Oswego State baseball took home two wins out of a three-game series against SUNY Brockport, and another win against Ithaca College. 

The Lakers started their weekend in a doubleheader matchup against the Brockport Eagles at Onondaga Community College Baseball Complex on April 13. 

The Golden Eagles started the first game out with a 5-0 lead against the Lakers up until the bottom of the second inning. By the bottom of the third inning, the Lakers caught up to the Golden Eagles as Trey McGowan made the first run of the game, followed by a three-home run by Tishawn Featherstone, putting the Lakers only down by one in a score of 5-4. At the bottom of the fifth, Jacob Levine hit the second three-run home run for the Lakers, allowing Featherstone and Daniel Winchester to score, tying the game 7-7. As they tied up the score, this gave them the momentum they needed to eventually take the win against the Golden Eagles. Owen Parliament doubled to right field in the bottom of the sixth, while Jelani Hamer and McGowan scored; this put the Lakers in the lead by two points. The Golden Eagles responded quickly and tied up the game by the bottom of the seventh at 9-9 as Jason Mansell advanced to third due to an error on the Lakers’ part. Despite the Golden Eagles tying up the game again, a homer to left field by Featherstone gave the Lakers a one-point edge over the Golden Eagles, winning this first matchup 11-10. 

In the second game, both teams saw a scoreless first inning. Featherstone was the first to score out of either team with a two-run home run to left field in the bottom of the second. By the third, the Golden Eagles managed a 3-2 lead on the Lakers. In the same inning, Hamer doubled down the left field line scoring Blake VanDreason and Greg Carullo, which put the Lakers back into the lead 4-3. The Lakers managed to stay in the lead through the rest of the innings. In the seventh inning, the Golden Eagles picked things up. After three runs and an error by the Lakers, the Golden Eagles took on a one-point lead of 7-6. By the bottom of the seventh, Featherstone flew out to right field, scoring Hamer and tying up the game. Zach Eldred’s homer in the eighth solidified the 9-7 win for the Golden Eagles.

The next day on April 14, the Lakers traveled to Auburn, N.Y. to take on the Golden Eagles once again, securing another win against them. This faceoff started much like their last meeting, with another scoreless first inning. By the bottom of the second, the Lakers had a 2-0 lead against the Golden Eagles. They managed to keep the Golden Eagles from scoring up to the top of the eighth, where Brian Tietjen, David Belsito and Josh Indek gained three points for them. The Lakers were able to prevent them from adding on any other points, taking a 5-3 win against them. 

After taking a day off, the Lakers returned on the diamond, traveling to Ithaca on April 16 to face the Ithaca Bombers. 

Much like their last meeting, the Lakers prevented the Bombers from scoring any points until the second, where they held a 7-0 lead over the Bombers the entirety of the first. By the bottom of the third, Collin Feeny, Camden Laney and Tyler Pugliese scored for the Bombers, making them only trailing the Lakers by three at 7-4. McCarthy’s single to left field lead to the Lakers brought the score to 9-4 by the bottom of the fourth. Another wild pitch from the Bombers allowed Carullo to score at the bottom of the seventh. Pugliese and Brawdy of the Bombers managed two more runs in the eighth, but it would not be enough for the Bombers to catch up to the Lakers, as they took the win again 11-6. 

The Lakers will take on the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons in a three-game series starting with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 20 at noon and 3:30 p.m., and noon on April 21. The Red Dragons are currently ranked right above the Lakers in the SUNYAC and remain undefeated in the conference. 

Photo by: Oswego Athletics