The Panthers baseball team dropped a pair to Onondaga Community College Tuesday. Tompkins Cortland is now 4-16 overall and 4-12 in the West Division. Onondaga improves to 19-9 overall and 13-8 in division.

Game One: Onondaga 18, Tompkins Cortland 7 (6 innings)  

It was a rough start for the Panthers, as Onondaga scored two runs in the first inning without getting a hit. The home team plated on in the bottom of inning to make it 2-1, but Onondaga came back with eight runs in the second – seven of them unearned. The Panthers again responded, scoring six in the bottom of the second to make the score 10-7. After a scoreless third, Onondaga extended their lead with runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, eventually spreading the margin enough to end the game with ten-run rule.

Austin Cotterill (Cortland/Cortland H.S.) pitched well in relief, throwing the final four innings. Frank Marra (Millstone Township, N.J./Allentown) scored twice and Kannon VanDuzer (Sayre, Pa./Sayre Area H.S.) drove in two.

Game Two: Onondaga 8, Tompkins Cortland 5

Game two was filled with missed opportunities for the Panthers. After taking the lead with one run in the bottom of the first, the home team saw the lead disappear as Onondaga scored a run in the second. The Lazers put two runs on the board in each of the next three innings and a single run in the sixth – taking advantage of six Tompkins Cortland errors to build an 8-2 lead. In the bottom of the seventh, the Panthers rallied, loading the bases with one out. After an out, Max Dydynski (Nichols/Tioga H.S.) came through with a bases-clearing double, bringing the Panthers within three at 8-5. It was as close as the game would get, as the Lazers closed out the game with the last out.

Dydynski's safety in the eighth was the only hit in 14 at bats with runners in scoring position for the Panthers as the home team left a total of eight runners on base. Dydynski's double was also the lone extra base hit for the Panthers. Kannon VanDuzer (Sayre, Pa./Sayre Area H.S.) was the only Panther with multiple hits, going 2-for-3, but the Panthers kept the bases busy by drawing eight walks.

Looking ahead

The Panthers are back home Thursday, hosting SUNY Niagara.