Lakers Cage Kats in Baseball
BUFFALO, NY -- The Finger Lakes Community College Baseball team swept the Erie Community College Kats on Friday by the scores of 10-4 in eight innings and 2-1. The Lakers are now 10-16 on the season and 4-8 in Region III play. The win was also Head Coach Sean Marren's 50th career win at the helm of the Lakers.
The Lakers broke through first in the third inning when Kenny Urbanik singled with one out. He stole second base and advanced to third on a flyout by Matt Ashley. Urbanik would be plated by Danny D'Eletto for the 1-0 lead. Erie would tie the game in the fourth, but the Lakers took the lead right back in the fifth. Urbanik got hit by the pitch and scored on a double my Matt Ashley. Ashley would then get brought home on another single by D'Eletto. Ryan Juergens singled to score D'Eletto and give the Lakers a 4-1 lead. Erie pushed one across in the sixth, but the Lakers would lead 4-2 going into the bottom of the seventh. The Kats would tie the game on a two-out double, but starting pitcher Brandon Anderson would get a groundout to Franzone at third to strand the game-winning run.
The Lakers bats exploded in the eighth. Ryan Juergens led the inning off by getting hit by the pitch. Evan Santiago came into the game as a pinch runner and he advanced to second on a groundout. Finger Lakes got runners on the corners when Dalton Murray reached on an error. Matt Horne was hit by a pitch to load the bases. The Lakers turned to pinch hitter Kevin Carpentier. The sophomore would drill a 1-1 offering to the right centerfield gap to clear the bases and give the Lakers a 7-4 lead. After a Matt Ashley walk, Danny D'Eletto doubled to score Ashley and Hunter Hey, who pinch ran for Carpentier. D'Eletto came home on a triple by Max Franzone to give the Lakers a 10-4 lead. Brandon Anderson would close it out in the bottom of the inning for the eight inning complete game and a 10-4 Finger Lakes win.
D'Eletto led the way at the plate for the Lakers with four hits, including a pair of doubles. He drove in four runs and also stole a pair of bases. Kevin Carpentier's bases-clearing double was his first career hit. Sophomore Brandon Anderson earned the win on the mound, his first of the season. Anderson allowed only two earned runs and struck out four.
Game 2 also saw the Lakers push across the opening run. Matt Ashley led the game off with a single. He would leave the game due to injury and get pinch run for by Hunter Hey. He advanced to third on a Max Franzone single and scored on a Ryan Juergens groundout. The Lakers scored their second run in the fourth. Franzone led the inning off with a double. He scored on a Juergens single to give the Lakers a 2-0 lead. Starting pitcher Ryan Landers has been impressive all year and did not disappoint on Friday. He allowed one run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Landers and the Lakers would carry a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Erie would draw a walk and single to left field. With runners at the corners and one out, Erie attempted a suicide squeeze to tie the game. The bunt would be bunted in the air and caught by Landers. He would then win the foot race to third base to double-up the Erie runner and end the game with Finger Lakes winning 2-1.
Landers went the distance for the second time this season. He allowed only three hits and struck out a pair in the complete game win. Max Franzone went 2-2 for Finger Lakes and Ryan Juergens drove in a pair of runs.
The Lakers will play their third doubleheader in as many days on Saturday when they travel to Binghamton, NY to take on the Hornets of SUNY Broome. First pitch of the Region III and Mid-State Athletic Conference doubleheader is 1pm.