Entering Tuesday's home doubleheader with Cayuga, the Tompkins Cortland baseball team had the opportunity to control their own destiny in the playoff race. After the doubleheader, which produced losses in both games to the Spartans, and with a week left in the regular season, the Panthers playoff hopes are on life support. Tuesday's losses, by scores of 11-6 and 6-0, leave the Panthers with a record 5-9 in East Division games and 6-11 overall, meaning the Panthers will need some help to qualify for the postseason. Cayuga is 10-6 in the East and 11-13 overall.
Game One: Cayuga 11, Tompkins Cortland 6
The Panthers showed resiliency in the opener, rallying back from being down 4-0 to tie the game at 4-4 after three innings and then from down 6-4 to tie the game at 6-6 after five innings. But a third rally wasn't to be, and when Cayuga put four runs across the plate in the sixth, the Panthers had no answer. Another insurance run came in the seventh, making the final 11-6.
The Panthers combined to rack up nine hits at the plate – one more than Cayuga – with all coming from the top five hitters in the lineup. Luke Ough (Edmeston/Edmeston H.S.) finished with three RBI and three-quarters of the cycle: a single, a double, and a triple. Ethan Buckley (Bath/Haverling H.S.) went 2-for-4 with a triple and Jayden Jeminson (Brampton, Ontario/Louise Arbour H.S.) went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI.
Pitcher Seth Zurbruegg (Syracuse/Jamesville-DeWitt H.S.) made his first start of the season, working into the fourth inning and keeping the game close. Logan Kaufman (Hobart/South Kortright H.S.) took the loss, despite striking out four batters in two innings.
Game Two: Cayuga 6, Tompkins Cortland 0
Game two started with a pair of scoreless innings, thanks in part to each team turning a double-play in the second inning. In the third inning, Panthers starter Luke Ough (Edmeston/Edmeston H.S.) opened by striking out the first two batters and inducing a foul pop fly by the third batter. But when the pop-up wasn't caught, Cayuga took advantage of the second chance to rally and score two runs. The big blow came in the fourth, with the Spartans plating four runs to take control of the game.
Meanwhile, the Panthers were being stymied at the plate. The first hit didn't come until the fourth inning, and by the time the final out was recorded, the team had just three hits and a total of four baserunners the entire game. Vinny Perrotta (New Hartford/New Hartford H.S.) had the lone extra-base hit for the Panthers – a double in the sixth inning.
Looking ahead
Next on the schedule for the Panthers is a home doubleheader with Finger Lakes Community College on Thursday. The non-East Division games won't impact the Panthers post-season chances.