The New York regional may be owned by Cortland, but Farmingdale is looking for revenge on last year’s loss in the finals.
They defeated Neumann (29-14) 7-2, behind the strong pitching of Mike Dolce and Alex Weingarten.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Farmingdale Rams have won the first game of the Regionals. They are hoping to advance to the Division-III College World Series for the second time in program history.
The biggest threat came in the top of the first inning, when Neumann loaded up the bases thanks to two errors, but Mike Dolce came through as he has all year long and eluded any damage.
The game flew by as both pitchers cruised through the lineups until the bottom of the fifth when David Zilnicki drove in Mike Scarlato with an infield single. He then came around to score after two wild pitches by the starter, Spillman.
The Rams tacked on four runs in the eighth on another wild pitch, two RBI triples and an RBI single.
Dolce finished the day with seven strikeouts in seven innings, allowing one earned run.
Tomorrow will be a challenge as the Rams move on to face no. 1 ranked Ithaca who beat Moravian 11-2. The Rams did defeat them last season in the Regionals in ten innings.
