Jose Soriano is the South Bronx leader, the player who is there to comfort a teammate in a time of need whether he is in the midst of a hot streak or a slump. His greatest value this spring, coach Frank Colon said, is the intangibles he brings.
“He’s a wonderful guy,” Colon said. “He brings the team together. He has great leadership skills.”
But Sunday, he not only made an impact on the field, he sent the top-seeded Phoenix to the PSAL Class B finals. The senior pitcher drove in the game-winning run in the eighth inning of South Bronx’s come-from-behind, 9-8 victory over Washington Irving. It will face No. 3 Queens Vocational Tech in the finals Friday at 4 p.m. at MCU Park in Coney Island, its first title game since 2001, when it lost to Beacon.
“It’s beautiful, I can’t believe it,” Colon said. “We haven’t lost a game the whole year. We have luck on our side. Today was one of those days.”
Washington Irving, the Manhattan B South champion, finishes 16-4.
Kevin Victoriano had two hits and three RBIs, Mothaury Guzman had two hits, scored four runs and added three stolen bases and Adrian Vazquez and Danauris Baez each scored once and drove in a run for South Bronx, which rallied from a rare deficit.
“I had butterflies in my stomach. Our guys did too. They told me they were nervous,” Colon said. “The other team played their heart out. It was one of those types of games.”
The undefeated Phoenix (20-0) trailed 5-3 in the second inning, only to respond with two runs in the bottom of the frame. It’s been a memorable year for South Bronx, which went undefeated in Bronx B North after reach the PSAL Class A quarterfinals a year ago. It moved down after losing most of its team when Mott Haven Village Prep and South Bronx split before the season.
“We finally reached our goal and I’m hoping we can be successful [on Friday],” Colon said. “I feel blessed to go back to [the championship]. I feel very fortunate. We worked so hard for this. It didn’t come easy.”
No. 3 Queens Vocational Tech 4, No. 15 Transit Tech 2: The Queens B North champion Tigers (19-1) are back in the finals for the first time since 2007, when they won it all. Transit Tech finishes 16-4.