The SUNY Cortland baseball team has received a berth into the 56-team NCAA Division III playoffs for the 20th straight season and the 21st time overall. The Red Dragons (35-7-1) have been chosen as the top seed in a six-team regional that will be hosted May 16-19 by Farmingdale State College on Long Island.

Cortland will play Wednesday at noon versus sixth-seeded Castleton State College (Vt.) (33-14). Wednesday’s other games feature second-seeded Farmingdale State (29-10) versus fifth-seeded Skidmore College (30-15) at 3:30 p.m. and third-seeded Ithaca College (27-8-1) versus fourth-seeded Misericordia University (Pa.) (36-8) at 7 p.m.

Tournament action continues with three games on both Thursday and Friday, starting at noon, along with one game (and a second, if necessary) on Saturday at noon Tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for students with ID and senior citizens for single-day passes. The winner of the double-elimination regional advances to the eight-team NCAA Division III World Series, which will be held May 25-29 in Grand Chute, Wis. (near Appleton; south of Green Bay). The World Series will be in Wisconsin for the 13th straight year.

The Red Dragons earned an automatic berth into this year’s NCAA tournament by winning the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) postseason tournament May 4-6 in Cortland. Under 13th-year head coach Joe Brown, Cortland reached the 30-win plateau for the 18th time in the last 19 seasons. Cortland’s run of 20 straight NCAA appearances is the longest active streak in Division III.

Cortland has won regional titles in 10 of the last 17 years. Cortland advanced to the World Series in 1995, five straight years from 1997-2001, as well as in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010. Cortland placed second in the region in 1996, 2003, 2006 and 2011. The Red Dragons finished second nationally at both the 2010 and 2005 World Series, third in both 1997 and 1998 and fourth in 2007.

Regional Tournament Web Page


2012 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament
Regional at Farmingdale State College (Farmingdale, N.Y.)

Wednesday, May 16
Game 1: (#1 seed) Cortland (35-7-1) vs. (#6 seed) Castleton St. (33-14), 12 p.m.
Game 2: (#2 seed) Farmingdale St. (29-10) vs. (#5 seed) Skidmore (30-15), 3:30 p.m.
Game 3: (#3 seed) Ithaca (27-8-1) vs. (#4 seed) Misericordia (36-8), 7 p.m.

Thursday, May 17
Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12 p.m.
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, 3:30 p.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 7 p.m.

(If four teams remain after Game 6)

Friday, May 18
Game 7: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 12 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 6, 3:30 p.m.
Game 9: Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 19
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9, 12 p.m.
Game 11: Same teams as Game 10 (if necessary), 3:30 p.m.

(If five teams remain after Game 6)

Friday, May 18
Game 7: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 12 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 3:30 p.m.
Game 9: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7, 7 p.m.

(If two teams remain after Game 9)

Saturday, May 19
Game 10: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9, 12 p.m.
Game 11: Same teams as Game 10 (if necessary), 3:30 p.m.

(If three teams remain after Game 9)

Saturday, May 19
Game 10: Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 9, 12 p.m.
Game 11: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 3:30 p.m.

Complete NCAA Selection Release