Archive: Sports

The Tompkins County Lakers started the road trip visiting the veteran team of Maine Endwell where Jared Strait ended up on the wrong side of the pitching decision.  He pitched well but, not well enough to beat the dominant team of heavy hitters.  The Lakers also struggled to get the bats going and that delivered them to an 8 – 0 loss.

On Tuesday the Lakers regrouped and headed up to TC3 to face the Cayuga Storm, a travel team coached by the TC3 head coach, Ryan Stevens.  The Lakers were a little more aggressive at the plate this game as they took a one nothing lead in the first.  Zack Walker was in control on the mound, allowing just one hit and no earned runs in his four innings of pitching.  Both teams' defenses played with big gloves and accurate arms, only committing one error each.  In the fifth inning Zach Sherwood, Lansing Miller, Jack English, and Strait all singled.

Adding to the rampage Ben Kutler and Brandon Mikula earned disciplined walks.  All of this action gave the Lakers a 6 – 0 lead over the Storm.  Zach Kemp took the bump for TC and sat down the side with two K's and line out to Mikula at second base.  Holden was given the ball for the Storm and the change shut the Lakers down in the sixth inning.  Kemp faced another four batters getting two of them to fly out and one to ground out but, not before the storm got on the board with a run.  The score now was 6 – 1.

Holden stepped back on the hill and shut the Lakers down again with a fly out and two ground outs.  The Cayuga team picked up the bats with their final chance at a comeback.  Garrett Bell earned a walk and then advanced on a double and tagged up on the Sacrifice fly to score the last run for the Storm.  Final score 6 – 2.

Ending the road trip with a game against Moravia at Ettinger field the Lakers brought a wave of runs and a riptide of pitching and defense.  With well-placed pitches, solid defense and phenomenal run support, Zach Sherwood got the win for the Lakers in his pitching debut.  The Lakers started off the first inning by setting and clearing the table (putting runners on base and then scoring them).  Strait earned a disciplined walk, Kutler singled sharply up the middle and both advanced on a bad throw.  Conner Siracusa stepped in the box and crushed the ball over the leftfield fence grossing a three RBI home run.  The Blue Devils pitcher settled in, recovered and got the next three batters out.

Sherwood nervously, walked two then settled in and got down to work allowing no hits in the first.  Strait jokingly commented to Sherwood, "Hey, you didn't suck.  Not bad."  The Lakers bottom of the order stuttered and couldn't get anything started in the second.  Sherwood took the hill with a little more confidence, walked one, struck one out and caused two infield ground outs.  He was almost benched for smiling too much.

The top of the order came up.  Strait belted a triple down the right field line.  Coach Strait instructed Kutler to swap spots with Strait.  Kutler ripped one out to the fence in center field scoring Strait.  He then stood on third smiling at the coach.  Siracusa singled scoring Kutler.  A few more walks and some aggressive base running allowed the Lakers to bat around and score six more runs.

With the score at 9 – 0, Sherwood gave up a solid double and the Blue Devils were able to score their first and only run.  The Lakers caught Moravia in a rip tide and tacked on an additional twelve runs with a home run from Pat Judd that interrupted the Little League game being played on the next field, base hits from Kutler, Siracusa, Miller, Corbin Atkins, Jesse Richardson, Jack English and another triple from Kutler.

Atkins Pitched the fifth and sixth innings, striking out four and allowing only one hit.  English came in to close and earned two K's, walked one and caused a 'come backer' ground out that he took care of himself.

The TC Lakers are preparing for their first tournament down at Mansfield University and are on a roll, improving every game.  They play two games next week, one versus Spencer and one against Tioga, July 5 in Spencer and July 6 at Lansing respectively.  Both games have a 6:00 pm start.

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