The past two games for Oswego State baseball have seen some of the highest and lowest points they have experienced so far in the 2018 season, with two emotional results stemming from a heartbreaking extra inning loss and a late comeback overcoming a three-run deficit.
A dominant 11-game win streak that saw the Lakers win contests by a margin that ranged from anywhere from 11 runs to just one was derailed in an 11 inning, 3-2 loss on April 10 to St. John Fisher College.
This loss, the sixth of the season, stung particularly hard for Oswego State due to the nature in which it fell to the Cardinals. Despite this, Oswego State baseball head coach Scott Landers took an optimistic approach about the seven errors his team committed in the field during the game.
“I think we’ll be alright,” Landers said. “We had a little blip [against St. John Fisher College], and I think we’ll be fine going forward.”
Senior outfielder John Barnes chalked the loss up to a bad day and credited their regional foe for finding a way to leave the Lakers’ home turf with a hard-fought victory.
“We lost a tough one [against St. John Fisher College],” Barnes said. “We just lost a tough baseball game to a good team. They were better that day.”
The following day, the Lakers were able to find some redemption as they put together a seven-run bottom of the eighth to overcome a 7-4 University of Rochester lead to win 11-7.
“I think it’ll help us dramatically,” Landers said. “We had a bad loss [against St. John Fisher College] and we came back and had a good come-from-behind win.”
After a frustrating loss like the one they took at the hands of the Cardinals, the exciting victory was extremely valuable for the confidence of the Lakers as they look forward to the College at Brockport visiting Oswego State this weekend for a SUNYAC series.
“We’re back in the win column going into conference games,” Landers said. “I think we’ll be ready to go.”
The Golden Eagles are annually the third fiddle in the SUNYAC behind the Lakers and SUNY Cortland, but always manage to give Oswego State fits, notching one or more wins against the Lakers in every season since 2007.
Though the College at Brockport is coming into the crucial series with a middling 12-12 record, it is a team that the Lakers know they cannot take lightly.
“We know every SUNYAC game is really important,” Barnes said. “We’re always confident. We know what this team is capable of. We’re ready for another conference series this weekend.”
Oswego State had its winning streak snapped, but it may have been good timing to take the loss in order to refocus before the heavy slate of conference games looming in the coming weeks.
“I got a lot of confidence in these guys,” Landers said. “We have a very powerful lineup, and it’s tough to get through. We can come back from any deficit.”
This series also marks Oswego State’s first home SUNYAC series of the season, allowing the Lakers to have their first weekend to play in front of their home fans.
“It’s always fun playing at home in front of the fans and all our friends who come support us,” Barnes said.
Regardless of the opponent, Landers is certain that his team will have the ability to overcome any situation and come away with a win as they begin the most important stretch of the season.
“We have enough arms that when somebody has a bad outing, someone else can step up,” Landers said. “The confidence will be there. They know we’re the best team in the conference.”
Photo: Kyle Hurley | The Oswegonian
