Cortland bats are hot as they remain undefeated in the SUNYAC, sweeping Brockport over the weekend and extending their winning streak to 9 games.
The Red Dragons capped off the series with a 3-1 victory on Sunday in the second game of a doubleheader. Led by Will McCarthy’s stellar 8-inning start and RBIs from Dylan Mackenzie and Mitchell Kelly, Cortland completed the double win on a beautiful sunny afternoon.
All 3 runs for Cortland came in the third inning with 2 outs. Left fielder Mat Bruno started the rally with a triple against Brockport starter Justin DelVecchio.
“Off the bat, I knew it was hit a long way, but it wasn’t until the outfielder misread the ball that I thought about going for third base,” said Bruno. “I had to turn the burners on rather quickly rounding first, or else they would have had me at third.”
Bruno has an 8-game hit streak going on right now, going into it with a .317 batting average (already an impressive stat), and has put up a .469 average during the streak. But while fans may enjoy discussing the outstanding numbers he’s been producing, that’s not exactly something he likes to do.
“I try not to look at stats throughout the season as things can change in a heartbeat,” said Bruno. “While I have had a good run so far, someone else can easily get hot and put up even better numbers. The key to my success has been playing the game freely. I try to stay in each moment and understand that I am a great ball player who has been in a lot of pressure situations. I am confident that my teammates will come through behind me, which is why I have found success at this part of the season.”
Photo Credit: Jake Baglio
Dylan MacKenzie followed with a single, driving in Bruno for the first run of the game.
“With Bruno getting the two out triple I understood that the pitcher was going to try and get me to chase to get an easy out,” said MacKenzie. “In that situation any form of hit was going to do the job of scoring him and keep the inning alive so that was my only goal.”
Photo Credit: Jake Baglio
But the Red Dragons weren’t done yet. With MacKenzie on first, Mitchell Kelley capped off the 2-out rally with a home run to right center field.
“I had no idea the ball was leaving,” said Kelly. “I knew I made decent contact but seeing the right fielder run into the fence I honestly thought he caught the ball. When I was rounding third our coach asked me if that left and I said, ‘I guess so.’”
Kelly, whose third inning homer was his first of the season, has also had an impressive run during the streak, bringing his average up from .161 to .226.
“The early struggles this year were definitely tough and I’m a player who puts a lot of pressure on himself to perform at a high level,” said Kelly. “I don’t think there’s any one specific thing that has helped me recently. I just have always tried to stay positive and keep the same routine I’ve always had because it’s worked in the past. But just trying to stay positive and always going into every practice and every game with the mindset of ‘today’s the day we flip the switch’ or ‘today’s where we end the “slump”’ you could call it.”
Photo Credit: Jake Baglio
Cortland wouldn’t score again after this, but they didn’t need to. Starter Will McCarthy pitched 8-innings of 1-run ball, shutting out Brockport until the 8th. Tommy Lynch came in to close the game after McCarthy’s gem, getting his first save of the season.
Photo Credit: Jake Baglio
After a shaky start to the season, going 6-8-1 before this winning streak, the Red Dragons have really turned it around.
“We learned what our strengths and weaknesses are,” said MacKenzie. “So, in practice we have worked on overcoming those weaknesses or just outright avoiding them, and then in game trying to exploit our strengths.”