With a 24-7 win over St. Lawrence University, the Oswego State baseball team continues one of its longest stretches of non-conference opponents.
The Lakers host St. John Fisher College on April 5, followed by a game at the Cardinals on April 6. Other games include series against SUNY Canton, Clarkson University and the University of Rochester.
Until the team’s next league matchup against SUNY Oneonta on April 12, Oswego State will play seven games in six days.
“We’ve got a lot of games in a short amount of time,” head coach Scott Landers said following the win over St. Lawrence University. “We’re going to run guys out there. We’re going to get a lot of pitchers some innings.”
The win was a strong one following a walk-off loss to Ithaca College on April 2. With a solo-homerun from Mike Dellicarri and a two-run homerun from Ryan Enos early in the game, the Lakers led 5-4 heading into the ninth inning. But, following a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly, the Bombers won 6-5.
The loss was the start to the non-conference stint and ended the Lakers’ five-game win streak spanning back to a 12-3 win over The College at Brockport on March 24.
“We had a tough one [Monday] with Ithaca,” Landers said. “We had them beat and we let one slip away.”
After a 17-run differential over the Saints on April 3, Landers said the team is getting on the right track, getting better as the season progresses.
During the game, Oswego State was able to jump out to a 7-2 lead after two innings, scoring four runs in the first and three in the second. The Lakers consistently added runs, scoring at least one in all but the eighth inning, while shutting out the Saints in the second, third, fourth and eighth innings. Jake Jacobs, who started for the Lakers, got his first win of the season.
“We’ve got to score early and often and keep it going throughout the game,” Landers said. “That’s what we want. We’ve got to win every inning. That’s our motto.”
However, in the sixth inning, the Lakers would jump out to an even larger lead with nine runs, highlighted by a Dellicarri grand slam, despite 30 mph winds at the Laker Baseball Field on Tuesday. Enos also homered during the game.
“They’re both hitting pretty good right now,” Landers said. “Those guys are our catalysts in the middle of the order and the top of the order.”
Landers also said that, despite the heavy winds, the defense played well against the Saints, recording no errors and allowing 14 hits. The Saints committed seven errors during the contest, resulting in the onslaught of runs from Oswego State.
Dellicarri said the fast-paced games during the non-conference stint will help the team get back into a groove of things.
“It’s nice to have a few more games right in a row to get some more at-bats and get us feeling good about ourselves before getting back into conference play,” Dellicarri said.
The first game against St. John Fisher College will be the 20th game of the season for Oswego State. Heading into the game, the Lakers boast a 13-6 record, with an 8-1 SUNYAC record. At this time last season, Oswego State was 14-5 heading into its 20th game, which was against SUNY Oneonta.
Before that game against the Red Dragons, the Lakers were on a nine-game win streak, including a sweep of SUNYAC rival SUNY New Paltz.
“I think we’re fielding a lot better than we were at this point last season,” Dellicarri said. “We’ve been a lot more consistent in hitting, and we’ve been getting better hitting situationally.”
But, for Landers, the biggest thing about this long non-conference stint is that it is a good measuring stick before tough conference series, such as SUNY Cortland or SUNY Fredonia.
“We’re just trying to get better every day,” Landers said. “Everybody gets an opportunity to play. That’s a good thing.”
Photo by: Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian
