Even before it would throw a pitch or swing a bat in 2010, the Skaneateles baseball team knew that its season would be, for the most part, a chase to see if it could catch defending state Class B champion Westhill. Before that chase could commence, though, the Lakers warmed up with a trip to Falcon Park last Thursday afternoon to face Auburn — and it nearly made a dramatic comeback before losing to the Maroons 4-3. They were supposed to meet on Tuesday, but cold rain took care of that idea. Two days later, it was 35 degrees warmer — and the field had dried enough to allow for the opener. Auburn, who has lost each of the last two Class AA finals, spent much of the game in control, not letting Skaneateles do much at the plate. Combiuned, Maroon pitchers Chris Anderson and Steve Komanecky blanked the Lakers, three innings each. Meanwhile, the Lakers surrendered runs in the second, third and fifth innings as Komanecky earned a double and two RBIs. Skaneateles wasn’t done, though. In the top of the seventh, it put runners on first and second base off reliever Andrew Sanders, then saw those runners move up when Auburn catcher Bobby Gage threw wildly to try and pick Owen Stokes-Cawley off second. Another error followed, putting the Lakers on the board. A fielder’s choice and walk led to two more runs and the Lakers, down one, had the tying run at first, just one out and leadoff hitter Jake Carvalho at bat. Carvalho did make contact — but he grounded out, and Sanders then used a strikeout to end the game. Zach Augustine took the loss, with Nolan Cunningham and Tom Jones seeing relief duty. League play in the OHSL Liberty division commences this week (weather permitting) as the Lakers take on Solvay and Phoenix.