Laker baseball alum Rob Burke wins SUNYAC Award of Valor

Rob Burke, a former member of the Oswego State baseball team and Oswego State alum in 2005, was honored with the SUNYAC Award of Valor in 2008. Burke served in the United States Army in northern Iraq and was injured by gunshots in his leg, torso, and face and eventually underwent six surgeries to treat his injuries. Rob's rehabilitation continues and he hopes to redeploy to serve the United States later this year.

Lakers win ECAC Upstate Tournament Championship

The Oswego State baseball team won the 2008 ECAC Upstate Championship with a 12-9 victory over Brockport in the second game of the championship round on May 11 at Oneonta.

Junior designated hitter Tom Benedetto was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. He batted .389 over the course of four weekend games and had six RBIs to tie for the tourney lead in that category.

The Lakers finished their season with an 18-12 record. The first ECAC championship for the Lakers came in 1995. Oswego State was seeded fifth, defeated St. John Fisher in a first-round game, and then won the title on the weekend with three wins and one loss.

ESPN.com featured the Lakers' championship in a feature story, as the team responded to adversity when head coach Frank Paino was seriously injured in the tournament's opening game. | ESPN.com Story

2008 Schedule | 2008 Roster

The Oswego State baseball team’s recent ECAC Upstate Championship and how the team handled a serious injury to coach Frank Paino were recently detailed in a feature story by ESPN.com senior writer Wayne Drehs.

The Oswego State baseball team defeated Brockport 12-9 in the second game of the championship round of the ECAC Upstate Tournament on Sunday in Oneonta. 

The Oswego State baseball team defeated top-seeded RIT 5-4 in 11 innings on Saturday morning in the ECAC Upstate Tournament at Damaschke Field in Oneonta. Then, the Lakers defeated Brockport 9-6 in 11 innings in the next round to advance to Sunday’s championship round. With a 2-0 record, the Lakers will play the winner of Sunday morning’s elimination game between Brockport and Oneonta. Oswego State’s first game on Sunday is scheduled for 1 p.m. at SUNY Oneonta’s Red Dragon field. Should Oswego State lose the first championship game, they will have another game against their opponent as each team would have just one loss in the double-elimination tournament.

Oswego State baseball coach Frank Paino is recovering well from an injury suffered during a game Thursday afternoon in Rochester. Paino was coaching third base for the Lakers in the top of the ninth inning when a batted ball lined down the left side of the infield struck Paino in the head. Paino was discharged from Strong Memorial Hospital on Friday evening, where he had been receiving treatment since Thursday’s incident.

The Oswego State baseball team defeated St. John Fisher 9-5 on Thursday afternoon in an ECAC Upstate Tournament game. The game was originally scheduled for a nine-inning contest, but was called after eight innings. The host Cardinals conceded the victory after Oswego State head coach Frank Paino was struck in the head by a line drive in the top of the ninth inning. Paino was injured, and could not complete the game.