Herald sports

East Rockaway's Alex Weingarten helps Cortland to title

SUNY school wins first NCAA Division III World Series

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For young, aspiring baseball players from the northeast, getting a chance to play college ball is a longshot. Finding yourself among a dogpile celebrating a collegiate national championship is generally beyond a player’s wildest dreams.

For East Rockaway’s Alex Weingarten, that dream became a reality as SUNY Cortland won its first NCAA Division III World Series, knocking off Wisconsin-LaCrosse 6-2 in Grand Chute, Wisconsin on May 27.

The Red Dragons went a perfect 9-0 in postseason play, and finished with an overall record of 45-4. Weingarten, a junior right hander, finished the season with a 9-1 record, which included a complete-game victory over Frostburg State (Maryland) in the third game of the World Series. He struck out nine, and, at one point, retired 16 of 17 batters he faced.

Weingarten wasn’t surprised that his team took home the title. “We knew we had a lot of talent, and when we played real well in Florida at the beginning of the season, we started to feel like we could be real good,” Weingarten said. “We jelled as a team, and we were playing real well. We have a great bunch of guys who are close on and off the field. This was the most amazing experience.”

Weingarten, who earned Second-Team All-Region, voted on by the American Baseball Coaches Association, was 7-1 during the regular season with a miniscule 2.04 earned run average. He struck out 47 batters and walked only seven in 60 1/3 innings.

NCAA Division III comprises more teams (nearly 400) than any other level. The Red Dragons were among 56 teams that competed in the postseason for a shot at the national championship.

Cortland head coach Joe Brown, who was named the 2015 Division III National Coach of the Year, was impressed with Weingarten’s ability and his demeanor on the mound. “Alex took his game to another level,” Brown said. “He has excellent stuff, and can throw all three of his pitches for strikes. He’s also very poised on the mound. His confidence actually outweighs his stuff. He has exceptional confidence. Alex worked very hard on conditioning, and it really paid off.”

Weingarten, who played youth baseball in both East Rockaway and Lynbrook, was an All-County and All-State honoree as a senior at Lynbrook High School in 2012.

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