OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego State Lakers were defeated by the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons as the softball team could not out score the Red Dragons. Game 1 was a blow out in favor of the Red Dragons by the score of 13-1 and Game 2 was slightly closer with a score of 9-4. In Game 2, the Red Dragons were able to score six unanswered runs to come from behind and snag another SUNYAC win to improve to 4-1 in the conference. Zoe Mennig has 2 hits and 1 run in Game 2 and led the hitting squad in that contest. Fiona Higgins pitched both games for the Lakers and lead the pitching crew. Higgins had 4 strikeouts in Game 1 over the course of 3 innings.
For the Lakers, the team turns their attention to St. John Fisher College on Monday for a nonconference double header. The teams will battle at Laker Softball Field at 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. tomorrow. Oswego State is 9-23 against the Cardinals thar represent the Empire 8 conference. The Lakers are looking to end a 7 game losing streak against the Rochester based team. WNYO will be live from the field tomorrow afternoon for the broadcast.
Image Provided By Oswego State Athletics (@OswegoAthletics)
-
Where There’s Sparks, There’s Fire
Bethlehem, PA – The Lakers sailed down to Moravian College for the 40th Steel Club Classic picking up two wins on the perfect weekend. Their first matchup was against Montclair State who had scored over a hundred points in multiple games this season but couldn’t produce against the reigning SUNYAC championship defense of the Oswego Lakers. The Redhawks scored 73 points good enough for a season-low in their first 11 games this year, but it wasn’t a cakewalk win for the Lakers.
Montclair State ran a baseline to baseline trap on Oswego from the opening tip until the horn sounded at the end of the game. Senior Brandon Gartland shot 5 for 6 from beyond the arc exploiting no-easy-inside-bucket Redhawk defense. Junior Liam Sanborn finished the game with 22 points and helped control the pace of the game when Montclair began to chip away at the lead in the second half. Coach Leone expressed that Liam is “the guy who runs the show for us” and as good as he was on Saturday, it was a different story come Sunday.
Sanborn got into foul trouble early in the game against the Moravian College Greyhounds and didn’t see the floor much in the first half. Ending the game with 6 total points, Sanborn wasn’t the normal floor general for the Lakers. Freshman Jeremiah Sparks was the ‘spark horse’ on Sunday scoring 32 points bringing his total up to 50 on the weekend. Sparks plugged the hole in his offensive game after having five turnovers on Saturday against the Redhawks and Coach Leone was pleased with his performance.
“[Jeremiah] has obviously got some g-d given ability with his athleticism,” Coach Leone praised, “tonight might have been Jeremiah’s best game in terms of moving the ball when he was double-teamed.”
Sparks was also a presence on the defensive end tonight registering two steals and three monster blocks against the Hounds–the only three blocks of the game for Oswego. Freshman Kaleb Cook was in the backcourt with Sparks and he came up with a couple of clutch buckets and rebounds down the stretch. This turned out to be another point of emphasis for Leone regarding his comfort levels with the depth on his team.
“We finished the game with two freshman guards out there,” Leone said “so that’s pretty good for the future of our program. It was a great thing for them to be able to go through that experience especially during a win.”
Although, this win may have been a loss if it wasn’t for Joe Sullivan’s ability to flip the switch in the second half. Sullivan was non-existent in the first half ending without a bucket but through all of the adversity Oswego played against being in Moravian’s backyard, he finished with 22 second-half points.
“We challenged a couple of guys at halftime.” Leone expressed, “Like a senior should, [Sullivan] stepped up his game and played a great second half. We wouldn’t have won without him.”
Joe Sullivan finished with five boards to add to his second-half outburst and went 10 for 11 from the charity stripe. Funny enough, his missed free throw would be the ONLY missed free throw on the night for the Lakers. Oswego made 37 free throws on 38 attempts which helped seal the deal late in the game. Coach Leone was satisfied by their efforts at the line tonight.
“That was the thing I was most happy about.” Leone said, “I don’t know if we made that one we missed if it would be some kind of record for us. 37 out of 38 is pretty impressive and our guys deserve a lot of credit on that.”
Sullivan and Gartland combined for 21 of 22 at the free-throw line on Sunday night as the Lakers outran the Greyhounds winning by a score of 85 to 79 and improve to 7-2 on the year. The Lakers will play their home opener this Friday against Fredonia at 7:30 p.m. in Max Zeil Gymnasium, and look for Jeremiah Sparks to continue to produce as he grows into a future SUNYAC star.
-
Oswego State Women’s Lacrosse team defeats Fredonia
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego State Women’s Lacrosse team won their first SUNYAC game of the 2021 season, defeating SUNY Fredonia 16-10. It wasn’t just the Women’s Lacrosse team’s home opener, but the first Oswego home game in over 395 days. The Lakers defended home field exceptionally well as they lead for a majority of the game and never let the Blue Devils run their offensive systems smoothly.
Fredonia’s Madeline Haney started off strong, scoring the games first goal five minutes into regulation. However, that was the only lead Fredonia would have all game as the Lakers went on to score the next 5 goals, including back-to-back goals from freshman midfielder Shae McConnell. Oswego played tremendous defense all game, especially in the first half, giving up only 3 goals. The Blue Devils were more efficient in the second half, however they weren’t able to generate enough offense to keep up with the Lakers. Sophomore midfielder, Sela Wiley, played phenomenal once again, totaling 5 goals and 2 assists in the Oswego victory. Kamryn Sherman and Shae McConnell each had 4 goals apiece, while Isabella Lembo (2) and Logan Castiglione (1) also scored. Junior goalkeeper, Delaney Kendrick, held the Blue Devil offense in check as she totaled 5 saves and cleared the ball effectively all game. The Oswego Women’s Lacrosse team will have the opportunity to continue their 2021 season undefeated when they take on SUNY Geneseo on Wednesday, April 10th, at 4 PM.
-
Hockey is back in full swing
OSWEGO — It’s that time of year again! It’s Hockey Season! As both the Oswego State Men’s and Women’s teams will take the ice this weekend at home in exhibitions. The women will get it started at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, going up against the London Jr. Deviletes. The men will then follow at 7 p.m., as they host Nazareth College. Saturday will also see the opening of the new History of Hockey display in the arena, which will pay homage to Laker’s hockey, past, and present.
