It wasn’t the error that scored Bayside’s winning run or the two runs of insurance the Commodores got in the sixth that had Bryan Brown shaking his head. And the coach was thrilled with his Francis Lewis team’s four-run comeback in the seventh.
But the one thing that will stick in his craw for awhile is when the Patriots had a four-run lead of its own in the third inning.
“We got happy, we got content,” Brown said.
Lewis didn’t score the next three innings and watched as Bayside not only came back, but built a four-run lead, scoring eight unanswered runs. The Patriots showed great heart tying the game in the top of the seventh Wednesday, but lost, 11-10, in a PSAL Queens A-I softball game when Commodores third baseman Victoria Yip tripled and scored on an error in the bottom half.
It was another heartbreaking game in a season of them for the Patriots (5-5), who came in ranked No. 8 in the PSAL by The Post. The only teams they have lost to are ones ahead of them in the rankings – Bayside (11-2) is No. 7 – and they have been in every game. Lewis is still looking for that signature win.
“They’re frustrated,” Brown said. “It’s getting to the point where we’re competitive with teams that are ranked ahead of us, but we’re not seeing it pay off. … I hope for the seniors’ sake it happens during playoff time.”
The Patriots took a 2-0 lead on leftfielder Brittany Ramos’ two-run double in the first only to see Bayside answer back and tie the game at 2 in the second. It only became wilder from there. Lewis scored once in the second and three times in the third, with the help of porous Bayside defense, to build a 6-2 advantage.
It was not one the Patriots could be comfortable with. The Commodores scored twice in the fourth and four times in the fifth, the big hit a two-run home run by Nicola Nichols off Lewis starter Priscilla Lallave, to take an 8-6 lead.
At that point, Brown said, he told his players to keep the deficit at just two runs. It didn’t happen – Bayside scored twice in the sixth – but Lewis came back anyway.
The Patriots drew three walks off Commodores pitcher Keren Baruch in the seventh and Lallave, Bianca Concepcion and Tina Vigoa had singles off Baruch and Kaitlyn Klein, who started the game and returned in the seventh to spell Baruch. Vigoa’s RBI base hit tied the game at 10. Brown said he stressed drawing bases on balls and going up the middle for hits – no one should look for a home run.
“Nobody tried to do it on their own,” he said. “That was the key. Don’t want to be the last out.”
Unfortunately for Lewis, it showed what the Patriots were made of, but didn’t give them a victory. It was another encouraging sign for a young team still trying to find its winning ways.