Baseball Regional Champions! Ithaca Bombers Headed To NCAA Championships
AUBURN, N.Y. -- The Ithaca College baseball team completed its run through the NCAA Division III Baseball New York Regional with a 4-2 win over Cortland in the regional final at Falcon Park in Auburn. The Bombers will make their 12th trip to the NCAA Baseball Championships and will compete in the eight-team championship weekend beginning Friday in Appleton, Wis.
Pat Lemmo (Syracuse/Westhill) pitched another solid game for the Bombers, with seven strong innings where he allowed just two unearned runs on nine hits. Lemmo had five strikeouts in improving his personal record to 11-0 on the season.
Jimmy Wagner (Hilton/Hilton) pitched the last two innings for the Bombers, earning his fourth save of the season and third of the weekend. Both pitchers were named to the all-tournament team and Lemmo was named as the regional's most outstanding player.
It was Ithaca's 100th all-time win in NCAA Division III Tournament play. Only three other programs -- Marietta (154, entering the 2013 tournament), Eastern Connecticut State (115, did not qualify in 2013) and Wisconsin-Osh Kosh (104,did not qualify in 2013) -- have reached 100 wins since the Division III tournament was created beginning in 1976. Ithaca also totaled 28 wins in NCAA events prior to the establishment of Division III.
Ithaca last qualified for the Division III World Series in 1994. This victory puts an end to the 18-year drought between appearances, which was the longest in program history. This is Ithaca's 12th World Series appearance. Ithaca won national titles in 1980 and 1988, and has three second-place finishes (1976, 1981, 1986) and two third-place finishes. Ithaca's all-time record in the World Series round is 21-20.
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