CLINTON, N.Y. - Hamilton College broke a 2-2 tie with four runs in the fifth and Cortland's comeback bid over the final three innings fell short as the Continentals defeated the nationally sixth-ranked Red Dragons, 7-5, in a non-league baseball game.

Hamilton evened its record at 14-14 with the victory, while Cortland fell to 28-8. The Red Dragons will play a three-game series at Oswego Friday (single game at 3 p.m.) and Saturday (doubleheader at noon), with the top seed and hosting rights for the SUNYAC tournament going to whichever team wins at least twice.

Cortland grabbed a 2-0 lead on Patrick Schetter's (Beacon) two-out RBI double in the first and two-out RBI single in the third. Hamilton tied the game in the bottom of the third on a Jacob Han two-out, two-run single.

The Continentals sent nine batters to the plate in their four-run fifth. Matt Cappelletti forced in a run with a bases-loaded walk. Another run scored on a passed ball, and two more came in on an error. Cappelletti's sac fly pushed the lead to 7-2 in the sixth.

Cortland got a run back in the seventh when Joe Tardif (Cutchogue/Mattituck) doubled with one out, Antonio Pragana (Hopewell Junction/John Jay) walked, and Colin BeVard (Syracuse/West Genesee) hit an RBI double. The Red Dragons, however, stranded runners on second and third after a strikeout and a lineout. Hamilton had a chance to extend its lead in the bottom of the inning but left the bases loaded.

In the ninth, Pragana and BeVard reached on one-out errors and Teague hit an RBI single to right. Schetter's fielder's choice plated a run, but resulted in the second out on a force at second, and a groundout with the potential tying run at the plate ended the game.

Hamilton starter Mike Borek earned his first win of the season. He allowed five hits over five innings with three walks and two strikeouts and gave up two runs. Carter King gave up three hits and a run in one and two thirds innings. Brett Sandford earned the save after tossing the final two and a third innings. He entered with the potential tying run on deck in the seventh and got the final out, then allowed just one hit, one walk and two unearned runs the rest of the way.

Three players accounted for seven of Hamilton's eight hits. Ethan Wallis went 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs, Matt McGoey was 2-for-3 with a walk, and Gavin Schaefer-Hood was 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Matt Zaffino walked three times and scored twice.

Schetter was 2-for-5 with three RBI and Teague finished 2-for-5 with an RBI. Pragana and Marcos Perivolaris (Mattituck) each earned their way on three times with a hit and two walks.

Andrew Barnes (Rochester, NH/Spaulding) started for Cortland and tossed two hitless and scoreless innings with three walks and two strikeouts. Anthony Visconte (East Islip) took the loss after permitting six runs, four earned, in two frames. Noah Ernst (Catskill/Homeschooled) gave up a run over an inning and a third, and Kyle Naugle (Fayetteville/Jamesville-DeWitt) did not allow a run over the final two and two thirds innings. He struck out two, walked one and gave up two hits.