Jesse Orosco, it wasn’t.
After striking out Radison Moronto to win South Bronx the PSAL Class B baseball title, Kevin Victoriano flung his glove in the air behind his head, wildly waved his arms to the sky as he hopped to the side of the mound and slid down to two knees, similar to the Mets reliever after the 1986 World Series. Before he knew it he was engulfed in a dog pile by ecstatic teammates.
“I didn’t know what I was doing,” the right-hander said after the celebration had finally subsided. “I was excited to win a championship.”
About the only thing he didn’t do right was the celebration.
Victoriano drove in a run and struck out 11 in a two-hit, complete-game performance to lead No. 1 South Bronx past third-seeded Queens Vocational, 2-1, on Friday at MCU Park in Coney Island and complete a perfect 21-0 season.
“I feel proud of myself, my team – I feel like I accomplished something bringing a title to South Bronx,” said Victoriano, after picking up his PSAL-leading 12th victory.
He started out on fire, striking out the first four batters he faced. Victoriano overpowered the Tigers (19-2) with his fastball and when they tried to start their swings early, he dropped in a nasty breaking ball.
Queens Vocational did a get a run off him in the sixth after Jose Monegro led off with a double to the wall in left field, by far the hardest hit ball off of Victoriano. After walking Diony Perez – his lone free pass of the afternoon – he struck out Bryant Cartagena and Daniel Corona to escape further damage. And he set down the side in order in the seventh, blowing a high fastball past Moronta to clinch the crown and cap is economical 83-pitch gem.
“Kevin is our horse,” Colon said. “We relied on him from beginning to end.”
It was only fitting Victoriano and teammate Danny Baez keyed the victory, driving in the Phoenix’s lone runs in the third. The two were the leftovers from last year’s South Bronx (21-0) team, which became Mott Haven when several schools inside South Bronx Campus moved over to the new Mott Haven Campus as part of a restructuring.
“I never thought we would be undefeated and run through the playoffs like we did,” Colon said. “I could die today. This is a gift from God.”
Baez said: “I was hoping for this since my freshman year.”
Victoriano and Baez were called upon to lead this new group full of junior varsity call-ups or players previously cut. The two were disappointed they didn’t get to join their old teammates at Mott Haven, but made a pledge to each other to make the best out of a tough situation.
When it was all over, after Victoriano’s odd celebration, the two SUNY Westbury-bound teammates found each other in a warm embrace on the bottom of the pileup.
“We said we love each other,” Victoriano recalled.
As recently as a month ago, the two were still wondering what the year would’ve been like if they were allowed to play for Mott Haven. Following Friday’s title, that was no longer an issue.
“I wouldn’t trade this for anything,” Victoriano said.