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AUBURN, NY – Third-seeded Keystone College overcame a three-run deficit by rallying for four runs in the final four innings, with senior third baseman Gabe Torres (East Orange, NJ/St. Peter’s Prep) hitting a two-run single with two out to drive in senior left fielder Roberto Santana (Orlando, FL/Lake Howell) from third with the winning run, to defeat top-seeded SUNY Cortland, 5-4, to capture the 2011 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship Auburn Regional at Falcon Park.

The Giants, making their fourth consecutive NCAA playoff appearance, claimed their first regional title and will take a 36-10 record into the eight-team NCAA Division III Baseball World Series in Appleton, WI on May 27-31, where they will take on the winner of the Harwich (MA) Regional (either Western New England College or Bridgewater State College) in the opening round on Friday, May 27.

Keystone, ranked 25th in the latest d3Baseball.com poll, will also take a 16-game winning streak into World Series play, which includes the three victories in its run to the Colonial State Athletic Conference title (earning the automatic berth into the NCAA tournament) and the four wins in regional play this week.

The Red Dragons, whose lone two regional losses came at the hand of Keystone, concludes their season with a 36-10 record. Cortland, ranked eighth nationally in the d3baseball.com poll and last year’s Division III World Series runner-up, was making its 20th NCAA tournament appearance and 19th in a row, the longest active streak nationally.

Torres finished the day hitting 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, and was one four players tallying multiple hits for the Giants. Senior designated hitter Andy Vega (Glen Head, NY/Benjamin N. Cardozo) batted 2-for-5 with a run scored and senior shortstop Lance Ratchford (Oneonta, NY) went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Vega and Ratchford were two of four Keystone players on the 10-player All-Tournament team, joining senior catcher Brian Henry (Columbus, NJ/Northern Burlington) and senior pitcher Jeff Frost (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Boro).

Junior second baseman Esteban Meletiche (Philadelphia, PA/Frankford) hit 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored. He was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after finishing with a .571 batting average (8-for-14 with two doubles and a home run), a .714 on-base percentage, a .929 slugging percentage, and four stolen bases.

Junior right hander Adam Krebs (Commack, NY) pitched the final inning in relief to earn the win for the Giants, holding Cortland to two hits while striking out a batter to improve to 4-0 on the year. Junior Tom Nagy (Greenville, NY/Minisink Valley) was the hard luck loser for the Red Dragons, pitching the final two and two-third innings in yielding six hits, the tying and winning runs, and a walk while striking out two batters.

Sophomore third baseman Bryan Mistretta (Commack, NY) was the top hitter for Cortland, going 3-for-3 with an RBI. He finished the day going 7-for-7 with three RBI (4-for-4, two RBI in the win over The College of Brockport) and was one of three Red Dragons on the All-Tournament team, joining sophomore right fielder Zack Graczyk (Carmel, NY) and senior pitcher Scott Hartling (Pleasant Valley, NY/Arlington.

Center fielder Matt Wild and shortstop John Adornetto each finished with two hits and a run scored for Cortland, who took a 3-1 lead through three innings and added a run in the top of the fifth inning for a 4-1 advantage.

Keystone scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to pull to within a run when a Ratchford ground out drove in Vega from third base and a single by senior pinch hitter Kumar Piar (Kralendijk, Bonaire/Colegio Azubano) drove in Torres. The Giants tied the score an inning later as Meletchie opened with a bunt single and moved to third on back-to-back ground outs before scoring on an RBI single to shortstop by Henry, who beat the throw out attempt to first by a step.

Cortland had an opportunity to score in the top of the ninth with runners on second and third, but ended the inning on a strikeout. The Red Dragons left 10 runners on base for the game, with runners left in scoring position at third base six times.

Keystone opened the deciding ninth inning on a strikeout before senior left fielder Roberto Santana reached base on a single to left field. Cortland attempted to pick off Santana at first, but with no one covering the throw, he advanced to second on the throwing error on a dead play. The Red Dragons intentionally walked Henry before Vega reached on a fielder’s choice (Henry out at second and Santana moved to third), beating the relay throw to prevent the double play, to set up Torres’ game winning hit.