Final Four Bound: Lakers Set for Region III Showdown with No. 1 SUNY Niagara
The Finger Lakes baseball team is headed back to the NJCAA Region III Final Four and will square off against the nation’s #2 team, SUNY Niagara, on Thursday, May 15, at 2 PM at Falcon Park in Auburn, N.Y.
CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. - Winners of 10 straight, Finger Lakes (36-16, 16-6) is red-hot entering Thursday's Region III final four matchup after a thrilling sub-regional sweep over Cayuga, taking 9-8 and 12-7 victories. The Lakers will now face their toughest test yet: the undefeated and nationally second-ranked SUNY Niagara Thunderwolves (46-0), the #1 seed in Region III.
The two teams are no strangers. SUNY Niagara swept the four-game regular season series, winning 11-0 and 16-12 at home and 13-1 and 7-2 on the road. The last postseason meeting between the programs came in 2022, when the Lakers fell 3-2 in a heartbreaker against then #5 Thunderwolves in the Region III Final Four.
Offensively, the Lakers are powered by Brennen Russo (East Irondequoit, N.Y./Eastridge) with 30 stolen bases and 7 home runs, and Markus Brehm (Wayland, N.Y./Wayland-Cohocton) who enters the game with 31 stolen bases and 6 home runs, ranking 2nd and 3rd in Region III in stolen bases and sit among the top 10 in home runs. Russo also leads the team in RBIs and total runs, while Brehm continues to be a spark in the leadoff spot.
Sophomore Justin Angora (Henrietta, N.Y./Rush Henrietta) has been a consistent option in the lineup, leading the team in batting average (.417), while sophomores Joey Sanna (Hilton, N.Y./Hilton), Christian Morrison (Palmyra, N.Y./Palmyra-Macedon), and Jeffrey Broadnax (Hilton, N.Y./Hilton) have combined for 85 RBIs this season in the latter half of the batting order. As a team, the Lakers have scored 401 runs, 22 home runs, and are batting .348 with an on-base percentage of .448 in 52 games.
On the mound, Nathan Power (Victor, N.Y./Victor) leads the staff with 8 wins, and Caleb Wilson (Rochester, N.Y./Aquinas) follows closely with 6, both ranking top 10 in Region III. The bullpen has also been a strength, with Zach Barrett (Kendall, N.Y./Kendall), Caleb Wilson, and Ian Goodness (Palmyra, N.Y./Palmyra-Macedon) each tallying 2 saves this season, making Finger Lakes the only program in Region III with three pitchers among the top-10 saves leaders.
First pitch is set for 2 PM on Thursday, May 15th, at Falcon Park in Auburn, N.Y.. The winner advances to play the winner of #2 Hudson Valley and #3 Herkimer on Friday, May 16th at 12 PM.
