Oswego State held early leads in both games of a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) versus host Plattsburgh State. But the Cardinals came from behind in both to register the sweep on the final weekend of conference play on Sunday, April 26 at Plattsburgh's Chip Cummings Field.
Plattsburgh (21-13, 7-5 SUNYAC) won the opener, 6-5, and survived a late-inning rally to win the nightcap, 10-9, securing the fourth and final spot for next weekend's SUNYAC playoffs, while the Lakers (16-13, 2-10) finished seventh in the final standings.
Game one saw the Lakers jump out to a 3-1 lead through two and a half innings as second baseman Casey Rice (Canandiagua/Canandaigua Academy) doubled to right centerfield with two outs to drive in first baseman Josh Stoetzel (North Syracuse/Cicero-North Syracuse) from third base and shortstop Mike Levy (Salisbury Mills/Washingtonville) from second. After the Cardinals took the lead with three runs in the bottom half of the inning, Oswego tied the score in the top of the fourth on an RBI double by Stoetzel, and took the lead in the fifth on a run-scoring single from catcher Dan Pecora (Oswego).
Plattsburgh would take the lead to stay with runs in the seventh and eighth innings, while its defense would hold the Lakers to only three hits in the final three innings.
Sophomore right fielder Brandon Wroblewski (Rochester/Greece Arcadia) batted 3-for-5 with a run scored, while Levy, Stoetzel, and centerfielder Bryan Stark (Rochester/Greece Athena) each went 2-for-5 with a run scored.
Dave Widrick (Lowville) tossed seven innings in earning the loss, giving up eight hits, six runs (five earned), and five walks while striking out three. Andy Salvatore (Poughkeepsie/Arlington) pitched one inning in relief, facing six batters and walking two.
In game two, Oswego scored three times in the top of the fourth inning to jump out to a 3-1 lead as Stoetzel, Wroblewski, and Levy each hit RBI singles. But Plattsburgh would answer with eight combined runs in the middle innings to take a 9-4 lead through six innings.
Both teams would score a run in the seventh inning before the Lakers would make a late challenge with four runs on a hit with two Plattsburgh errors in the eighth inning to pull to within a run.
A leadoff single from Rice accounted for the lone hit, while a bases-loaded fielder's choice by Pecora would account for a pair of runs (earned, unearned on a throwing error). Pat O'Keefe drove in the third run on a sacrifice fly, while Stark drove in the final run after reaching base on a throwing error by the shortstop.
Levy hit 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored. while Wroblewski batted 2-for-5. Sophomore Marc Peterson (Geneseo) pitched the opening three and two-thirds innings, yielding seven hits, four runs, and four walks in recording only his second defeat of the season (5-2), while Brady Farkas tossed four and a third innings, giving up five hits, six runs (three earned), and five walks while striking out three.
Oswego closes out the month of April with a doubleheader at SUNY Cobleskill on Tuesday (Apr. 28), before wrapping up its regular season schedule with a single game with Rochester Institute of Technology on Tuesday, May 5 at 4 p.m., followed by a doubleheader the next day against Utica College beginning at 2 p.m.
