As the month of April wraps up, the Oswego State softball team remains in the hunt for a SUNYAC post season berth. The Lakers sit at 4-10 in conference play after going 1-5 last weekend against SUNYAC opponents. Overall, this Oswego State team is 9-22 heading into the final part of their 2022 season.
After dropping the first five games of the weekend, Oswego State was able to bounce back and get an 8-0 shutout victory in a doubleheader against Plattsburgh State. With the win, Oswego State is now tied for 7th in the SUNYAC standings with SUNY Brockport and Buffalo State as all the teams have eight points.
SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Cortland and SUNY New Paltz have all clinched a spot in the post season. As the standings stand heading into the weekend, Plattsburgh State and SUNY Fredonia currently hold the final two available spots.
With four games left against two Rochester based schools, the Lakers look to claim a spot in the postseason for the first time since the 2019 season. During that campaign, the Lakers were the 5th seed and were eliminated by SUNY Cortland, the eventual winners of the SUNYAC Softball Championship.
Zoe Mennig leads the way in batting average with a .450 through 31 games played. The senior catcher and first basemen is having a career year while at the plate. Mennig has already reached her run and hit totals from her previous season and has a career high slugging percentage of .740 over the course of 73 at bats. Last game, the Lakers had a season high of four hits and two runs scored.
Fiona Higgins has also been a key factor for the squad as the Laker leads the pitching group and is second on the team in batting average with a .353 in her junior campaign. While on the mound, Higgins posts a 4.20 ERA with a 6-8 record while pitching for the Lakers. The pitcher also has the most innings pitched with a total of 81.1 after seeing a total of 314 at bats.
Newcomer Mattison Phinney has made an impact in her first season with the Lakers. The Baldwinsville native with a .231 batting average and 18 total hits. The Laker has five RBIs in 78 at bats over the course of her rookie season.
Head coach Gabrielle Rivers and the rest of the team turn their attention to SUNY Brockport who enters Friday’s doubleheader on their own one game win streak after splitting a doubleheader with SUNY Oneonta on April 25. SUNY Brockport heads to Laker Softball Field Friday afternoon to decide who will pull ahead in the race for the final spot in the SUNYAC Championship.
Both teams saw each other last season during the adjusted season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The two teams would split both doubleheaders with Oswego State getting in the win column during the most recent matchup. The 7-6 win came on the road back on May 1, 2021 which featured the Lakers scoring runs late and holding off the Golden Eagles who tried to mount a 7th inning comeback.
The matchup history is in favor of SUNY Brockport who holds a 67-16 record against the Lakers all-time which dates back to 1975. While at home, Oswego State is 7-34 against the Golden Eagles team.
On Saturday, the Lakers will honor five of their student athletes with their senior day celebration. Also, game one of Saturday’s doubleheader is also the Lakers breast cancer awareness game. SUNY Geneseo will travel up Route 104 to take on Oswego State in the 93rd and 94th meetings between these two SUNYAC programs.
SUNY Geneseo also controls the matchup history between these two schools as the Knights hold a 68-23-1 record against the Lakers. The Knights have also won the last nine contests against the Lakers which started on April 21, 2018 in a doubleheader on SUNY Oswego’s campus.
The Knights enter the set of games on an eight game win streak that began on April 16 against SUNY New Paltz. SUNY Geneseo is 27-3 overall with a SUNYAC high 13-1 conference record. The Knights have not lost a game while traveling so far this 2022 season. The Lakers will look to steal a game from the Knights to improve in the playoff picture.
Photos by Oswego State Athletics
