The transition from winter into spring means more than just warmer weather and longer days – it also means a whole new slate of sports to enjoy. So, as the weather begins to reluctantly change here in Central New York, let’s highlight a couple of the new sports seasons that are coming into bloom in Cortland.
Baseball
The baseball season is underway, with the team having somewhat of a rocky start to their season at a current record of 4-4.
After opening the season on a 3-game series sweep by Region V number-two ranked Salisbury down in Maryland, the Red Dragons hit a quick turnaround to rip off three straight wins in the Division III showcase against Marietta, Christopher Newport, and Lynchburg before dropping the final game if the trip to Denison.
Following a cancellation of their 2-game series versus Kean, Cortland put on a dominant display in their first home game of the season against Elmira, trouncing them 10-4 behind a big game from graduate student Mat Bruno, who finished the outing 3-4 with a home run, double, four runs batted in, and two runs scored.
The Red Dragons will now hit the road to sunny California for a seven-game road trip that will start with them facing California Lutheran University in a 3-game series beginning March 8.
Softball
While baseball season has begun, its sibling sport has just a couple of days to go before getting into the swing of things.
Cortland Softball will be in Florida to kick-off their season as they participate in THE Spring Games, which will see them play a total of ten games against ten different opponents in just five days from March 10-15. The Red Dragons broke even for a record of 5-5 at their last showing in THE Spring Games in 2022, with those five games being the only losses the team saw in neutral-site games all season.
Coming off a 24-13 overall record for the 2023 season, the conference-leading 16-time SUNYAC title winners will no doubt be looking for a strong start this year.
Men’s Lacrosse
The Men’s Lacrosse team is off to a hot start in their young season so far, coming out on top with commanding wins of 15-7 and 14-7 in their first two games against St. John Fisher and Scranton.
The next game for Cortland will be at home against Cabrini College, a rare opponent for the Red Dragons, as they have only faced off one time in the last six seasons dating back to 2018. Their last matchup at Cabrini in 2022 saw the then-12th nationally ranked Cavaliers take the win over the Red Dragons, 7-4.
After their contest with Cabrini, Cortland will be heading to Colorado Springs, CO, for their next two games against Illinois Wesleyan on March 13 and Muhlenberg on March 16.
Women’s Lacrosse
Women’s Lacrosse has also yet to lose, coming out of the gates with a swift 2-0 record to start their season in two games with contrasting stories.
Cortland eked out an 11-10 win in their first game of the season – an ultra-competitive matchup at Skidmore that saw both teams combine for nine goals in the first 15 minutes of the game.
The Thoroughbreds held a 7-4 lead heading into the half and continued to lead until Cortland senior attackwoman Toni Cashman knotted the score at 10 off an assist from graduate student attack/midfielder Amy Hoeffner with 2:33 left in regulation. The game would then go into overtime, where Hoeffner continued her heroics with a game-winning goal off an assist from sophomore midfielder Rachel Rempe.
The victory also secured head coach Kelsey Van Alstyne her 100th career win.
In their second game of the season, home team Cortland romped Utica in a 14-5 thrashing, coming out with four goals in just over six minutes to start the outing. Cashman led all scorers with 5 goals in the game.
Coming up on the schedule for Cortland are two more home games against Ithaca and William Smith, on March 6 and March 9 respectively.