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SUNY Oswego hires McManus as Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
OSWEGO, N.Y. — On Thursday, SUNY Oswego announced that the athletic department will have a new leader prior to the start of the 2021-22 academic year. Wendy McManus accepted the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics position that was previously filled by two interim athletic directors.
McManus joins the Lakers with administrative and coaching experience over multiple different positions and colleges.. Her 17 plus years of experience features managing facility improvements and developing corporate sponsorship opportunities. This most recently occurred at Elmhurst University (Illinois), a NCAA Division III college that has 20 varsity sports and 80 employees. Prior to her time with Elmhurst, McManus was the associate director of athletics for internal operations and senior women administrator at Minot State University (North Dakota). She worked on managing budget and facility development along with personnel management. McManus has also spent time as an associate director of athletics at the University of New Haven and Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Her coaching experience originates from University of the Southwest as head volleyball coach and continued onto Texas A&M International University. McManus is a member and mentor of the Women Leaders in College Sports as well as a member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
McManus will be joining the department on August 1st, 2021 prior to the start of the highly anticipated return of fall sports at Oswego State. WTOP 10 will continue to provide coverage of all news regarding the Oswego State Lakers.
Graphic Provided by Michael Gross (@MichaelSGross)
Oswego State Falls to Cortland in SUNYAC Championship
CORTLAND, N.Y. — In a thrilling three game SUNYAC Baseball Championship Series that featured 11 lead changes between the two teams, the Oswego State Baseball team was defeated by Cortland. Oswego took game one from Cortland in a late comeback fashion, but Cortland won game two in extra innings and game three to take the series. Cortland outscored Oswego 25-23 between the three games, which featured one run wins for each team in games one and two and a two run win for Cortland in the deciding game.
Game one was tied 2-2 after four innings, Kieran Finnegan had some early command issues surrendering four walks which resulted in two runs in the first inning while allowing just one hit in the frame. Finnegan bounced back well, giving up no hits in the next three innings and just one walk. Oswego’s two runs came in the top of the second on a Hunter Holliday RBI double and Julian Drew RBI single. Cortland put up two runs on four hits against Finnegan in the 5th which led to Anthony Van Fossen entering the game for the Lakers. Van Fossen was brilliant out of the bullpen as the junior threw 3.1 hitless innings for the Lakers. SUNYAC RBI leader Kyle Lauria trimmed the deficit to one run with an RBI single in the 7th, and the Lakers kept going with a big two out rally in the 8th. Oswego scored three runs in the 8th as Myles Felton scored on a wild pickoff throw to tie it, Brendon Frank singled in Paul Tammaro, and Ryan Enos followed with an RBI double to score Frank. Mike Di Salvo came in to pitch the 9th but gave up a leadoff home run to make it a one run lead for the Lakers. Di Salvo had the tying run on third base, and the winning run on second with no outs but got back to back flyouts to finish the 7-6 game one Oswego win.
The highest scoring game of the weekend came in an 11-10 extra inning walk off win for Cortland. Game two featured 31 total hits and three home runs for each team, as it was Tammaro, Ryan Weiss, and Felton each hitting long balls for the Lakers. At least one team scored in all ten innings, as Cortland had a four run and multiple three run frames scoring in bunches, but Oswego scored more consistently with one or two runs in seven of the ten innings. Frank and Weiss led Oswego’s offense as both of the seniors contributed four hits apiece. After ten innings and a ton of offense, it was Scott Giordano from Cortland with a walkoff home run forcing a decisive game three the following day.
Oswego and Cortland had identical runs scored in each frame from the 1st to 4th, as the game was tied 5-5 after four innings. Oswego scored one in the top of the 5th but Cortland answered back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame that would be the tying and eventual winning run, before tacking on an insurance run in the 6th. Enos was 3-4 with a home run, a double, and 4 RBIs in the final game of the series but it was not enough as Cortland took game three 8-6 to win the SUNYAC Championship.
