Summary Stats
Team Stats
Individual Stats
Cortland State
Ithaca
Old Westbury
Rensselaer
Cortland wins the NCAA Division III New York Regional with a 5-4 win over Ithaca
Cortland Earns Fifth Straight Trip to Division III World Series Tournament
Auburn, New York - World Series Tournament Most Valuable Player Ben Albright drove in the winning run with a single to right field in the bottom of the eighth inning as Cortland defeated Ithaca 5-4 in the championship round of the NCAA Division III New York Baseball Regional. The Red Dragons, who finished 3-0 at the regional, advance to the NCAA Division III World Series in Grand Chute, Wis., a suburb of Appleton. Making its fifth straight World Series appearance and sixth in seven years, Cortland will face the winner of the New England Regional in opening round action of the eight-team, double-elimination tournament.
In the fifth inning. the Bombers had taken a 4-3 lead earlier in the inning on a two-run homer by Steve Musso and had two runners on when Sprague entered in relief of starter Kyle Johnson. Sprague induced a pop-up to get out of the jam and did not allow a hit over the final four innings to earn the victory.
Huber tied the game for Cortland with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning. He finished the tournament 3-for-8 (.375) with three walks. Cortland junior catcher Tim Belz, although not an all-tournament team selection, played a key role in the Red Dragons' championship game victory. He singled in a run in the second and doubled in a run in the fourth. In the eighth inning, Huber led off with a walk and Belz successfully bunted him over to second, setting up Albright's winning single.
2001 New York Regional All-Tournament Team
MVP - Ben Albright, Cortland State
Catcher - Scott Allen, Ithaca; First Base - Ben Albright, Cortland State; Shortstop - David Payero, Old Westbury; Outfield - Brian Huber, Cortland State; Steve Musso, Ithaca; Brendan Witherell, Rensselaer; Utility - Travis Teeter, Rensselaer; Pitcher - Mike Howell, Cortland State; Phil Benante, Cortland State; Anthony Sprague, Cortland State; Kyle Sottung, Ithaca.Results