Lakers Rally Past Cayuga to Clinch Region III Final Four Berth
For the first time since 2022, Finger Lakes baseball is heading back to the NJCAA Region III Final Four.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cayuga Community College | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 5 |
| Finger Lakes Community College | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | X | 9 | 11 | 2 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cayuga Community College | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 3 |
| Finger Lakes Community College | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | X | 12 | 12 | 2 |
Team Stats
Game 1
Cayuga Community College
Cayuga Community College
CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. – For the first time since 2022, the Finger Lakes Community College baseball team is heading back to the NJCAA Region III Final Four. In a pair of high-stakes battles on Saturday, the Lakers delivered in the biggest moments, taking down Cayuga 9-8 in game one and sealing the sweep with a 12-7 win in game two.
Game one saw Finger Lakes jump out to a quick 2-0 lead before the Spartans responded with a 3-run second. The teams traded punches all afternoon in a contest that featured 5 lead changes. Down 8-6 in the sixth, Brennen Russo (East Irondequoit, N.Y./Eastridge) stepped up with a 2-run blast to left — his 7th home run of the season — to tie the game. Two innings later, with the score knotted at 8-8, Ethan Kuzma (Middleport, N.Y./Royalton-Hartland) delivered a go-ahead RBI single up the middle to bring home Jeffrey Broadnax (Hilton, N.Y./Hilton), giving the Lakers the final edge. Zach Barrett (Kendall, N.Y./Kendall) picked up the win out of the bullpen, while Caleb Wilson (Rochester, N.Y./Aquinas) locked down the save with a dominant ninth.
In game two, Cayuga again struck first with 3 runs in the second, but the Lakers took no time to respond. Patrick Altpeter (Rochester, N.Y./Aquinas) and Markus Brehm (Wayland, N.Y./Wayland-Cohocton) helped erase the deficit with an RBI single and a deep triple in the fourth to tie things at 4-4. Finger Lakes would keep the pressure on, scoring in 5 different innings, including a 4-run explosion in the eighth that broke open an 8-7 game. Broadnax drove in 2 more runs in the win, finishing the day with 5 RBIs. Nathan Power (Victor, N.Y./Victor) earned his 9th win of the season, working through 6 tough innings in front of a packed home crowd.
With the sweep, Finger Lakes advances to the NJCAA Region III Final Four, hosted at Falcon Park in Auburn, N.Y., from May 15th–17th.
