OSWEGO, NY — Oswego High School Hockey has been preparing for their final regular season game of the year this past week as the Buccaneers welcome in Skaneateles this Wednesday. The Bucs sit at 11-8 overall but only 4-7 in division play which puts them in fifth place in the Division II standings for Section III. Oswego is currently on a four game losing streak which has all been against division opponents. There most recent game was a 6-1 loss against Cortland-Homer who has only two more points then the Bucs in the division standings. Oswego could tie that total with a win in their final game but are going up some tough competition.
Skaneateles currently sits with a 9-0-1 division record with their one tie that occurred against Auburn back on December 17th. Skaneateles is ranked number one in the state for Division II as the group is 16-0-1 and are heavy favorites for the Section III title. Oswego would have to outscore the group which has only allowed eight goals against all season. Junior goalie Brandon Demling has been stellular in net for the Bucs as the goaltender has kept the team in games throughout the season. Demling holds a .881 save percentage and a 2.83 goals against average in his 17 games played. Demling has also recorded one shutout this season which came against Fulton back in December. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday night from the Crisafulli Rink at Fort Ontario.
-
Softball loses five over hard weekend matchups
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego State softball team played six games over four days this weekend. A Friday double header in New Paltz against the Hawks was followed by a Saturday double header in Oneonta with the Red Dragons, the team had a day off Sunday, but played another double header at home against the Plattsburgh Cardinals Monday.
Friday’s first game in New Paltz saw the Hawks grab an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Two two-out singles were followed by a triple, bringing that brought both runners home to open the scoring. In the bottom of the second the Hawks would strike again. A two-out double was followed by a single. A throwing error would bring home the lead runner, and another triple would bring home the other runner. No more runs would be scored until the seventh inning, where the Lakers finally found the score sheet. Two one-out singles were followed by Madison Hoeflich reaching on an error, that would score the first runner of the inning for the Lakers. Ellie Mahoney then grounded out the the Shortstop, but would bring home another run. A Samantha Morgan double brought home the third run of the inning for the Lakers, but the scoring would end there, and Oswego fell 4-3. The Lakers only had four hits on the day, no batter having more than one, and a lone walk. Freshman Maria Lutz pitched all six innings for Oswego, allowing four runs, nine hits, two walks, and striking out two.
Game two of the double header was a more convincing win for New Paltz. The Hawks scored one in the first, but Oswego would match the run the second on a Ellie Mahoney single. Errors in the bottom half of the second brought home two more runs, and a two out double in the third brought home run number four for the Hawks. The bottom of the fourth was started by a single for New Paltz which was followed by a double driving home the run. Oswego got two consecutive pop-outs after, but a single drove home the sixth run. Oswego held New Paltz scoreless in the fifth, but three runs in the sixth triggered the mercy rule, and the game ended 9-1 in favor of the Hawks. Zoe Mennig led the Lakers with two hits, and Madison Hoeflich led the Lakers with two walks. Fiona Higgins had a rough day on the mound. She allowed fifteen hits, nine runs, eight earned, and walked three, she would strike out six.
The Lakers took the two hour trip to Oneonta for the Saturday double header. The Lakers found the scoreboard in the top of the first in game one. Tai Smith led off with a walk, and she was moved to second by a sac bunt. Taylor Dubois hit a double moving Smith to third, and a fielder’s choice in the next at bat scored the run. The Lakers held the Red Dragons scoreless until the third inning, when a lead off triple would be driven in by a sac fly to tie the game. Oneonta scored once more in the fourth inning, and twice more in the fifth. In the sixth, a two out single, then stole second and was driven in by a double. Oswego wouldn’t score in the seventh, and the game ended 5-1 Oneonta. Taylor Dubois led Oswego with two hits. Tai Smith got on base three times, a hit and a team leading two walks. Maria Lutz pitched all six innings once again, allowing five runs, four earned, on nine hits and no walks, striking out two.
Game two of the second double header saw Oneonta grab a big lead in the bottom of the first, scoring four. The next run wouldn’t be scored until the top of the third, when Taylor Dubois hit a lead off double and was then drive in by Zoe Mennig’s double in the next at bat. A scoreless fourth was followed by a scoreless top of the fifth, and the Red Dragons broke the scoreless streak in the bottom of the fifth, crossing the plate once. Oneonta grabbed two more in the bottom of the sixth, and the Lakers, trying to rally could only manage one in the top of the seventh, a Zoe Mennig solo shot to left, and the Red Dragons took game two, 7-2. Samantha Morgan led the Lakers, going three for three at the plate. Zoe Mennig drove in both runs for Oswego. Madison Hoeflich got the start for the Lakers, but only pitched one inning, allowing four runs, two earned, on five hits, striking out two. Chelsea Sellars pitched the remaining five innings for Oswego, allowing three runs, one earned, on six hits, and four strike outs.
