The Wanderers are back in the NORCO Legion finals and they’re taking on another legion heavyweight with Northampton in the opposite dugout of this week’s series.

The best of three series began Monday and started with Wanderers taking game one at Liberty High School, 3-2. Action shifted to Northampton on Tuesday, which was past Press deadlines, and continues on Wednesday, if necessary for a possible game three.

Head coach Paul Walsh is excited at the opportunity to have his group play in the finals after falling short last year of reaching the main stage.

“Our team is incredibly hungry to win this series,” said Walsh. “They know they have already clinched a regional tournament berth. While they are certainly excited for that opportunity, this team wants to win the league above all else. This has been their mission from day one and they are going into this series confident that they achieve that goal.”

Both teams entered the finals with a 13-2-1 record with Northampton having a slight edge in the regular season series, defeating the Wanderers 3-0 on June 29 before both teams settled to a 3-3 tie in the regular season finale on July 2.

The Wanderers reached the championship following a first round bye and then swept East Stroudsburg in the semifinals with a 4-3 win in game one and then an 8-1 victory in game two.

Northampton also had a first round bye and swept Nazareth in the semifinals, registering a 1-0 and 4-3 set of wins in the most competitive series in the playoffs thus far.

Northampton and the Wanderers were the two best teams throughout the regular season and Walsh knows it’s going to take his team’s best effort to pull out a series win.

“Northampton typically does all the little things right starting with having pitchers who throw strikes,” he said. “In a wood bat league, this is critical, and it’s why they usually have a chance of winning every game they play. They limit walks and play solid defense. This keeps the opposing offense at bay and leaves them in striking distance, especially if the other team makes a mistake or two. Secondly, I believe this is their sixth final appearance in as many years or so. Having the experience of being in the finals so many times is certainly a benefit to their coaching staff and any other players who have been there before.”

Still, with plenty of talent from Liberty’s stellar roster this season, the Wanderers appear to be slight favorites over their NORCO counterparts and Walsh hopes it plays out in championship fashion.

“I feel strongly we are the most balanced team in the league when we are firing on all cylinders,” said Walsh. “We have stellar pitching and a potent offense. If we play our game, we will be tough to beat. As far as I’m concerned, the only team that can beat us is us.”