SALEM, OR - On Friday afternoon, the Oneonta baseball team opened the 2024 season with a West Coast trip to face Willamette (2-0). The Red Dragons fell 13-1 and 13-12 as they move to 0-2 on the season. 

The Bearcats' Jeff Hoffman knocked a two RBI home run to left field in the bottom of the first to give Willamette a 2-0 lead. Two scoreless innings followed before Oneonta got on the board at the top of the third inning. Senior Cole Rockwell (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) led off with a double to right field and reached third on a sacrifice bunt from junior Josh Gilkey (Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minor). Rockwell reached home after a pitcher error to cut the lead to 2-1.  

Rocco Granucci answered with a home run in the bottom of the frame to push the Bearcats ahead 4-1, and a Hoffman grand slam in the bottom of the fourth made it 9-1. 

Willamette continued to build its lead, adding runs in the fifth and sixth innings as the Red Dragons' bats went cold. 

Senior Sean Liquori (Thiells, NY/North Rockland) pitched 3.1 innings with six hits and three strikeouts. Sophomore Martin Thorsland (Maryland, NY/Milford Central) went 2.1 innings with four strikeouts and five runs. 

Willamette's Layton Wagner (1-0) pitched a complete game with four hits, one run, and four strikeouts. 

The Red Dragons lost 13-12 in a wild second game that went down to the ninth inning. Oneonta took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Gilkey scored on a fielder's choice. The game moved along quickly until the bottom of the third when a double from Willamette's Granucci brought in two runs. Wagner followed up with a single RBI to make it 3-1. 

The Red Dragons erupted for five runs on four hits in the fifth inning. Junior Anthony Foglia (Somers, NY/North Salem) got Oneonta rolling with a single to bring senior Liam Kaseta (Somers, NY/Somers) home. Sophomore Joey Dwyer (Shoreham, NY/Shoreham Wading River) doubled to allow senior Bradley Turner (Stone Ridge, NY/Rondout Valley) to score. Senior Sean Liquori (Thiells, NY/North Rockland) singled in a pair of runs the next at-bat to give Oneonta a 5-4 lead. Liquori reached home following a Bearcats' error to end the inning 6-4. 

The Red Dragons added three more runs in the sixth, with Gilkey scoring on a Dwyer single to right field. Liquori singled in a run, and sophomore Matt Sandoval (West Islip, NY/West Islip Senior) hit a sacrifice fly that brought Dwyer home to make it 9-4. 

Willamette retook the lead in the bottom of the sixth and brought in seven runs to go up 11-9. Freshman pitcher Brendan McGowan (Wappingers Falls, NY/Roy C. Ketcham Senior) struck out a batter, and a Oneonta double play escaped the inning only down two. 

The Red Dragons could not muster any offense until the top of the eighth inning when Liquori singled in Foglia. Sandoval followed with a single to center field, bringing in the tying run. Kaseta knocked a single to right field, allowing Rockwell to reach home and take a 12-11 lead. 

The Bearcats scored during their at-bat with an RBI single from Foster. Oneonta did not score in the ninth, and Willamette had the chance in the bottom of the frame. Hoffman reached second on a sacrifice bunt, and Wagner was intentionally walked. A pitch hit the following batter to load the bases, and Garrett hit a sacrifice fly to bring Hoffman in for the game-winning run. 

Dwyer finished batting 4-for-6 with three runs and three RBI, while Foglia was 3-of-6 with two runs and one RBI. Liquori went 3-for-5 and recorded four RBI. Gilkey and Kaseta both had two hits. 

Granucci and Foster led Willamette with three hits and two runs each. 

Junior Kyle Roper (Tappan, NY/Tappan Zee) went 4.0 innings with four strikeouts, five hits, and four runs. 

Oneonta plays Willamette again on Sat. Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. (EST) in a doubleheader.