The season is not over yet for Oswego as the Lakers got an at-large bid into the 48 team NCAA Division III Baseball Championship. There are eight separate locations with six teams at each site; the winning team from each of the eight sites will compete in the Division III World Series in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Oswego was selected to be the second seed at the Hartford, Connecticut Region which is being hosted by Trinity College (Connecticut), a team that Oswego was scheduled to play against earlier this year. The teams in order of seeds 1-6 playing at the Hartford Regional are Southern Maine, Oswego State, Wheaton (Massachusetts), Salve Regina, Husson, Johnson & Wales (Providence). This is Oswego’s sixth consecutive season qualifying for the Championship, and the Lakers are looking for their first World Series appearance since 2018. Games will take place Thursday, May 27th through Sunday, May 30th and Oswego will play their first game at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Image Provided by Alexis Fragapane, Lexi Fragapane Photography
Oswego State Baseball Travels to Cortland for SUNYAC Championship
OSWEGO, N.Y. — Oswego Baseball goes on the road to Cortland for the SUNYAC Baseball Championship on Friday, May 21st at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., with a game three on Saturday, May 22nd at 12:00 p.m. if necessary. Oswego and Cortland have not played against each other the past two seasons, but the teams are familiar with each other as this will be the fifth straight tournament that the Lakers and Red Dragons meet in the finals. Cortland won the tournament back in 2015 and 2016, but Oswego claimed the crown in 2018 and 2019. Weather cancelled the 2017 tournament resulting in top seeded Oswego to be crowned the champions, and COVID cancelled the 2020 tournament. Oswego will look to claim its 16th overall title and 4th in a row, while Cortland seeks its 35th overall championship.
Friday’s games will also mark the first time there have been fans permitted at a SUNYAC game since March 2020, as SUNY Cortland campus is now open to visitors and New York State has reduced restrictions on social distancing. Fans will only be able to attend if they are on an official list collected by the conference office. Each school was allowed to submit a list of 150 fans, bringing the game total to 300 spectators. Since the attendance is below 500, spectators do not need to provide a negative COVID-19 test or show a vaccination card. Fans are required to adhere to CDC, New York State, and SUNY Cortland COVID-19 guidelines.
#21 Oswego comes in at 23-3 (14-2 SUNYAC) after a 8-2 and 11-4 sweep over Oneonta in Oswego last weekend in the semifinals. Cortland, ranked one spot behind Oswego comes in at #22 nationally with a 25-5 (14-2 SUNYAC) record. Last weekend Cortland also got a semifinal sweep in the form of 11-4 and 3-1 wins over Brockport. There have been eight weeks of the season, which means eight SUNYAC Baseball Athlete of the Week awards, as well as eight SUNYAC Pitcher of the Week awards. Oswego has claimed four of the sixteen awards in the form of three position players and one pitcher, and Cortland has won five awards by four position players and one pitcher.
Oswego takes on Cortland in the SUNYAC Baseball Championship at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Friday, May 21st at Cortland. If necessary, game three will be played on Saturday, May 22nd at noon. The winner gets an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament which kicks off next week.
Image Provided By William Rogers, WTOP 10 Photography Department
Oswego State Baseball Moves on to SUNYAC Championship Finals
OSWEGO, N.Y. — Oswego State Baseball took on Oneonta in the first round of SUNYAC Baseball Playoffs on Saturday, May 15th and the Lakers swept the two-of-three series by scores of 8-2 and 11-4. With the wins, Oswego punched their ticket to meet the Cortland Red Dragons in the SUNYAC Finals on Friday, May 21st.
It was uncharacteristic of the Lakers to be down 2-0 after six innings in game one, but the Lakers showed they have the grit for a late game comeback after a regular season that was mostly dominant wins. Kieran Finnegan had a tough first inning allowing two runs on four hits, but bounced back in tremendous fashion as his final line read 8 innings, 6 hits, 2 runs and 7 strikeouts. Oswego put up back to back four run frames in the seventh and eighth innings to secure a comeback 8-2 win in game one. Hunter Holliday had the first two RBIs for the Lakers in both innings with a 2 RBI double in the 7th and a 2 RBI single in the 8th in his 4-4 game one. With a 7-2 lead in the 8th, Myles Felton hit a solo home run to cap off the 8-2 victory as the Lakers took game one.
