AUBURN, N.Y.--Swarthmore College Baseball is on to the NCAA Atlantic Region winner's bracket final after defeating No. 9-ranked SUNY Cortland 3-2 on Friday.
The Garnet (35-9), receiving votes in the latest Division III national poll, had never won two NCAA Tournament games in the same season until this year. They also defeated Baldwin Wallace 11-6 in the opening round on Thursday.
Junior pitcher Ricky Conti was lights out against the Red Dragons (33-11), picking up his program-record 12th win of the season in a complete-game effort that included just 102 pitches. He only has two losses on the year.
Freshman Coleson Hebble gave Swarthmore a lead in the second inning, crushing a double to right center and scoring sophomore Jared Gillen. Sophomore Kenji Yoshii also had an RBI in the second, singling up the middle to score Hebble.
Cortland scored both of its runs in the top of the third to tie it.
The final run of the game came in the fourth inning on a double by junior Charles Levitt that drove in sophomore AJ Liu.
Cortland posed its final threat in the top of the seventh with runners on first and third and one out. Conti got the ensuing Red Dragon batter to put the ball on the ground. Hebble fielded it at shortstop, he flipped it to second baseman Matt Palmer, and Palmer threw it to first baseman Cole Beeker for the double play. Conti retired the final six Cortland batters.
Seven Garnet hitters combined for 10 hits in the contest. Liu, Levitt and Hebble had two apiece.
On Saturday at 5:15 p.m. at Falcon Park, Swarthmore is set to play the winner of Southern Maine (28-13) and Salisbury (34-10) with a chance at advancing to its first ever NCAA Tournament Regional Final.