ESPN.com Picks Up Paino Story

ESPN.com writer Wayne Drehs published a piece on the Oswego State Lakers baseball team today. The article touches on the accident during a recent game in which coach Frank Paino was struck in the head by a line drive. Click here for the story. Here is an excerpt:

The ballpark fell eerily silent, the only noise a wailing siren from an ambulance that couldn't arrive fast enough. Players fell to their knees. Parents and fans did the same. No one said a word, but nearly everyone feared the worst.

"I didn't think he was going to make it," said St. John Fisher pitcher Justin Lutes.

"It was a no-brainer that this could end up real bad," added Fisher coach Dan Pepicelli.

And then there was State University of New York at Oswego junior Dan Pecora. Said Pecora: "I thought I had killed my coach."

Lakers Win ECAC Upstate Title

Tom Benedetto's three-run homer to left field in the eighth inning put the Lakers in front and they went on to the championship game victory. The back-and-forth game saw the Lakers take leads of 1-0, 5-1, and 8-3 until Brockport exploded for six runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 9-8 lead. More here...

Lakers Win Pair Without Paino

The Oswego State baseball team won a pair of games today to advance to the ECAC Tournament Championship. Their head coach, Frank Paino, was not present as he is recovering from being hit in the head by a foul ball during Thursday's game. More on this story here.

Paino Struck By Foul Ball, Game Called

Today's baseball game between Oswego State and St. John Fisher was cut short after Laker coach Frank Paino was struck in the head by a line drive. More on the game here.

Laker Baseball Falls Six Outs Short Of SUNYACs

Brockport swept today's doubleheader from Oswego State to move into the fourth and final playoff spot in the SUNY Athletic Conference. The Lakers were a game up on the Golden Eagles entering today. After an 11-1 rout in game one, the Eagles put up four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning for a come-from-behind 7-6 victory in game two. Laker hurler Dustin Lefave (4-1) suffered his first collegiate loss in relief.

NOW ON AIR: Laker Baseball

Mike Toper and Ernie Acosta are live at Laker Field for today's doubleheader between CCNY and Oswego State. The Lakers have lost four of their last five and will look to right the ship with three games against the Beavers in two days.

Lakers, Plattsburgh Split Doubleheader

The Oswego State Lakers crushed Plattsburgh 16-0 in the first game of a baseball doubleheader today at Laker Field. Oz hurler Dave Widrick tossed a complete game shutout, allowing eight hits. The Cards then managed a split of the twin bill with a 10-3 victory in the second game.

FINAL: Oswego 12 SUNYIT 3

The Lakers take the first game of the doubleheader 12-3. Andy Salvatore threw eight strong innings allowing two earned runs on six hits while striking out nine for his first win of the season. Outfielder Evan Shaffer laced four singles and drove in a pair for the Lakers.

UPDATE: Oswego took game two by a score of 17-4. They have now won seven straight

Live Baseball Blog: Lakers 8 Wildcats 1

SUNYIT Wildcats hurler Adam Shea has just walked in two runs to give the Lakers an 8-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. Oswego State left fielder Wes O'Connor has a double, a triple and an RBI in his first two trips to the plate. Laker pitcher Andy Salvatore has allowed just two hits through four innings of work while striking out six.

Laker Fields Kind to Cortland

Cortland hurler Matt Tone (pictured, left) has been named NCAA Division III Pitcher of the Week after tossing a no-hitter against Oswego State at Laker Field on Apr. 5 in an 11-0 victory. Tone struck out 13 Laker hitters in the contest, a career high for the sophomore.

Oswego has since recovered to win five straight games and improve their overall record to 6-4 while evening their conference mark at 2-2. The fourth-place Lakers will look to improve on that streak this weekend with doubleheaders against third-place Plattsburgh and last-place SUNYIT.

Cortland continued their spring dominance over the Lakers on Tuesday by sweeping a softball double-header at Laker Field by scores of 5-0 and 11-1. Freshman Donalynn Cross (pictured, right) hit a home run in each game as Cortland handed Oswego their first two conference losses of the season.

Cortland would make it a complete spring sweep of Oswego with a 19-3 men's lacrosse victory at Laker Field on Wednesday. Senior Kyle Simensky (pictured, left) tallied five goals as the Red Dragons held Oswego scoreless for the final 31:38. Cortland outshow the Lakers 58-20 and won 18-of-24 faceoffs.

Ryan Maloney

Laker Baseball Postponed Today; Lax to Play On

Today's scheduled baseball doubleheader between Oswego State and Fredonia has been postponed due to weather. It is now scheduled to be played Monday at noon. The men's lacrosse team will play today's scheduled home opener against Utica. The Lakers will be looking to snap a three-game skid. The Pioneers are in search of their third victory in four games after starting the season 0-5. Face-off is set for 1 p.m.

Laker Baseball To Rely On Young Arms In '08

Coach Frank Paino's Lakers are 1-1 this season after falling 4-2 at Juniata College in Pennsylvania Monday. Eagles hurler Jay Enoch struck out 14 batters and improved to 3-0 on the year. Junior Chris Schiro took the loss for Oswego after allowing two unearned runs in the eighth. Schiro threw five innings in relief of Rob Johnson, allowing no earned runs. However, he struggled with his control as he walked five batters and hit another.

Oswego State kicked off the 2008 campaign with an 8-7 win at Voorhees College of the NAIA in South Carolina Friday. No box score has been published. Today's scheduled game at Pitt-Bradford has been cancelled. The Lakers open up SUNYAC play in their home opener with Fredonia Saturday. The doubleheader is set to start at noon. The weather forecast predicts a high temperature of 32 degrees Saturday with a 20 percent chance of snow. Plenty of good seats still available.

2008 Record: 1-1 (0-0 in SUNYAC)
2007 Record: 15-14 (7-7 in SUNYAC)

KEY LOSSES
Nick Perioli OF: Led team in batting (.404), hits (36), slugging (.461), and stolen bases (6)
Nick Marzullo DH: Led team in runs (19) & RBI (19), hit .302 with 38 total bases
Tom Farrell 1B: Led team in doubles (10) & total bases (43), .988 fielding percentage
Nate DeSantis SP: Led starters in ERA (1.97), shutouts (2), opp. batting avg (.235), wins (4)
Justin Horbal SP: Led team in complete games (3), 2-3 record with 4.08 ERA in 6 starts
Adam Herendza RP: Led team in appearances (13) & strikeouts (50), 3-2 record, 3.40 ERA
Justin White SP: 4-3 record with 4.27 ERA in 7 starts

KEY RETURNERS
Mike Levy SS: Led team in walks (17) and errors (10), .292 batting average with 11 RBI
Brett Shaffer 2B: 2007 Regional Gold Glove (.986 fielding percentage), hit .287 with 14 RBI

NEW FACES
Mark VanDreasen IF (Utica-Proctor), Matt Miller C (Sodus), P.J. Cowie P (Spencerport), Mike Redmond IF (Lansing), Pat O'Keefe IF (Lehman), Marc Peterson P (Geneseo), Brandon Wroblewski P/OF (Greece Athena), Dustin Lefave P (Moravia), Jim Rinella P (C-NS), Andy Salvatore P (Arlington), Tom Benedetto OF (Wantagh), Evan Shaffer OF/P (Caledonia-Mumford), Alex Jarvela P (Batavia)

Most Recent SUNYAC Title: 1996
Most Recent NCAA Tournament: 1996
Coach: Frank Paino (22nd season 405-294-1)

Ryan Maloney