Oswego struck first in game two courtesy of a Brendon Frank home run in the 4th inning but Oneonta answered back with two runs in the top of the 5th to take a 2-1 lead. Oswego had their biggest inning of the day in the form of a six run bottom of the 5th that was highlighted by a Kyle Lauria 3 RBI triple as the Lakers led 7-2 after five innings and would not surrender the lead. Jake Terrill was solid on the mound all day for the Lakers going 5 innings and allowing 5 hits and 2 runs (1 earned).
The two SUNYAC Baseball powerhouses have not played each other this season due to the division format in the conference. Oswego goes on the road to Cortland on Friday, May 21st for a 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. matchup in the SUNYAC Baseball Championship Series as the Lakers look for their fourth consecutive title. If necessary, game three will be played on Sunday, May 22nd at noon.
Image Provided By William Rogers, WTOP 10 Photography Department
Oswego State Baseball Heads into SUNYAC Championship
OSWEGO, N.Y. — SUNYAC Baseball playoffs kick off Saturday, May 15th as Oswego hosts Oneonta and Brockport goes on the road to take on Cortland. Games are scheduled for 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Saturday with a if necessary game three slated for 12:00 on Sunday, May 16th.
Cortland comes in as the number one overall seed and ranked 22nd in the country, at 14-2 as the nationally ranked Red Dragons look for their 35th conference championship. Scott Giordano leads the Cortland offense with a .455 batting average, four home runs, and 25 RBIs, the first two stats rank 3rd and the third stat ranks 5th in the SUNYAC. Former SUNYAC Baseball Athlete of the Week Daniel Coleman has four home runs to his name as well to go along with 26 RBIs which is good for 4th in the conference. Cortland also touts the three lowest ERAs in the SUNYAC, Ryan Flansburg leads with a 0.93 ERA in 29 innings, former SUNYAC Pitcher of the Week Zack Durant comes in with a 2.18 ERA in 29 innings, and Brandon Buchan carries a 2.20 ERA in 28.2 innings of work. Cortland met their first round opponent, Brockport back on May 3rd in the regular season. Brockport took game one 9-4 and Cortland took game two 9-1.
Brockport faces Cortland in the first round as the second seed in the West division, as the Golden Eagles have a 12-4 SUNYAC record. Brockport has two hitters in the top five for batting average in the SUNYAC, former SUNYAC Baseball Athlete of the Week Matt O’Dair led all hitters in the regular season with a .478 and Daniel Delgazio is 5th with a .423 average. Brockport has hitters in 1st and 5th in another hitting category, as Tom Kretzler led all hitters with eight home runs, and Jake Sisto had four long balls of his own. On the mound, former SUNYAC Pitcher of the Week Trevor McCarthy is 2nd in the SUNYAC in strikeouts with 37, and Andrew Huffman is 5th in the stat with 33 punchouts. Brockport goes on the road to take on Cortland with the winner in the two of three series advancing to the SUNYAC championship.
Oswego hosts the other first round matchup, as the first seed in the West and 21st nationally ranked Lakers come in with a 14-2 regular season record. Oswego is looking to win their 16th SUNYAC title as well as their fourth consecutive. Paul Tammaro in the leadoff spot has a .444 batting average which is good for 4th in the SUNYAC. The top three RBI leaders in the SUNYAC are also in the Oswego order in the form of Kyle Lauria, Ryan Enos, and Ryan Weiss who have 38, 34, and 31 RBIs apiece. Brendon Frank and Lauria are tied for 1st in the conference in stolen bases with 18 each, and Enos ranks 4th with 12 as all three former SUNYAC Baseball Athlete of the Week winners are threats both at the plate and on the basepaths. On the mound, former SUNYAC Pitcher of the Week Kieran Finnegan ranks 5th in the conference in ERA with a 2.40 in 30 innings of work. Oswego faced first round opponent Oneonta on May 6th in the regular season. Oswego took game one 19-5 and Oneonta won game two 5-2.
Oneonta goes on the road to take on Oswego in the first round as the second seed in the East, the Red Dragons have the only losing record of any of the four playoff teams with their 6-10 SUNYAC record. The biggest strength for Oneonta is their two headed monster on the mound in the form of Michael Losak and Sean Liquori. Losak is 4th in ERA in the SUNYAC with a 2.30 through 27.1 innings, and the duo is 3rd and 4th in strikeouts in the conference with 35 and 34.
