Coming off the back of their 2-1 series against the SUNY Cortland and Oswego State Baseball team were riding high, winning eight of their last 10 games. Their series with Cortland had been a hard fought affair, managing to lose the first game 8-2. However, they bounced back the very next day, winning the first game of the doubleheader 8-4 and narrowly taking victory in the second 7-6. Now would come a slightly more difficult affair, the SUNY Fredonia Blue Devils. 

Fredonia came into their series with the Lakers 7-4 in terms of record, after plenty of victories against out-of-state opponents. This series would be their first played in their home state of New York this season, after playing games in such far afield places as Lake Myrtle and Davenport, Florida. Now they would head back up the coast to the shores of Lake Ontario to take on the Lakers, who as of yet had a 9-5 record to that point. 

The first game was  close-fought, with the lead never eclipsing two runs ahead. Joel Hayner got the start for the Lakers and kept his nose clean through the first five. In the bottom of the third, Ben Silverman attempted to steal second, which drew attention away from Tishawn Featherstone, allowing him to run home and score, giving the Lakers an early lead. They tacked on another in the following inning as Daniel Winchester sacrificed a groundout to 2nd, but batted in Anthony Barone’s run. Fredonia would answer the Lakers in the top of the 6th, as Dominic Hickok drove two runs in off a single to center field, tying the game. Hayner would come off the mound after seven, only earning two runs and striking out three. Fredonia would then take the lead in the 8th, courtesy of a Kyle Tedford RBI single. They extended their lead in the final inning, making it five runs on the day as Cardinali and Graziople scored nearly back-to-back. The Lakers attempted a comeback, but only managed one, leaving the score at its final of 5-3. 

The Lakers would thankfully bounce back in a big way in game one of the following day’s doubleheader. Jacob Sanders got the start and would spend most of the contest on the mound for the Lakers. The first few innings were a disaster for Fredonia’s defense, as with bases loaded, Winchester drove in the first of what would amount to 20 runs for the Lakers in this game, a very Yankees-like score if recent games are to go by. Half of those would come in the first three innings, as Winchester and Dylan Rosenberg had hitting days, with the latter homering solo in the second. He would also have a 3-RBI game, the most of any Laker that single game. Nine individual Lakers would have RBIs by the end of the game. As for Sanders, he would keep a clean slate throughout the five innings he was in and would get the win at the end of events. The final score would end up 20 to one, with the lone run from Fredonia coming in the form of an error from Oswego. 

The last game of the three game series was a closer affair, with Fredonia taking the lead early off a three run opening inning. The Lakers were quick to respond with a whopping six-run third inning, three of those coming off a stunning 3-RBI double from

Barone. Then came a homer off the bat of Fredonia’s Cardinali, bringing the score within three. Another run from Oswego would put them back at a comfortable four, but a late game rally from Fredonia, which included a homer from Alex Ahlstrom, was not enough to come back from that early game offense. The Lakers would shut them down, final score of 8-6. 

The Lakers would take the series 2-1, much in the same fashion as their victories over Cortland. They now sit third in the SUNYAC, hanging with New Paltz and Oneonta, all three of which have win percentages floating above and below .650. The Lakers’ next endeavors will include a game against Alfred State, a series against New Paltz themselves and a game against RIT, all three of which should prove to be close contests.

Photo by: Oswego athletics