The Oswego State Lakers baseball team completed their spring break trip at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational with a 6-2 stretch, improving their overall record to 12-4.

The Lakers closed out the road trip on March 17 and 18 with a sweep of their opening SUNYAC series against SUNY Fredonia, starting off conference play 3-0. Oswego State will resume SUNYAC play April 3 and 4 in a three-game series against SUNY New Paltz.

As a team the Lakers are batting .299, with seven of their players batting .308 or better. Despite going through hectic travel plans and injuries, the Lakers have been able to rely on their roster depth to pull off victories in their strong start.

“Going into the season we were deep, and we knew that, and we’ve had a lot of injuries positionally,” head coach Scott Landers said. “We’ve had seven guys out at some point for some type of problem, so the next guys have stepped in and done a great job.”

The reigning SUNYAC Player of the Year, senior Eric Hamilton, has gotten off to another stellar start, batting .404 with three home runs and 19 runs batted in. Junior John Barnes also has 19 runs batted in to go with four home runs and a .364 batting average.

This is nothing new for either of the upperclassmen, but they are relied on to carry their experience over and lead the team throughout the season.

“Obviously we have a lot of veterans on this team, and they’ve been through the grind,” Landers said.  “They know what it’s all about and what we got to get to. I think they’ve led by example more than anything. The older guys have to show the way a little bit, but it’s up to the new guys to figure it out pretty quick.”

Some of the new members for the Lakers have figured things out relatively quickly. Mitchell Cavanagh, a former St. John Red Storm, has eased his way into the starting pitchers rotation as the team’s ace.

Cavanagh is off to a 4-0 start with 28 strikeouts and a 1.38 ERA. In his last outing against SUNY Fredonia, he threw seven shutout innings in their 4-1 victory.

“I didn’t think [pitching rotation] was a hole, I thought it was one our strengths coming back. We’ve had a lot of guys improving,” Landers said. “Mitch made it even better and a lot deeper.”

Sophomore Mike Dellicarri has continued to impress for the Lakers this season. In 10 games played he is second on the team with a .371 batting average and a pair of home runs.

“Last year was definitely a learning curve coming into it, came in everyday, worked on hitting,” Dellicarri said. “This year I just want to keep it going.”

Behind the plate, the Lakers rotate through three catchers, but it has been freshman Luke Olsson who has stood out, batting .316 with one home run.

“Luke [Olsson], I didn’t know where he was coming in, he’s gotten better and better,” Landers said. “I can’t expect a freshman at the catcher position to do much more than what he’s done.”

Still early in the season, last year’s three top teams, SUNY Cortland, Oswego State and the College at Brockport, find themselves in the same position this season. A three-way race to the SUNYAC crown can be expected, but Landers and the Lakers focus on what is in front of them.

“I think every single weekend is important when you are in league,” Landers said. “Our game plan is to win three games, however that is, we need to win three games.”

Despite the layoff with the weather, the Lakers will kick off their doubleheader on artificial turf against SUNY New Paltz Monday. First pitch is set for noon at Bard College’s Honey Field.