The Lakeland baseball team traveled to Solon today to take on the Bryant & Stratton Bobcats in a doubleheader. The Lakers earned a split today taking game one 8-7 before falling in the nightcap 13-1. The Lakers record now stands at 10-15 (7-8). Game one was a back-and-forth affair. The Bobcats jumped out to a 2-0 lead after hitting a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 1st inning. Lakeland responded by exploding for 6 runs in the top of the 2nd inning. Tyronne Barbosa got things going with a leadoff double. After a Kyle Zaluski walk, Ben Sterritt singled to load the bases. Cody Hejduk then worked a bases-loaded walk to force in the Lakers first run. Kris Scandy followed with a sacrifice fly to score Zaluski. Philip Putnam then stepped to the plate and blasted a 3-run home run. Malakai Roberts followed with a single and eventually score on a wild pitch. The Bobcats responded in the home half of the inning by scoring 3 runs to make the score 6-5 in favor of Lakeland. B&S was helped by some defensive miscues from the Lakers. Lakeland added another run in the top of the 5th inning when Tyronne Basbosa would smash a solo home run to make the score 7-5. The Bobcats would inch back closer as they scored a single run in the 5th to make the score 7-6. In the top of the 6th inning, Lakeland would again answer with a run. The Lakers got singles from Jason Shenkel, Kris Scandy, and Philip Putnam to load the bases. Malakai Roberts then worked a two-out walk to force in the eventual game-winning run. The Bobcats would score another run in the bottom of the 6th to cut the lead to one, but Roberts would close out the game from there.
Alex Ehinger started and got the win for the Lakers as he pitched 5 innings and allowed 6 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits while striking out 2 batters. Malakai Roberts earned the save pitching 2 innings and allowing 1 earned run on 2 hits while striking out 3 batters. Lakeland was led offensively by Philip Putnam (2 hits, 3 RBI's, 1 run scored) and Tyronne Barbosa (2 hits - double and home run, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Malakia Roberts and Kris Scandy each picked up a hit and an RBI. Jason Shenkel and Ben Sterritt each added a hit and a run scored in the win.
The Lakers had a tough game in game 2. Brandon Schreffler would start and take the loss as Lakeland committed a couple of errors behind him. The Bobcats would blow the game open a couple of innings later and Lakeland would not recover.
Krause's Comments: "We played really good baseball in 3 of the 4 games this weekend. We easily could have won two games (instead of one). I like our effort level and their energy in general throughout the whole series. We received some really good pitching this weekend and I'm happy with our development. We've got a lot of makeup games coming up this week and so we're going to have to keep working together. I'm really pleased with our play and we'll continue to work hard."
Next Up: The Lakers are scheduled to play their next "home" games on Monday 94/25) when they travel to Sports Force Park in Sandusky to take on the Edison State Chargers. The games are scheduled to begin at 10 am due to field availability.