OSWEGO N.Y. — The SUNYAC playoffs have come and gone. A disappointing weekend for the Lakers saw them knocked out before the championship game. The tournament started Thursday with a game against Plattsburgh, followed by two games Friday for the Lakers against Cortland followed by Brockport. 

Thursdays game against the Cardinals was always going to be the easiest for Oswego. Plattsburgh found the scoreboard first, a bases loaded sac fly scored Alex Kornbla from third. The Lakers quickly answered. The Lakers loaded the bases with none out. A Kyle Lauria single  scored Paul Tammaro to tie the game. Ryan Weiss hit a sac fly in the ensuing at bat scoring Ryan Enos for the Lakers second run. Oswego struck again in the bottom of the third, scoring five runs and extending the lead to 7-1. Plattsburgh had one runner cross the plate in the bottom of the fifth for their final run of the game. Oswego scored five more runs in the sixth inning to get the lead to ten runs. Two more runners scored in the seventh, and got their 15th and final runner to cross in the eighth inning for a 15-2 win. Paul Tammaro and Kyle Lauria combined for the lead in hits for Oswego, each having three. Ryan Weiss drove in four runners, the most on the team. Thomas Pecchia got the start for Oswego. He pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on eight hits, walking one and striking out two.

The second game of the tournament was a rematch with the Cortland Red Dragons. The Lakers took two of three games in the series with them only a few weeks prior, and the Red Dragons wanted revenge. Oswego crossed the plate first, a solo home run in the bottom of the second off the bat of Ryan Weiss gave the Lakers the early lead. Cortland answered in the top of the fourth. They would load the bases with none out. A double play would take out two runners, but one scored tying the game. A double scored one more to give Cortland the lead. Oswego wouldn’t let hold the lead long, another Ryan Weiss homer, this one a two run shot, gave the Lakers the lead back in the bottom of the fourth. Cortland took the lead straight back though, scoring four in the top of the fifth for a 6-3 advantage. In the bottom of the fifth, Ryan Weiss drove in his fourth run on a sac fly to cut down the lead. Cortland extended their lead with two more runs in the sixth. Oswego wasn’t letting the Red Dragons get any further away in the bottom of the sixth. They loaded the bases without an out, but Cortland buckled down to get two outs. Lukas Olsson stepped into the batter box and sent the ball out of the park to tie the game at eight. Cortland took the lead back in the top of the eighth, scoring three times to get a 11-8 lead. A ninth inning single by Julian Drew brought home one for the Lakers, but they took their first loss of the double elimination tournament. Julian Drew led the team with three hits. Lukas Olsson and Ryan Weiss combined to drive in eight of the Lakers nine runs. Kieran Finnegan got the start for Oswego. he pitched four and two thirds innings, allowing nine hits, six runs, only two earned, walking two and striking out two.

With the loss to Cortland, the Lakers played another game on Friday, this one against the Brockport Golden Eagles. Oswego struck first, Ryan Weiss and Julian Drew each driving in a run on singles for an early 2-0 lead. Brockport tied the game in the third inning, a two run single off the bat of Tom Kretzler. Frank Levanti scored on a balk in the bottom of third to take the lead back for the Lakers, but Brockport tied it with a double in the top of the fifth. In the top of the seventh, back to back solo home runs gave the Golden Eagles the lead, and a one run single later in the inning extended the lead to 6-3. Ryan Weiss drove in one in the bottom of the seventh for the Lakers final run of the game. Brockport had four runners cross the plate in the top of the eighth and two more in the top of the ninth for the 12-4 win, and knocked Oswego out of the tournament. Ryan Enos’ three hits led the Lakers. Ryan Weiss had a team leading two RBIs. Anthony Van Fossen got the start for Oswego. He pitched six and two thirds innings, allowing five runs on ten hits, not walking any and striking out two. Cortland would beat Brockport in the Championship game.

After Monday’s selection show, the Lakers will head down to Glenside, Pennsylvania, just north of Philadelphia. They will take on Elizabethtown College from Elizabethtown, PA. The Elizabethtown Blue Jays won the Landmark Conference Championship after finishing the regular season in third with a 22-20 (11-7 Landmark) record. The Blue Jays are led by third basemen Robbie Bertucio. He had 59 hits in 42 games played this season, a .376 batting average with eight doubles and three home runs, driving in 32. Their second best hitter was outfielder Andrew Fisher. He hit .329 with six doubles. They also have pitcher/outfielder Ben Watson. At the plat hit hit .408 with eight doubles and eight home runs and two triples, he hit three home runs in one game. On the mound he pitched 18 innings, allowing 16 runs, walking 16, and striking out 14. On the mound they are led by Eric Sipling. In 47 innings, he had a 2.09 ERA, in 18 appearances, only one start, he struck out 46. Starter Tyler Dunbar pitched 75.2 innings, had a 4.64 ERA in 12 starts, he struck out 63. On the other side of the regional bracket is Arcadia University, the hosts of the regional, taking on Husson University.

IMAGE COURTESY OF WILLIAM ROGERS, WTOP10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT