After a week of games postponed due to the weather, the Tompkins Cortland Community College baseball team finally got on the field Sunday. Playing in wintry conditions on the turf at Onondaga Community College, the Panthers struggled to find any rhythm while getting swept by scores of 4-2 and 7-6, with the second game going 12 innings. The Panthers are now 7-5 overall and 0-2 in the West Division on the year while Onondaga is 9-8 overall and 3-1 in the West Division.
Game 1: Onondaga 4, Tompkins Cortland 2
The Panthers scored in the second and third innings to take a 2-0 lead, but the Lazers answered with a run in the bottom of the third and two more in the fourth. An insurance run in the sixth made the final 4-2.
Tompkins Cortland was limited to six hits by six different players. Storm Grant (Homer/Homer H.S.) and Austin Kulas (Moravia/Moravia H.S.) each doubled while Johnny Wike (Syracuse/Bishop Grimes H.S.) and Chris Micucci (Auburn/Auburn H.S.) picked up the RBIs.
Four pitchers combined to hold Onondaga to just four hits, but the defense committed three errors that lead to all the runs being unearned. Jake Prignon (Cortland/Cortland H.S.) was the hard-luck loser for his first decision of the year.
Game 2: Onondaga 7, Tompkins Cortland 6 (12 innings)
The nightcap again saw the Panthers take a lead, but this time it slipped away in dramatic fashion. After moving to a 6-3 lead in the fifth, the Panthers weren't able to close it out, allowing three Onondaga runs in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extra innings. When the offense went cold and couldn't score for seven innings, the home team finally ended the game in the 12th with a 7-6 final.
Grant again led the offense by 4-for-6 with three doubles and a pair of RBI. Alex Babcock (Cortland/Cortland H.S.) finished a homer short of hitting for the cycle, going 3-for-5 with a single, double, and triple. Charlie Hammel (Rochester/Rush-Henrietta H.S.) also had three hits, going 3-for-6.
The Panthers defense again let down the pitching staff, committing four errors that led to five of the seven runs being unearned. Starting pitcher Curtis Wilk (Cortland/Cortland H.S.) working into the fourth inning striking out five before Jake Woods (Cortland/Cortland H.S.) came on to toss five scoreless innings, striking out six. Evan Plante (Albany/Christian Brothers Academy) was tagged with the loss despite pitching well over the final two and two thirds, striking out five along the way.
Next on the schedule for the Panthers is a home and home series with Finger Lakes Community College. The teams are scheduled for a doubleheader in Canandaigua on Tuesday and then a doubleheader in Dryden on Thursday.