CORTLAND —  Oswego State will face host SUNY Cortland in the 2016 SUNYAC championship on Sunday after escaping elimination for a second time with another thrilling victory on Saturday, this time over the College at Brockport, 9-8.

The win comes one day after the Lakers lost to the Golden Eagles in the opening game of the tournament which put them in the two must-win situations they faced today. After beating SUNY Fredonia in a pitcher’s duel to stay alive earlier in the day, the Lakers went head-to-head in a high-scoring affair with Brockport that produced 17 runs on 34 hits combined.

The story of this game was a dramatic eighth inning that featured an Oswego State hit parade, a Brockport bullpen meltdown and a controversial call that resulted in five runs and another comeback win for the Lakers.

Trailing 7-4 heading into the bottom of the eighth, a disappointing end to Oswego State’s season loomed.

John Barnes started things off, smacking the first pitch he saw into right-center for a lead off triple. The very next batter, Zach Kollar drove him in with a single and just like that, there was hope.

That’s when things got interesting.

Eli Holton was the next Laker to come up. He was 3-for-3 heading into the at-bat and looking for another knock.

Holton hit a blooper out to left field and the left fielder came running in to make what appeared to be a sliding catch. However, there was no signal from the umpires; nobody knew if he caught it or not.

With the crowd, coaches and players anxiously awaiting a call, the infield umpire raised his fist and signaled that it was a catch and an out.

Chaos ensued.

After such a delayed call on what looked to be a trap instead of a catch, Oswego State head coach Scott Landers came running onto the field in protest. Not sure of their decision, the umpires gathered and after a few minutes of discussion, reversed the call and gave Holton a hit.

Brockport head coach Justin Beach was not pleased with the reversal, as he was nearly ejected for arguing the call. Josh Martin, the senior left fielder that attempted the catch, also strongly disagreed and let the umpires know.

After the tensions dissipated and teams returned to their positions, the hitting resumed for the Lakers.

After Robert Donnelly moved both runners over with a sacrifice bunt, Wes Randall drove in Kollar for his third RBI of the game to make it a one-run ballgame.

Then Beech made his third pitching change of the game and brought in reliever Nick Jerolimov, who had shut down the Lakers out of the pen on Friday with four strikeouts and allowed no hits in 1.2 innings on his way to recording the save.

He was not as dominant this time around.

The first batter he faced was Brian Hamilton who tied the game at seven with a single. His younger brother Eric Hamilton followed with an RBI single of his own, driving in Randall to give Oswego State a 8-7 advantage. When Randall scored the go-ahead run, he slid into home plate head first, slapped the dirt with both hands and got up to embrace his teammates who were there to celebrate with him. The Lakers were fired up.

Jordan Giller finished off the eighth inning barrage with another RBI single and the Lakers went to the ninth with a 9-7 lead and the SUNYAC championship appearance in sight.

Brockport did not go down easy, though, as they scored a run with two outs in the ninth to make it a one-run game. After loading the bases with two outs, the tying run was 90 feet away for the Golden Eagles, with the go-ahead run in scoring position. But Oswego State’s closer Mickey Putillo got Brett Sanders to ground out to third, sending the Lakers to the championship.

A dramatic post-game scene followed after that final out was made.

Martin, who was involved in the controversial play the previous inning, had to be held back by his teammates after he went after the umpire who had made the call. Both teams exchanged words, but in the end they shook hands and displayed proper sportsmanship.

Because this is a double-elimination tournament, Oswego State will now be tasked with defeating the No. 1 ranked Red Dragons twice on Sunday to be named SUNYAC champions, while Cortland will just have to win one of the two.

Coming off two thrilling victories, the Lakers will try to gear their momentum toward their motivation to win their first SUNYAC title since 1996.