The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) has announced its baseball All-Conference teams for the 2014 season. For Oswego State, Scott Buniak and Eric Hamilton received First Team selections while Tim Smith, Mike McMullen, and Brendyn Karinchak garnered Second Team honors. Tim Cronin earned the Clark V. Whited Rookie of the Year award.
Senior Scott Buniak was named All-SUNYAC First Team for the second-straight year. The Clifton Park native currently leads the Lakers and ranks second in the SUNYAC with a .374 batting average. Buniak is third in SUNYAC in hits with 43 while also owning a .459 on-base percentage. This season he had helped the Lakers with a team-best seven doubles, 12 RBI and 16 stolen bases while scoring 23 runs and posting a .470 slugging percentage.
Hamilton, a freshman, was also a recipient of All-SUNYAC First Team honors after registering 29 hits and 13 RBI for Oswego. The Liverpool native scored 11 runs and finished the season batting .337. He contributed from the plate with a .395 slugging percentage.
Smith earned Second Team honors as he is third in the SUNYAC with a .371 batting average while leading the Lakers, along with Buniak, with 43 hits. In his 31 appearances for the Lakers, the Auburn native led the team with 26 RBI, registered 12 runs scored and had a slugging percentage of .397. He went 7-for-10 in this past weekend's SUNYAC Championship, earning a spot on the All-Tournament team as well.
McMullen, another senior, also received Second Team honors. McMullen was a core part of the Lakers as he finished the season with 24 hits and scored 11 runs. The Liverpool native registered 18 RBI and five doubles.
Also nabbing Second Team honors is Karinchak. The Walden native has been solid from the mound for the Laker's with a 1.62 ERA, only allowing 13 runs in his eight appearances. Karinchak struck out 41 batters, 13 in a one-hitter against Oneonta to help the Lakers defeat the Red Dragons. The junior was named to the D3baseball.com Team of the Week for that outing. During the double-elimination SUNYAC Championship, he led the Lakers to its only victory as he threw his fourth complete-game of the season, holding the Golden Eagles to just one run in nine-innings while striking out three batters. That performance landed Karinchak on the All-Tournament team along with Smith.
Tim Cronin garnered SUNYAC Rookie of the Year as he is undefeated from the mound in the 2014 season. In his eight appearances for the Lakers, the freshman finished with a 2.30 ERA while only allowing 11 runs. The Walden native led the Lakers to defeat nationally-ranked Cortland during the season, only allowing one run in the contest as Oswego upset the Red Dragons 5-3. Cronin has struck out 19 batters on the season.
The Lakers season continues at 2 p.m. on Wednesday when it travels to Utica College for a doubleheader.
