Glens Falls Dragons Collegiate Ballplayers Shine

Glens Falls Dragons logo via the team’s website.

GLENS FALLS — The Glens Falls Dragons, a collegiate baseball team with a number of players from Saratoga County, has had a rough start to the 2024 season. As of June 19, their record stood at 3-10-1. Despite this, a number of players have stood out for their individual performances.

Justin Gouveia, a sophomore outfielder, is hitting .313 with 4 doubles and a triple in 11 games. Cody Meier, also a sophomore, is batting .300 with 5 stolen bases. 

On the mound, southpaw starter Alfonso Lombardi has a 2.57 ERA across 14 innings, tallying 11 strikeouts and only 2 walks. Senior Orlando Leon has also impressed, with a 3.17 ERA in 11.1 innings.

Where the Dragons really seem to shine is on defense, where they have two players who rank within the top six league leaders in fielding percentage. Caden Bernardo, from Glenmont, New York, and Zowen Collins, from Cobleskill, both have a 1.000 fielding percentage on the year. Bernardo also has 46 putouts in 45 innings of play.

Elsewhere across the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL), East Greenbush native Zach Eldred has been doing his best Shohei Ohtani impression, hitting .367 and maintaining a 1.84 ERA in 3 starts. Reliever Jesse Kuzmich, from Greenwich, has a perfect 0.00 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 12 innings. And Troy’s Jacob Lapham has a 1.63 ERA and 16 K’s in 11 innings.

Another PGCBL team, the Amsterdam Mohawks, who were league champions in both 2023 and 2022, also feature a number players from the Saratoga region, including Zach Eldred (East Greenbush), Parker Aikens (Niskayuna), Manny Santos (Amsterdam), James Redick (Clifton Park), Mason Veronezi (Burnt Hills), and Ben Huckans (Amsterdam).

The Mohawks and Dragons will face off on Friday, June 21 at the East Field in Glens Falls at 7 p.m., and again on Saturday, June 29 at the Rao Family Stadium in Amsterdam at 6:35 p.m.