SUNYAC Baseball playoffs start Saturday, May 15th at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. as Cortland hosts Brockport and Oswego hosts Oneonta. If Cortland wins they will host the championship the following weekend, if Cortland loses but Oswego wins then Oswego will host, if both teams lose then Brockport will host the championship. WTOP 10 will continue to follow Oswego State Baseball as the team looks for another conference title.
Image Provided By William Rogers, WTOP 10 Photography Department
Oswego State Baseball Team Sweeps Plattsburgh State to Conclude Regular Season
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The #22 ranked Oswego State Baseball team finished the 2021 regular season victorious as they defeated Plattsburgh State in consecutive games on Sunday. The Lakers now move to 21-3 on the season and will look ahead towards their best-of-three semifinals matchup versus SUNY Oneonta.
Oswego was dominant in both contests, defeating the Cardinals 16-2 in game one and 13-3 in game two. The Lakers had 20 hits in the first game, led by Paul Tammaro and Dylan Frawley who each had three. Junior outfielder, Tim Shinto, had a great performance as he totaled 4 RBIs off 2 hits. Anthony Van Fossen also finished his season 4-0 after shutting out the Cardinals in five innings. Game two ended in similar fashion with Brendon Frank, Kyle Lauria, and Myles Felton combining for 7 hits in their final regular season game. Junior pitcher, Kieran Finnegan, finished his season 5-0 following his 4-inning performance. With Sunday’s victories, the Lakers improve their win streak vs the Cardinals to 15-0 dating back to 2014. Prior to the pair of games, the Oswego State Baseball team recognized ten seniors including Mike Di Salvo, Jake Terrill, Jonathan Luppens, Hunter Holliday, Ronald Loomis, Connor Stanton, Myles Felton, Kyle Lauria, Brendon Frank, and Dylan Frawley.
Oswego had previously locked up the #1 seed in the SUNYAC West division and will now set their focus on their upcoming playoff matchup versus Oneonta. The teams last played in a May 6th doubleheader resulting in a 19-5 Laker win and a 5-2 Red Dragon win. The best-of-three series is set for Saturday, May 15th starting at noon. The second game is scheduled for 3 p.m. an if necessary, game three will be played on Sunday at noon.
Image Provided By William Rogers, WTOP 10 Photography Department
Oswego State Baseball Team Prepares for Final Regular Season Doubleheader
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The #22 ranked Oswego State Baseball team (19-3) is set to take on the Plattsburgh State Cardinals (6-12) on Sunday, May 9th to conclude the 2021 regular season. This is the first doubleheader between the Lakers and Cardinals in over two years, with their last matchups resulting back-to-back Laker victories. Both teams will look to finish their seasons off strong as the SUNYAC tournament starts next week.
The Lakers are have been having an outstanding 2021 season thus far. Prior to their loss to Clarkson University on Tuesday, Oswego went on a 16-game winning streak. The Lakers now come in to Sunday’s contest on a single-game losing streak following their 5-2 loss to SUNY Oneonta on May 6th. Though, the Lakers would win the first game of the doubleheader 19-5. Plattsburgh hasn’t endured the same success this season. While they are coming off a victorious two-game sweep against the New Paltz Hawks, the Cardinals went 2-6 in their previous eight games. Oswego will be lead by senior infielder, Kyle Lauria, who leads the team in home runs (3) and RBIs (36). Junior infielder, Paul Tammaro, will also look to cap off his stellar season as he leads the team in hits with 35 and has a .422 batting average. Senior pitcher, Ronald Loomis, could pitch his final regular season game for Oswego and look to surpass 50 career strikeouts.
With the Lakers already locking up the #1 seed in the SUNYAC West division last week, they will aim to finish their dominant 2021 regular season with two more victories. Game 1 is set for 1:00 p.m. while game 2 will begin at 4:00 p.m. at Laker Baseball Field.
