Second-seeded Gregorio Luperon came into yesterday’s matchup with No. 19 Bronx Science with some very vivid memories in mind. The Wolverines ended Luperon’s season last year with a walk-off hit in the PSAL Class B playoffs. It was an event that assistant coach Edwin Geliga admittedly thought about in anticipation of this year’s semifinal.
“We dwelled on losing that game,” Geliga said. “It’s beautiful that we got a chance to play them.”
Maybe the beauty came from the fact that this year it was Luperon that advanced in walk-off fashion.
Senior second baseman Elvis Roque beat a tag at home plate by the slimmest of margins to score the winning run after a passed ball on a strikeout allowed him to take off from third base. The dramatic, 6-5 victory launched a raucous celebration at home plate that led one parent to urging the kids to “be careful” in light of the recent celebration-related injury to major leaguer Kendry Morales.
Luperon coach Rico Pena was coaching third base during the winning at-bat. He gave Roque the go ahead, after nearly losing Roque on a failed suicide squeeze a few pitches earlier.
“Aw man, I messed up,” he said. That was all Pena could think about as he watched the fleet-footed Roque run for his life between third base and home.
Fortunately, a bad throw and collision along the third-base line allowed Roque to remain on the base paths. Pena went right back to the aggressive decision-making that contributed to the Generals’ first five runs.
“Go for it!” he told Roque the moment he saw the ball roll to the backstop. Had the command came a half-second later, Roque would have been out at home plate.
Bronx Science coach Rafael Lajara didn’t have much to say about the call that ended his team’s season.
“It was very close,” Lajara said. “It was his call to make, and he made it.”
The split-second decision is congruent with Pena’s aggressive base-running philosophy. It features a lot of bunting and taking the extra base. Luperon’s controlled chaos on offense reeked havoc on Bronx Science (13-7) all afternoon.
The best example of that chaos came in the bottom of the second inning when Eliseo Perez doubled, stretched the double to a triple, and forced an errant throw that allowed him to walk home for the game’s opening run.
Roque only found himself in position to score the winning run after hustling down the line on a routine ground ball to first base, causing a rushed throw and two-base error.
Bronx Science didn’t end its Cinderella run through the playoffs without a valiant effort in defeat. The Wolverines fought with an intensity befitting their nickname. Science took a 2-1 lead early on Luperon (19-1) and overcame a 5-2 deficit in the final two innings before finally bowing out in the bottom of the seventh.
Lajara had nothing but praise for the efforts of his team that he knew was much better than the No. 19 seed given to them by the PSAL. He was especially complimentary of his senior class.
“My seniors were outstanding this year,” Lajara said after the game. “All of them were hard-working team players.”
Riverdale/Kingsbridge 21, Brooklyn Studio Secondary School 4: The top-seeded Tigers reached their first championship game by scoring 16 early runs to throttle No. 4 Brooklyn Studio.