OSWEGO, N.Y. – The No. 13 Oswego State baseball team defeated New Paltz in both ends of a conference doubleheader on Friday. The Lakers improved to 16-3 on the year and 3-2 in the conference whereas the Hawks fall to 11-8-2 and 4-4.
Game One: Oswego 9, New Paltz 3
Eric Hamilton started off this contest just like he has done seemingly so many other times this season as he launched a three-run homer to left in his first at-bat. Wes Randall and Brian Hamilton got on before him with each singling through a hole in the infield.
In the seventh inning, Myles Kutscher joined the homer party as he went down low on the side-winding pitcher to slap the ball down the left field line just inside the foul pole. Oswego got another run in the inning when Collin Thompson grounded out to second driving home John Barnes and making it 7-3 Lakers.
Barnes walked earlier in the inning before Zach Kollar singled him over to third. In the first inning of the game Kollar shot the infield gap, singling through the left side to drive in the Lakers' fourth run.
Oswego strung together a couple more runs in the bottom half of the eighth inning to add some insurance and making it 9-3. Kutscher singled home E. Hamilton before John Barnes slapped one through the left side to drive in Kutscher.
Four Lakers recorded three hits in the game including E. Hamilton and Kutscher. B. Hamilton went 3-for-5 with a run scored and Mike Dellicarri found the sweet spot in the designated hitter position going 3-for-4 at the dish.
Brian Nolan started the game and went four innings allowing just three hits and two earned. Tim Cronin earned the win in relief to improve to 3-1 as he manned the mound over the following five innings. He allowed four hits and struck out one in a solid performance from the bump.
Game Two: Oswego 5, New Paltz 4 (7 inn.)
In the bottom of the seventh with darkness setting in and Zach Kollar on first, Matt Capobianco smacked a shot to center. With the center fielder playing on the warning track, the ball fell in and Kollar rounded the bases all the way from first to score the game-winning run.
This came after New Paltz was able to manufacture a run in the top of the seventh inning to keep its hopes alive. Robert Donnelly manned the mound for Oswego throughout, pitching a complete game while allowing five hits and three earned runs to notch his third win of the season.
In what almost seemed like highlight footage, Alex Brown found the bottom of the wall in precisely the same spot in both the second and third innings. Prior to his at-bats in both occasions, Capobianco earned his way onto first (single and walk). Brown then slapped a double to left field, which bounced off the fence allowing Capobianco to score from first.
In the second and third innings respectively, Randall slapped an RBI-single and then Jordan Giller drove a runner home on an RBI groundout to first.
The Lakers will finish off the three-game set with the Hawks Saturday with a single nine-inning game from Laker Baseball Field. The game is scheduled to begin at noon.
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