Image Provided By William Rogers, WTOP 10 Photography Department
Oswego State Baseball Splits with Oneonta in SUNYAC Crossover
ONEONTA, N.Y. — The Oswego State Lakers baseball team traveled to Oneonta thursday for a doubleheader SUNYAC crossover matchup against the Red Dragons. Oswego would only be able to secure one of the possible two wins today by taking the first game in dominant fashion by a score of 19-5 but then falling in the second game 5-2.
In the first game it was all Lakers as they were up 6-3 after three innings and up 8-3 after four. Oswego’s bats would continue to remain hot by propelling 6 runs in the seventh inning to put them up 17-5. Led by senior Ryan Enos he was able to hit for a pair of doubles and a home run. However not only the upperclassmen came out to shine in the first game, freshman Jacob Levine was able to provide 4 RBI’s for Oswego as well. Moving on to the second game Oneonta was able to edge the lakers by a score of 5-2. Oswego would not have the hot offense in this matchup only generating 2 runs in seven innings as well as only 5 hits. The Red Dragons were able to jump off early by getting three runs in the first three innings including two individual home runs in the third. Brandon Frank and Julian Drew were the only Lakers to generate RBI’s. Looking on the other end at the mound, Oneonta senior pitcher Michael Losak was able to steal the show and throw 120 pitches in a complete game to carry them to the win.
Oneonta now sits at 11-9 overall this season with the split and 6-8 in the SUNYAC East division and currently are in second . The team looks forward to Saturday for a doubleheader against another west division foe in the Brockport Golden Eagles with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. As for the Lakers, they have now gone 2-2 in their last 4 to move to 19-3 overall and 12-2 in the SUNYAC and secure the first place seed in the West division. They will look to bounce back on track with a double header on Saturday as well against an East division opponent in the Plattsburgh Cardinals who have not won in Oswego since 2014. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. for the first game and approximately 3:00 p.m. for the 2nd game. Both games will be played at the Laker Baseball Field.
Oswego State Softball Falls to Fredonia to Wrap Up 2021 Season
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego State Softball team finished their 2021 season on Wednesday at Fredonia for a SUNYAC West doubleheader. The Lakers were swept by the Blue Devils by scores of 12-8 and 7-0, ending the season on a two game losing streak.
Game one started with two runs in the top of the first inning to open the game from the Lakers. Oswego would continue their offensive dominance by snagging five more runs by the middle of the 4th inning, lead by Taylor DuBois and Aleah Yaizzo. The two combined for 4 runs, 7 hits, and 6 RBIs. Fredonia would have an answer in the bottom of the inning with six runs to add to their two runs from the first two innings. The Blue Devils would continue to push on offense and grabbed four more runs by the end of the sixth inning. The Lakers were unable to bounce back after only snagging one run in the sixth inning. Madison Hoeflich would get tagged with the loss after yielding just four earned runs and striking out four Blue Devils.
Heading into game two, the Lakers looked to bounce back and get another split to end the 2021 campaign. The Blue Devils never let the Lakers see the light as the Fredonia squad was able to get a 7-0 shutout victory. Fredonia tallied 6 runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a big lead over the Lakers. There were no runs scored after that point in the contest, and Oswego’s Leah Czerwinski secured a double that was the lone hit from the Lakers. Hoeflich and Samantha Morgan split time on the mound, each securing three strikeouts over the course of their time pitching.
In terms of the SUNYAC Championship, Oswego was eliminated from contention a week ago but could have played spoiler as Fredonia now holds second place in the division with a 9-7 record. Buffalo State is the only team in the SUNYAC West who has clinched a playoff spot. Geneseo and Brockport can still catch Fredonia for the second and final spot as the two teams have a doubleheader against each other this week. Oswego will finish in last in the division with a 5-11 conference record and overall post a 8-14 record.
For Gabrielle Rivers, her first season as head coach had its ups and downs as the Lakers split doubleheaders six times and had a three game win streak during the middle of the season. Zoe Mennig lead the Lakers at the plate with a .423 average and 30 hits over the course of the season. Madelana Wrubel lead in the runs category, coming to home plate 16 times. Hoeflich lead the small pitching squad with a 2.48 ERA with five wins and five losses on the mound. The Lakers return 13 out of 16 players next season as the group looks to get back to the regular conference format.
Image Provided by William Rogers, WTOP 10 Photography Department