No one thought it would be like this. No one thought it would be quite this tough. Sure, rebuilding is not an easy or a fun process and it could be worse. But as the Syosset Braves reach the midway point of a season that is fading, it seems as if the ball club once known for outstanding defense play and timely hitting has a lot of work in front of them.

The Braves entered last week's series against the Oceanside Sailors looking to take their 3-5 record and turn it into something to smile about. Oceanside has been one of the best teams in the county for a long time and a good showing against them might produce somewhat of a domino effect for the Braves. Syosset got their answer Monday afternoon. The bats went flat and the Sailors prevailed 6-0. The Braves went down on Wednesday as well to move their record to 3-7. Then came Thursday's game which would prove to be the most exciting game of the year, perhaps giving Syosset a glimmer of hope for the second half of the year.

Syosset would fall behind early in the April 21 contest against the Sailors. Oceanside had a 4-0 lead headed into the bottom of the first inning off of starting pitcher David Reens. No baseball team ever wants to head into their first at bat down by four runs. Syosset would not score until the second inning, cutting the Oceanside lead to 4-1. Oceanside would go up 6-1 in the third inning, proving that David Reen's strong second inning was only a mirage. Two runs would cross the plate in the Syosset third, slashing the Oceanside lead to 6-3. Neither pitcher was having a good day. Oceanside was plagued by poor control. Syosset was plagued by poor fielding.

Oceanside manufactured a run in the fourth increasing their lead to 7-3. Syosset would continue to play their game of chip and chuck in the fifth, cutting Oceanside lead to 7-6 on a 2 RBI double by second-baseman Brian Bergin. Syosset had a tendency in this game to climb back into it and then give it away again. This trend continued in the top half of the sixth inning after a string of hits produced 2 runs, increasing the lead to 9-6 heading into crunch time. Syosset's first two hitters of the sixth inning would ground out and strikeout. Mike Barcavage gave the Braves hope with his second double of the afternoon. Jim Murphy would walk and the pitcher, Zafaniou, would single. This loaded the bases for star rightfielder Tom Morritt. Morritt would double to bring home three runs and tie the baseball contest at 9. The Sailors would take the lead in the seventh and leave Syosset with some work to do in the bottom half. The inning led off with a walk to Brian Bergin followed by a single by the shortstop. This brought up Victor Arahovitis with two on and no one out. In a move that would leave the ballpark nothing short of perplexed, Arahovitis would bunt the 2 strike pitch foul. One out. David Reens, the next hitter, stuck out. Two outs. Syosset down to their last out in the bottom of the seventh would turn to Mike Barcavage. Barcavage delivered, knocking in Brian Bergin with a long single. Jim Murphy would finish his afternoon at the plate 1-3 with a pop out to short stop. And on they went into extra innings with the Syosset sun creeping ever so slightly toward the Long Island skyline. Syosset would find themselves in yet another jam in the eighth. With two on and no one out Oceanside sent up Justin Feibush. Feibush fouled off the second pitch of the at-bat. Victor Arahovitis made a circus catch in foul territory, threw to Matt Anello covering first, who threw to third for the 3-1-5 triple play. Syosset gets out of the inning. However, this would be the last chance for Syosset as Bob Englehard would win it for the Sailors with an RBI double in the ninth inning to give Oceanside a sweep of the series and put Syosset in a 3-8 hole. Syosset looks to salvage the season this week as they take on Freeport for a three game set.

Jordan Lauterbach can be heard each Friday from 5-6 p.m. on WKWZ- 88.5fm.