CORTLAND — Oswego State will have to wait another year for that coveted SUNYAC title, as SUNY Cortland won its sixth consecutive conference championship with a 3-1 win over the Lakers on Sunday.
The nationally-ranked Lakers were shut down by the No. 1-ranked Red Dragons’ pitching on Sunday, as starting pitcher Jeff Cooke went 8.1 innings, allowing one earned run on just five hits, striking out four.
On the mound for the Lakers was Nate Boughton, who threw 5.2 solid innings in the loss. He allowed just three runs on three hits, with two of those runs coming on a homer to left field that looked like a routine pop-up that the wind carried over the fence.
After getting runners on base in the first two innings that were spoiled by a combination of base running blunders and stranding them in scoring position, Oswego State’s offense disappeared almost entirely.
Cooke went on to retire 14 of 15 before Jordan Giller got the first hit for the Lakers since the second inning with a double in the seventh. Giller led the Lakers at the plate, going 2-for-2 with two walks.
The lone run for the Lakers came in the eighth inning when Brian Hamilton drove in Robert Donnelly from third on a ground out.
Despite losing in the conference championship, Oswego State will most likely get a bid into the NCAA Regionals after a going 32-9 this season. Cortland finishes the year 37-5 and automatically gets into the NCAA tournament for winning the SUNYAC title.
Head coach Scott Landers talked about what he saw out of his team this weekend.
“I saw toughness,” Landers said. “They fought back and won two games at the end yesterday and we had the chance to do that again today, but we just couldn’t get that timely hit… I’m really proud of our guys and all they have accomplished.”
Timely hits were eluding the Lakers all day, but the missed opportunities in the ninth were the toughest to swallow.
Cooke started the ninth for the Red Dragons and after dominating the Lakers all day was looking to shut the door with the complete game. After getting the first out on a ground ball, Cooke walked Giller, the third he gave up on the day. When he fell behind the next batter 2-0, Cortland head coach Joe Brown had seen enough and brought in Turner Parry to close things out.
Now that Cooke was out of the game, there was hope for the Lakers.
John Barnes, already with a 2-0 advantage on the count, battled through a nine-pitch at-bat to draw the Lakers’ second consecutive walk to put runners on first and second with one out.
The Cortland faithful began to quiet down, as the tying run was now on base for Oswego State.
Zach Kollar then came to the plate representing the go-ahead run. After another long at-bat where he pushed the count full and fouled off some tough pitches, Parry got the best of him with a fastball for strike three. The Lakers were down to their final out.
The final hope for Oswego State and the hero from Saturday’s come-from-behind win against Brockport, Eli Holton, then stepped into the batter’s box. There was a feeling that in the crowd that Holton was going to do something special.
With a 1-2 count, Holton got a fastball and ripped a line drive into left field. When the ball cracked off bat, Lakers fans got on their feet and cheered. But just like it had throughout the tournament, the ball was hit right to the left fielder.
Three outs, game over and the Lakers watched Cortland take the SUNYAC crown once again.
However there was reason to celebrate for the Lakers after the game when Zach Kollar, Wes Randall and Eric Hamilton were named to the SUNYAC All-Tournament Team for their performances over the weekend.
Although their season is most likely not over yet, the loss in the SUNYAC’s is bittersweet for the Lakers, especially for the seniors.
“We really would have liked to win it for those guys [the seniors],” Landers said. “The most disappointing part is that we have the talent to [beat Cortland]. I think we’re one of the best teams in the country and now we have to focus on going out and beating them in Regionals.”
In a season where they broke the single-season school record for wins, saw one of their players break the school’s single-season home run and hits records, and were nationally-ranked for almost the entirety of the year, the 2016 Oswego State Lakers will await their bid into the NCAA tournament where they will try to end their season on higher note than a conference championship.
