CHICHESTER, PA - The Oneonta baseball team split in its season-opening doubleheader against Valley Forge (1-1) on Saturday evening. The Red Dragons (1-1) fell 9-7 in the first game before winning the nightcap 12-6.
After a scoreless first inning in the first game, the Red Dragons got on the board first in the top of the second. Sophomore Ryan Cronin (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) led off with a triple and senior Brendan Duffy (Southold, NY/Southold Jr./Sr.) walked to put runners on first and second. Cronin stole home to make it 1-0.
Neither side scored again until the bottom of the fourth when Valley Forge poured in four runs to take the lead. A Josh Zollo sacrifice bunt brought runners to second and third, and Gabriel Murphy was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Zach Haines was hit by a pitch to bring a runner in. Brayden Tunnell scored on a passed ball, and a two-RBI single from Juan Lopez made it 4-1.
The Red Dragons responded in the top of the sixth with Duffy leading off with a single. Senior Edem Okpattah (Baltimore, MD/Georgia Premier Academy) hit a triple to bring Duffy home, and he scored following a single from junior Kevin Stewart (East Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa). Sophomore Joseph Monserrat (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) walked to load the bases, and freshman Alex Halwick (Selkirk, NY/Ravena Coeymans Selkirk) hit a two-RBI single to take the lead at 5-4. Monserrat added one more run to give Oneonta a 6-4 lead.
Valley Forge brought in five runs in the bottom of the frame. Lopez struck a two-RBI double to take the lead at 7-6. The Patriots extended the lead to three following a Chase Timmons RBI single.
Oneonta had a final chance in the seventh with Duffy and senior Matt Sandoval (West Islip, NY/West Islip Senior) hitting doubles to get on second and third. Duffy reached home on a single by junior Joe LoMonaco (Shirley, NY/William Floyd) to make it 9-7. A final flyout closed out the game.
Duffy finished the game batting 2-for-2 with two runs and two walks. Halwick added a hit and two RBI.
Lopez batted 2-for-4 with four RBI and one run. Haines and Murphy each had two runs.
Junior Jake Quigley (Harrison, NY/Harrison) went 2.0 innings with one strikeout and no hits. Sophomore Zachary Rowe (Hudson, NY/Taconic Hills) went 1.2 innings with four runs and four strikeouts.
Brandon Dalmado (1-0) pitched 5.0 innings with two hits, one run, and four strikeouts.
Oneonta controlled the second game and took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Senior Nick Jacoby (Yorktown Heights, NY/Yorktown) doubled in a run from Monserrat, and a Cronin single brought Jacoby home. Senior Martin Thorsland (Maryland, NY/Milford Central) struck out a batter in the bottom of the frame to complete a 1-2-3 inning.
The Red Dragons added three runs at the top of the second, with Rowe reaching home. Cronin singled in a run from Monserrat, and Jacoby scored on a balk to make it 5-0.
Joey Demirjian scored on an error to get the Patriots on the board to cut the lead to 5-1. Thorsland struck out the final batter to keep it a four-run game.
Sandoval scored in the third to extend the lead to five runs, and Oneonta built up to a 10-2 lead in the fourth. Singles from Cronin and Sandoval brought the lead to six, and a bases-loaded walk made it 9-2. LoMonaco singled one more run home before the end of the inning.
Sophomore Matt Callaghan (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) struck out three Patriots in the bottom of the fourth as the Red Dragons remained in control. Valley Forge brought in three runs in the fifth to cut the lead to 10-5, but Oneonta answered with two runs in the sixth to take a 12-5 lead.
The bottom of the seventh saw freshman Aiden Chartrand (Harrisville, NY/Harrisville) strikeout three batters to secure the first win of the season.
Cronin batted 4-of-5 with one run and three RBI. Duffy was 3-of-5, while Jacoby added one hit, three runs, and three RBI.
Thorsland (1-0) pitched 2.0 innings with no hits, one run, and two strikeouts. Callaghan went 1.0 innings with three strikeouts. Charthand struck out three batters in one inning.
Oneonta next heads to Ohio for a three-game series at Wooster, starting with a doubleheader on Feb. 28 at 11 a.m.
