Lakers Fall in Sub-Regional Matchup to Conclude Season
LITTLE FALLS, N.Y. - The Finger Lakes Community College baseball team saw their historic season come to an end last Saturday, May 13th at Veterans Memorial Park in Little Falls, N.Y. in the Sub-Regional round of the NJCAA Region III playoffs. The Lakers faced off with the Herkimer Generals who are the defending NJCAA Division III World Series champions. The Lakers struggled, coming close to victory in game one with a 8-7 loss, before suffering a shutout in game two, 6-0.
Game one vs. Herkimer
Game one saw the Lakers narrowly lose 8-7. Despite trailing for most of the game, the Lakers made a valiant comeback attempt in the 8th inning, led by DJ Stoianovich (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport)'s grand slam that brought the Lakers within striking distance.
Stoianovich had an impressive performance, going 1-for-4 with 4 RBIs on his grand slam. Alex Wootton (Palmyra, N.Y./Palmyra-Macedon) also had a strong showing, hitting 2 doubles and a home run, and driving in 2 RBIs. Tyler Cerame (Hilton, N.Y./Hilton) had a patient approach at the plate, drawing 2 walks and scoring a run, while Paulie Goodness (Palmyra, N.Y./Palmyra-Macedon) also showed discipline, earning a walk and scoring a run.
Danny Melendez (Victor, N.Y./Victor), Alex Ahlstrom (Dunkirk, N.Y./Dunkirk), and Kenny Murphy (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) each had 1 hit and contributed to the Lakers offensive effort, with Murphy driving in a run. Lucas Sulimowicz (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) also played a role, drawing a walk and reaching base once.
Game two vs. Herkimer
In game two the Lakers struggled to put runs on the board, ultimately losing 6-0.
Danny Melendez had a solid game at the plate, going 1-for-2 with two walks. Paulie Goodness contributed with a double, while Tyler Cerame walked three times. DJ Stoianovich had a sacrifice bunt, but unfortunately, the team was unable to capitalize on his effort. Alex Ahlstrom went 2-for-4, while Alex Wootton finished with a walk.
The Lakers cap of a season that saw them go down as one of the most successful team's in FLCC baseball program history. With several individual career performances including Devin Georgetti (Rochester, N.Y./Gates-Chili) becoming the Lakers all-time strikeout leader, to Tyler Cerame breaking the record for most doubles in a career.
As a team, the Lakers won 40 games, tying a program record. In the early portion of the season, the Lakers rattled off 11 straight wins to tie the win streak record. Offensively, the Lakers scored the most runs in a season with 449, while also breaking the record for stolen bases with 176 this season. The Lakers broke into the record books with the third most hits in program history with 502.
Nationally in NJCAA Division III, the Lakers score the eighth most runs, had the eleventh most hits, sixth most doubles, fourth most walks, and sixth most stolen bases. Several Lakers earned spots on the national leaderboard's including Devin Georgetti with than ERA of 1.53, third on the leaderboard's, while also sitting fifth in strikeouts with 86. Sophomore Tyler Cerame earned his spot on the leaderboard's in the doubles (21) and stolen bases (40) categories sitting fifth and seventh respectively.
Despite the finish, the Lakers have a solid foundation of returners, while welcoming several newcomers to the program in 2024. The Lakers will look to make another run next season in NJCAA Region III play.