The Lakers took a much needed day off Sunday, and took to the diamond for two more Monday to take on the Cardinals of Plattsburgh. The Cardinals went 1-2-3 in the top of the first, and the Lakers struck first in the bottom half. The first two batters would get out, then Taylor Dubois and Zoe Mennig would reach on errors. Fiona Higgins drove in both with a double. The second inning was scoreless, and Plattsburgh grabbed their first run in the top of the third on an error. Two more scoreless innings brought the game to the sixth, where the Cardinals struck again. The Lakers committed two errors to start the inning, allowing two runners on base. A single by the next batter loaded the bases, and another single drove in the first run of the inning, second of the game for the Cardinals. A pop out to second got out number one of the inning, and a fly out to center got the second out, but also drove in the runner from third, for the third run of the game and the lead for Plattsburgh. Another single drove in the fourth run, and the walk that followed reloaded the bases. Another single brought home two more, and Plattsburgh got out of the inning with a 6-2 lead. Oswego wouldn’t score after the first, and lost the game. Fiona Higgins led Oswego with two hits and two RBIs. Maria Lutz pitched all seven innings, doing the whole game for the third time over the weekend. She allowed six runs, two earned, do to three errors on the Lakers. Lutz struck out four and walked three during the game
The Lakers finally turned things around in game two of the double header, and the final one of the weekend. The Lakers scored three times in the bottom of the first on hits by Zoe Mennig and Fiona Higgins. Neither team would score until Oswego did in the bottom of the fifth. Fiona Higgins drove in the fourth run for Oswego on a double, and in the next at bat, Madison Hoeflich brought in one more on a single. The Lakers scored two more in the inning on a single and a sacrifice hit, bringing their total to seven in the game. Zoe Mennig brought in one more run in the bottom of the sixth, triggering the mercy rule. Zoe Mennig went 4-4 at the plate, driving in two runs, and scoring two of her own. Fiona Higgins was the star of the day though. She went 2-3 at the plate driving in three runs, and pitched six scoreless innings, striking out six, while only allowing two hits and two walks.
The Lakers get the next three days off, until the play a double header Friday against the Brockport golden eagles at home, game one set to start at 3:00 P.M. They play their final series of the season against Geneseo at home Saturday with a double header. The lakers now sit a 9-22 (4-10 SUNYAC). They are currently eighth in the SUNYAC, two games back of Fredonia in the six seed, the final spot in the SUNYAC playoffs.
PHOTO COURTESY OF OSWEGO ATHLETICS
-
Oswego Baseball cancels Spring Break trip
OSWEGO, NY — Oswego Baseball has gotten off to a hot start this season as the team sits at 6-3. The team has been traveling all over the East Coast to play colleges as Oswego hasn’t been warm enough to host baseball yet this season. The group recently got two wins in a double header against Arcadia this past Sunday. The 4-3 and 6-4 victory came at the end of a three game road trip that featured a lose to Salve Regina Saturday in Glenside, PA. Ryan Wiess leads the team with a batting average of .444 with 18 at bats. Lukas Olsson is the only Laker to hit multiple home runs so far this season as three Oswego players have hit balls out of the park.
Oswego was getting set to head on the road for Spring Break which would feature 8 games being played in South Carolina. Recently, this trip was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Now the team will get set to kick off their conference games as Oneonta is the first team on the schedule after their short break. The Lakers will head to face the Red Dragons on the road for a Saturday game, on March 27th, and a double header on Sunday, March 28th. Oswego has been the SUNYAC champion the past three seasons as the group looks to continue their success in the conference.
WTOP 10 will have coverage of Oswego athletics until further notice. The television station will stay up to date on whether Division III athletics will continue moving forward.
-
Oswego State Baseball Travels to Fredonia for SUNYAC Doubleheader
OSWEGO, N.Y. — Oswego State Baseball returns after a brief COVID pause which resulted in the cancellation of the home doubleheader on Sunday, April 18th against Trinity College. Oswego returns Tuesday, April 20th for a 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. at Fredonia, for a SUNYAC West matchup. Oswego comes into Tuesday’s games with a 9-1 record (5-1 SUNYAC) and the Lakers are in second place out of the three SUNYAC West teams. The Lakers are also on an 8-game win streak heading into the conference doubleheader. Fredonia currently sits in last place in the SUNYAC West, with a record of 1-8 (0-8 SUNYAC).
The Lakers and the Blue Devils have met in two games this season, a doubleheader in Oswego on April 10th. Oswego dominated both of those games by scores of 17-3 and 15-6. Kyle Lauria was 5-7 that day, to go with 7 RBIs, a triple, home run, and 3 runs, which helped him win SUNYAC Baseball Athlete of the Week. Ryan Enos hit well against Fredonia as well, going 6-8 with 2 doubles, 7 RBIs, and 6 runs.
On the season, the Oswego offense has been nothing short of amazing as they are averaging 11.6 runs per game. Enos leads the Lakers in average and RBIs with a .500 average paired with 20 RBIs. Lauria is hitting .432 with 17 RBIs, a triple and a home run on the year. Oswego features two more hitters hitting .400 or above, in Paul Tammaro at .432 and Ryan Weiss who is hitting exactly .400. Look for the Laker bats to put up a lump sum of runs on Tuesday in both games.
Fredonia’s leading hitter is Ryan Hann who is leading the Blue Devils in batting average at .385, and RBIs with 8. Tyler Phillips was Fredonia’s best hitter against the Lakers back on April 10th, Phillips was 3-7 with 2 runs against the Lakers, as the Oswego pitching staff shut down the Fredonia bats in both games.
Oswego baseball takes the field Tuesday, April 20th at Fredonia, with games scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. This is a key matchup as the Lakers chase Brockport in the SUNYAC West standings. WTOP 10 will continue to deliver content to Oswego baseball fans as the Lakers head into the second half of their 2021 season.
