When the scorching line drive left Larry Campusano’s bat with a runner on second in the bottom of the 10th inning he expected nothing less than a celebration to follow.
“I thought I won the game,” the Walton freshman said.
Instead, the ball found the glove of a leaping Jean Allende at first. He would then throw to second to double off Luigi Martinez and put an end to what looked like a promising chance to win the extra-inning affair.
The host Wildcats would eventually fall, 7-6, to DeWitt Clinton in PSAL Bronx A East baseball at Clinton Tuesday, its fourth straight defeat. It also lost, 3-1, in 13 innings to Morris on Apr. 14.
“We are starting to fall into that losing trap,” Walton coach Jason Norman said…“They just don’t have a winning mentality right now.”
Campusano was a bright spot at the plate. He went 3-for-5 with two doubles and four RBIs. The designated hitter helped tie the score twice for Walton (1-4). His two-out, two-run double up the gap in left-center evened the score at 3-all in the third. In the seventh, he again delivered an extra-base hit, driving in the game-tying runs. But Rileymar Klaber was throw out at third to end the inning. The Governors (5-0) took the lead for good in the top of the 11th on slow ground ball to short by Julian Burgos. Joseph Flores beat the throw to third, allowed the run to come home.
“When I get people on base I try to calm down and get a hit,” Campusano said.
Added Clinton coach D’Alessandro said: “He smoked the ball every at-bat. That kid is really impressive.”
Norman has known about Campusano’s promise since he was in the seventh grade at a middle school in the same building as Walton. But even he has been impressed with his underclassman’s progress so far. They work on helping him hit to all fields. Norman called him the team’s catcher of the future, though he has struggled at the position early on.
“He obviously expects to do well,” Norman said. “He clearly doesn’t think anyone can beat him.”