Long Island City southpaw Luis Sierra went the distance, allowing no earned runs, but took his first loss. (Philip Hall)
Long Island City takes pride in its execution. The Bulldogs pitchers throw strikes, their fielders make the routine play, and they move runners over.
For 5 ½ innings, LIC did all of that to a tee, and therefore, led Grand Street Campus by three runs. The Queens school failed to do so across the final two frames and as a result was on the short end of a crushing 4-3 loss to the Wolves in Williamsburg Tuesday afternoon.
The Bulldogs, who fell a full game behind Grand Street atop Queens A West, committed five errors over the sixth and seventh innings, including first baseman Leudyn Soto dropping a sure double play. The final gaffe enabled leadoff man Basael McDonald to dance across the plate for the walk-off win.
“We had this game,” said junior southpaw Luis Sierra, who went the distance and was brilliant in defeat. “It was tough because our team the whole way through the game made plays and I made pitches as well.”
LIC took command by plating three runs in the third off Grand Street ace Jose Zuniga, all coming with two outs. The first two came across when center fielder Williams Jerez botched Bulldogs (9-1) shortstop David Velazquez’s sharp liner. Third baseman Edwin Saez followed with an opposite field, run-scoring single.
Sierra danced in and out of trouble until the sixth, thanks to his ability to pound the strike zone and the defense behind him. Three Grand Street runners were thrown out on the bases and right fielder David Villalta made a nice diving catch of a McDonald drive.
Sierra started the sixth inning poorly, walking catcher Ernesto Lopez. After Jerez grounded out to first, Zuniga reached on the first of two Saez errors, the usually solid third baseman throwing wild to first from across the diamond.
First baseman Jose Aponte followed with a sharp single, loading the bases. Sierra’s first pitch to third baseman Angelo Nunez was low, slipping underneath catcher Freddy Liniauo’s legs, allowing Lopez to score. Liniauo tried to catch Zuniga at third, but overthrew Saez, allowing the second run to cross. Sierra jammed Nunez, but the two-hopper took a bad bounce, catching Saez off guard.
“Four errors in one inning against any team, but especially Grand Street, you can do that,” LIC coach Tom Lehman said. “They are very disappointed. They feel they outplayed them for five innings and one out. But we play seven innings of baseball.”
Despite Grand Street (10-0) putting the first two on in the seventh, Sierra had a chance to get out of the inning when he got Lopez to hit a perfect 6-4-3 double play ball. Velazquez’s toss to second baseman Everett Alvarado was fine, as was his throw to Soto at first. Only he took his eye off the ball at the last moment, allowing it to skip past him. McDonald could’ve walked home.
“It’s baseball; mistakes happen,” Sierra said. “We’re a team, we stay together. It’s everybody fault.”
After McDonald crossed with the winning run in the seventh, several Bulldogs tossed their gloves into the road dugout in disgust. Lehman immediately herded them down the right-field line. He began by stressing the positives: Sierra’s performance, the runs they manufactured, and the chance for revenge only 48 hours later with Velazquez, the staff ace, on the mound.
Lehman spoke of the importance of tomorrow’s practice, to work on fielding fundamentals, but also to have fun.
“I have no doubt in my mind,” Lehman said, “we’ll come out strong [on Thursday].”