Cortland Standard .net

FREDONIA — Having just been elevated to the No. 1 spot in both the D3baseball.com and ABCA Division III national polls, SUNY Cortland lived up to that top billing on Tuesday afternoon.
Starting pitcher Seth Lamando combined with a pair of relievers on a four-hit shutout and Conrad Ziemendorf smacked a two-run homer as part of a 15-hit offensive showing in a 12-0 conquering of host Fredonia.
The romp at Ludwig Field competed a three-game conference sweep for the first place Red Dragons, who are now 9-1 in the SUNY Athletic Conference and 24-2 overall — having played only one of those opening 26 contests on their home field.
Coach Joe Brown’s squad is slated return home this weekend for a three-game series with Oneonta, a single game at 3 p.m. Friday followed by a doubleheader Saturday at noon on Wallace Field.
Junior Lamando (3-0) allowed four hits and no walks over six innings, striking out six. Sophomore Jesse Winters allowed only one walk and fanned three in the seventh and eighth innings and Ryan McAlary threw a perfect ninth.
Junior outfielder Ziemendorf finished went 2-for-2 including his home run poke, walked three times, was hit by a pitch, drove in three runs and scored three times. Senior Donny Castaldo doubled three times, scored twice and drove in a run in five at-bats.
Also for the Red Dragons, freshman Justin Teague finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored and senior shortstop Anthony Simon went 2-for-3 and drove home a run.
Vincent Sherman finished 2-for-2 for Fredonia, the Blue Devils 4-6 on conference play and 9-13 overall.
Cortland scored two in the first when Castaldo led off the game with a double and Ziemendorf homered. The Red Dragons added four in the second on a Vinny Bomasuto bases-loaded walk, a Simon RBI single, a double-play grounder and an error.
Castaldo doubled in a run in the third, and Teague plated a run with a sac fly in the fifth. Cortland picked up two more runs in the sixth on an Austin Clock fielder’s choice and a Nick Hart run-producing single. Ziemendorf singled home a run in the seventh and Sean Getman hit a pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth.
Fredonia had only two runners advance into scoring position, both in the fifth. Sherman and Kenny Johnston led off with singles and pulled off a one-out double steal. Lamando, however, struck out the next hitter and got a flyout to end the inning.