Box Score Appleton, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse baseball team fell 6-2 to the State University of New York at Cortland Wednesday afternoon at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championship Series at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.  With the win, SUNY Cortland captured its first national title in school history in its 13th appearance.  The Red Dragons won the best-of-three championship series winning both games with the Eagles, including an 11-3 victory Tuesday night in the opening game of the series. 

UW-L, making its first appearance in the NCAA III World Series, finishes 36-16 on the year after going 3-3 at this season's national championship.  The Eagles 36 victories set a single-season school record, breaking the record of 34 (34-11) set in 2012.

SUNY Cortland, ranked first on the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Poll, finishes 45-4 on the season, going 5-0 in this year's NCAA III Championship.

The game was scoreless for the first five innings Wednesday.  SUNY Cortland's Nick Hart singled with one out in the top of the first and advanced to second on Anthony Simon's two-out single, but UW-L starter Joe Miller retired Conrad Ziemendorf on a ground out to first.

The Eagles left two runners on in the bottom of the fifth.  Travis Buxton-Verstegen tripled to right center with one out.  Joel Zyhowski then walked to put runners on the corners, but Buxton-Verstegen was out at home on Eric Vatch's safety squeeze bunt.  Zyhowski advanced to second on the play, but Alex Cordova struck out to end the inning.

SUNY Cortland left five runners on through the first five innings while UW-L stranded four.

The Red Dragons broke through in the top of the sixth. Vinny Bomasuto singled to start the inning and moved to second on Simon's ground out.  Ziemendorf singled to score Bomasuto to give SUNY Cortland a 1-0 lead.  Fabio Ricci followed with a double with Ziemendorf advancing to third.  Jameson Sadowske came in relief of Miller and retired Austin Clock on a ground out to second and Matthew Michalski a fly out to left field.

UW-L, ranked 22nd in the ABCA Poll, quickly responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 2-1 lead.  Taylor Kohlwey walked to start the inning and advanced to third on Ben Morgan's one-out single.  Bryce Barsness then singled through the right side to score Kohlwey with the tying run.  Shane Adler then singled on the next pitch to knock in Morgan and give the Eagles the lead.

Justin Teague singled to start the top of the seventh, but was forced out at second on Mark DeMilio's fielder's choice bunt.  DeMilio then stole second, but Sadowske retired the final two batters of the inning.  UW-L stranded a pair of runners in the bottom of the seventh after Kohlwey singled and Justin Anderson walked with two outs. 

SUNY Cortland got a runner on with two outs in the top of the eighth on a UW-L fielding error, but the Red Dragons failed to score.   The Eagles lined into a double play to end the bottom half of the eighth.

The Red Dragons then rallied for five runs on four hits and two Eagles' errors in the ninth.  Michalski singled up the middle to start the rally and advanced to second on Teague's sacrifice bunt, which was mishandled by Vatch at third with Teague reaching first.  DeMilio walked to load the bases with nobody out and Hart followed with a two-run single to center field to score Michalski and Teague to give SUNY Cortland a 3-2 lead.  Bomasuto's sacrifice bunt moved DeMilio to third and Hart to second.  Sadowske struck out Simon for the second out of the inning, but DeMilio then scored on a Cordova fielding error to make it 4-2.  Ricci added a two-run single to right center knocking in Hart and Ziemendorf for a 6-2 lead.  Clock singled with Ricci getting to third, but Sadowske retired Michalski on a ground out to end the inning as the Red Dragons sent 10 batters to the plate.

Zyhowski walked to start the bottom of the ninth for UW-L, but the Eagles were retired on a strikeout and double play to end the game.

Sadowske (4-1) took the loss for UW-L, pitching 3.2 innings, allowing five hits, five runs (one earned) and one walk while striking out two.  Miller went 5.1 innings, allowing six hits and one run with two strikeouts.

Kohlwey went 2-for-3 with a run scored for the Eagles while Barsness finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.  UW-L finished with eight hits.

Buxton-Verstegen and Zyhowski were two of 11 players selected to the NCAA III All-Tournament Team at the end of play Wednesday.

Adam Brant (4-1) picked up the win for SUNY Cortland, pitching 1.0 inning.  Seth Lamando started for the Red Dragons, going 7.0 innings, allowing eight hits, two runs and three walks while striking out nine.  Travis Laitar pitched the ninth inning, allowing one hit with a strikeout.

Hart and Ricci both went 2-for-5 with two RBI for SUNY Cortland with Hart scoring once.  Michalski finished 2-for-4 with a run scored.