Lakers’ strong first inning drives them past the Bombers

April 17, 2024

Junior righty pitcher Dan Allard steps up on the mound in the Bombers’ 11–6 loss against the SUNY Oswego State Lakers. The Bombers went through six different pitchers in nine innings.

On the afternoon of April 16, the Ithaca College baseball team took on the SUNY Oswego State Lakers in an out–of–conference matchup at Valesente Diamond at Freeman Field. The Lakers controlled the game from the first pitch and defeated the Bombers 11-6.

This is the second time this season that the Bombers and Lakers have faced off. On March 16, the Lakers beat the Bombers in a shoot-out, winning 14-8.

The game got off to a rocky start for the Bombers. Lefty senior pitcher Sean Kelly got the start for the Bombers. Quickly after retiring the lead-off hitter, Kelly struggled and let up seven earned runs on four hits.

After Kelly’s struggles, he was relieved by first-year student lefty pitcher Keaton Blackwood. The Lakers’ junior outfielder Joe McLaughlin scored on an RBI groundout by Lakers senior catcher Greg Carullo, otherwise Blackwood left the inning unscathed, letting up no earned runs, with the Bombers trailing 7-0.

Senior Jai Sharma got the start on the mound for the Lakers. He struggled with command early, hitting the Bombers’ leadoff hitter, senior right fielder Ethan McDonough. However, Sharma was able to settle in and retire the next three batters in order.

In the bottom of the second inning, the Bombers were able to get on the board. Junior shortstop Riley Brawdy was able to work a walk. Sharma remained rattled, walking the following hitter as well, sophomore third baseman Nate Rodriguez. This brought McDonough up and he came through, with a bloop single to right-center, putting the Bombers on the board, as they trailed 7-1.

In the bottom of the inning, the Bombers continued to fight back. With one out, first-year student first baseman Camden Laney hit a single opposite field into the shortstop hole.

Laney has been on fire this season at the plate and recently won Liberty League rookie of the week for his performance during April 8–14. Laney said he has been focusing on seeing the ball all the way through the zone, and using the whole field as he did in this at-bat.

“I’m just trying to see the ball deep, not get beat by the fastball … hit the ball where it’s pitched,” Laney said.

After a strikeout looking by Bombers junior designated hitter Nicholas Cutaia, junior center fielder Collin Feeney was able to draw a walk to keep the inning going. The big hit came from junior catcher Tyler Pugliese, with a bases-clearing double to cut the Lakers lead to 7-3. Brawdy was able to keep the rally going, driving in Pugliese with an opposite field single to left field.

Laney said that despite the slow start, it was encouraging to see how the team was able to rally and stay in the game. He hopes the squad can build off it as they head into the weekend.

“Obviously not the best game, but we did a good job fighting back from a deficit so I mean just try to build off that going into the weekend,” Laney said.

In the fourth inning, Blackwood began to run into trouble. Lakers senior infielder Jelani Hamer was driven in by a McCarthy single, who now had three RBIs in the afternoon. McCarthy then stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored to give the Lakers a 9–4 lead.

The action died down and the score remained the same heading into the seventh inning. This is when things began to unravel for the Bombers. First-year student pitcher Jack Picozzi entered the game. Despite being one of the Bombers’ top arms this season, Picozzi struggled and was not able to record an out, allowing the Lakers to bring in two runs.

Sophomore pitcher Conor Burns entered the game for Picozzi and was able to work out of trouble, stranding the Lakers’ sophomore second baseman Trey McGowan and senior third baseman Blake VanDreason in scoring position, limiting the damage to just two runs. Burns also threw a scoreless eighth inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Bombers had one more rally in them. A leadoff walk by Pugliese led to an RBI double by Brawdy. The next hitter, Rodriguez, hit a single to left field, scoring Brawdy and the Lakers’ lead was back down to five. However, senior right–handed pitcher Richie Paul entered the game for the Lakers and was able to shut the rally down, recording three consecutive outs. After a scoreless ninth by both sides, the Lakers were able to take home an impressive road victory 11–6.

This weekend, the Bombers have a three–game series with conference rivals, the University of Rochester. They will travel for a doubleheader at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. April 20 in Rochester, New York followed by a game at 1 p.m. April 21 at Freeman Field. They hope to bounce back and get healthy. This game, they were without starting infielders, senior Ethan Rothstein and junior Connor Pederson. Laney said that getting these back and others will be the key to bouncing back this weekend.