A day after a disappointing home opener, the Panthers baseball team went on the road to take on Onondaga Community College. While the result was still a pair of losses, the team played much better and the games were extremely competitive with the Lazers winning by scores of 4-1 and 3-1. Tompkins Cortland is now 2-10 overall and 0-10 in Region 3 West Division games. Onondaga stands at 15-5 overall and 3-5 in the West Division.

Game One: Onondaga 4, Tompkins Cortland 1

Gabriel Fonseca (Miami, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy) pitched a complete game for the Panthers, allowing just two earned runs on six hits. He struck out five while walking just one, keeping the game close and the Panthers within striking distance the entire way. The offense finally was able to string things together in the seventh, with Shane Smith (Groton/Groton H.S.) reaching on a walk, stealing second, and then scoring on a hit by Dan Caverly (Farmington/Victor H.S.). The rally ended there, leaving the final at 3-1.

Jordan Shortsleeve (Cortland/Cortland H.S.) led the team in game one, going 2-for-3 at the plate.

Game Two: Onondaga 3, Tompkins Cortland 1

Shortsleeve started game two off on the right foot, leading the game off with a single, stealing second, and coming around to score to first run of the game. Onondaga answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning before starting pitcher Nick Cody (Cortland/Cortland H.S.) settled in. The right-hander was strong the rest of the way, facing just three batters over the minimum over the final five innings and finishing with seven strike outs and just one walk. Unfortunately, the bats didn't have any late-game hits left in them in game two, and the Panthers were unable to add on to their first-inning run.

Looking ahead

The Panthers hope to host Onondaga on Saturday, starting at 1 p.m.