ONEONTA, N.Y. - The Oneonta baseball team opened the weekend series with two wins over Fredonia on Friday afternoon. The Red Dragons (19-9-1, 8-3 SUNYAC) downed the Blue Devils (9-14, 2-9 SUNYAC) 5-2 in the opener and 8-6 in the second game.
Fredonia struck first in game one, with Tyler Curtis singling home a run from Chris Schraufst to take an early 1-0 lead. Oneonta answered, and junior Nick Jacoby (Yorktown Heights, NY/Yorktown) led off with a walk. Senior Josh Gilkey (Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minor) singled to left-center field. Jacoby scored on a first baseman error to tie 1-1 in the first.
Freshman Zachary Rowe (Hudson, NY/Taconic Hills) struck out two Blue Devil batters in the third and another in the fourth to keep it a 1-1 contest. In the top of the fifth, AJ Roach reached home following a double from Kyle Tedford to take a 2-1 lead. Oneonta was held without a hit until the sixth inning but was unable to find a run.
The Red Dragons scored again in the seventh with back-to-back bunt singles from seniors Andrew Bonilla (Walden, NY/Valley Central) and Alex Wurster (Central Square, NY/Paul V. Moore) to load the bases. Freshman Joesph Monserrat singled in a run from Hutter to tie, and Oneonta took the lead when Bonilla reached home on a wild pitch. Monserrat scored to give the Red Dragons a 4-2 advantage.
Junior Martin Thorsland (Maryland, NY/Milford Central) helped the defense to a 1-2-3 top of the eighth while striking out one batter. After stealing two bases, senior Joey Dwyer (Shoreham, NY/Shoreham Wading River) reached home on a ground out to make it 5-2. The final inning saw Fredonia go 1-2-3 with all flyouts to the outfield.
Rowe went 4.0 innings with two hits, two runs, and three strikeouts. Thorsland (3-1) grabbed the win, going 5.0 innings with two hits, no runs, and five strikeouts.
Nick Syposs pitched 6.0 innings with six hits, four runs, and two strikeouts.
In game two, Oneonta took a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Jacoby scored on an error, and a Dwyer triple brought in a run from freshman Ryan Cronin (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa). Dwyer stole home, and junior Brendan Duffy (Southold, NY/Southold Jr./Sr.) doubled home senior Logan Hutter (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West/Smithtown).
Fredonia tacked on a run at the top of the second, with Aaron Ahlstrom reaching home on a Ryan Cardinali single.
Neither side scored until the fifth inning. The Blue Devils brought in five runs at the top of the frame. Schraufst walked in a bases-loaded run. A sacrifice fly cut the lead to one, and Tyler Curtis hit a game-tying double to make it 4-4. Kyle Tedford hit a two-RBI double to give the Blue Devils a 6-4 lead.
Oneonta retook the lead in the sixth. Duffy and Monserrat both reached home on a passed ball. Senior Anthony Foglia (Somers, NY/North Salem) then singled home Gilkey to go ahead 7-6. Oneonta scored again in the seventh inning, and junior Eric Korzeniewski (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) struck out two Fredonia batters to earn the win.
Senior James Torres (North Salem, NY/North Salem) pitched 4.1 innings with five hits, five runs, and one strikeout. Korzeniewski (3-1) went 4.2 innings with two hits, no runs, and four strikeouts.
Oneonta net hosts. Fredonia on Sat. Apr. 19 at noon.
