OSWEGO, N.Y. – The College at Brockport Baseball team finished up a three game series with a doubleheader against the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) front runner and No. 6 team in the country Oswego on Saturday falling short in a close 5-2 match before falling victim to a Laker onslaught during game two 14-4 at the Laker Baseball Field.
Brockport (16-13 Overall, 7-5 SUNYAC) finished with 18 hits on the day but were unable to muster the offense needed to surpass the conference leader in runs per game.
Game 1: Oswego 5 – Brockport 2
Sam McCumiskey kept the Laker offense at bay for the first five innings, throwing five consecutive shutout frames until Oswego opened things up in the bottom of the sixth with five runs, three of which were earned.
The Golden Eagle offense did its best to answer back with its own run but with only the top of the seventh inning left because of the SUNYAC rule that the second game of a three game series is to be played in seven innings, Brockport ran out of time.
Despite the limited time, Brockport was able to put a fright into the Lakers after Brett Sanders led the inning off with a walk, Drew DeBlasiis reached on an infield pinch hit single before Eli Carrera was struck by a pitch to load the bases with no outs.
The first out of the inning came when the Laker third baseman was able to get Sanders out at home on a ground ball from Greg Ruddy. Brockport's next batter Paul Ludden hit a fly ball deep enough to score DeBlasiis for its first run of the contest but the Golden Eagles second out of the frame. Wesley Burghardt responded with a clutch run scoring single on a 1-2 pitch, sending the ball through the left side of the infield. However that proved to be Brockport's final tally of the game.
Burghardt was the lone Golden Eagle to finish game one with more than one hit as he singled in both the first and seventh innings going 2-for-4. McCumiskey stepped on the mound with commanding stuff from the get go as he mowed down the Lakers for two consecutive three up-three down scenarios. He totaled five strikeouts during 5.1 innings pitched, during his first loss of the season. Nick Jerolimov entered the contest in relief and did not allow a run during his time of getting two outs.
Game 2: Oswego 14 – Brockport 4
The Golden Eagles took the lead in the top of the first inning with three consecutive singles by Ludden, Burghardt and Chris Davis. Davis knocked in the early run for his 26 RBI on the season.
Brockport's lead was usurped by a two run Oswego home run in the bottom half of the first inning. The Golden Eagles showed some grit early on though as it battled back to even the score at 2-all in the top of the second before the Lakers took control, scoring two runs in each of the first three innings before adding four in the fourth.
With two outs in the top of the second, Dane Cala singled on the first pitch of his at bat to right field before Ruddy sent his first pitch into centerfield for another single. Ludden singled to right field as Cala was able to beat the relay to the plate knotting things up at two.
The Golden Eagles also scored in the top of the fourth when Cala got things started by reaching on an error with two outs. Ruddy and Ludden both hit consecutive singles resulting in Cala's second run of the game, which brought Brockport within three runs until the Lakers scored four additional runs in bottom half of the frame.
The final run for Brockport came in the sixth when Eli Carrera showed great patience working a walk after falling behind 1-2 in the count. He reached second base as Cala reached base again on an error before Ludden concluded the Brockport scoring with another run scoring single and third RBI of the game.
Jimmy Lovelass threw back-to-back shutout innings in the fifth and sixth before getting relieved in the seventh as Oswego added four more runs in its final two innings batting.
Ruddy and Ludden combined for seven hits during game two, as Ludden went 4-of-5 with three RBI to increase his season total to 26 which ties him with Davis for the most in the Brockport lineup.
Brockport returns to action Tuesday with a nonconference game on the road versus RIT at 4 p.m. Be sure to stay up to date on all your Golden Eagle scores and awards by following @BportAthletics on Twitter and by liking the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.
