ALEX KALUZNY
Over the weekend, Fredonia lost both of its SUNYAC Tournament games by scores of 14-5 and 9-5 to Cortland and Oswego, respectively, ending the 2015 baseball season.
Friday against Cortland, pitcher Jake Harford was hung with the loss, making his record 0-5 on the mound this season. Harford went one inning with four earned runs on four hits.
Ben Senior followed out of the bullpen, pitching a game high of three and two-thirds innings for Fredonia, allowing six earned runs on five hits. Thomas Morris, Michael Bessette and Evan Carmello also came on in relief, exhausting the Blue Devils’ bullpen over the span of seven innings.
The five Fredonia pitchers combined for three strikeouts and allowed four walks.
Second baseman Ciro Frontale tripled in the ninth inning and drove in a run, which was part of a four-run inning for Fredonia and the last scoring play of the late game charge.
Cortland’s bats were hot, jumping out of the start with the four-run inning on Harford. After that, the Red Dragons tallied seven runs on the board in the fifth inning.
Outfielder Nick Hart led the charge for Cortland, going 4-for-4 with four RBIs. On the mound, Brandon Serio improved to 7-0 on the season for the Red Dragons. Serio tossed a shutout over seven and a third innings, recording five strikeouts and allowing no walks.
Against Oswego, Fredonia played catch-up in a second consecutive game, falling behind the Lakers 2-0 at the end of the first inning. Down 6-0 after six, the Blue Devils showed up with a late charge, once again getting four runs home in the seventh inning and one in the eighth.
For Fredonia, Zachary Jordan was able to go for four and a third innings before Joe DiLeo and Bailey Gauthier came on in relief. Jordan’s record ends at 6-3 on the season with the loss. The pitching staff threw a combined four strikeouts and two walks, allowing 13 hits in the process.
Quinn Danahy was able to go 3-for-5, while Kenny Johnston went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
However, it was Ricky Mendiola’s only hit of the game in the seventh inning that drove in two runs. Mendiola’s walk in the eighth inning brought home another run.
Fredonia struggled with runners on base, stranding 14 over the course of the ballgame.
Brendyn Karinchak pitched a quality outing for Oswego. Karinchak went six and a third innings with nine strikeouts and two walks, but allowed three earned runs on 10 hits. Mickey Putillo was awarded his sixth save of the season in relief.
The Lakers’ bats produced three solo home runs by Eric Hamilton, Jordan Giller and Robert Donnelly. Hamilton went 2-for-5 with a double, while Giller went 4-for-5 and drove home five at the plate.
Over the span of both games, Fredonia won the defensive battle, making three fewer errors than its opponents.