Bruce Bitterman left Long Island City with a smile on his face Saturday morning. It’s been six years since his John Bowne squad had made the playoffs, dating back to when it won the PSAL Class B title in 2006. Not a single player on his current team had experienced a postseason game.
But a committee made up of coaches had decided to put the Wildcats in and Bitterman was pleased. He called his two captains, Krista Rios and Jennifer Rodriguez, to tell them the exciting news.
It wasn’t until later that the coach found out the seeding was changed. Bowne, in fact, was not in the 32-team draw. By that time, word had spread. Wildcats players had posted their adulation on Facebook. When Bitterman told them the bad news, they were “devastated.”
The longtime head man knew there was a possibility the seeding could be changed after the coaches had left by PSAL officials. He just didn’t think they would remove his team altogether.
“It’s absolutely horrible,” Bitterman said. “I want someone from the PSAL to come in and talk to these kids and their parents.”
Bitterman traveled to the PSAL offices Saturday with an open mind, he said. If the coaches and officials didn’t think Bowne, which finished 6-10 and in fifth in Queens A-I, belonged in the playoffs, he was fine with that. But the consensus among coaches was that the Wildcats would get the No. 28 seed, Bitterman said. Then it was moved to No. 29 due to a conflict with division rivals playing each other in the first round. Bitterman wants to know why his team was the only one removed by PSAL officials rather than No. 32, No. 31 or No. 30.
“There were two or three teams below me,” he said. “Why were we the ones who got knocked out? … What is the purpose of having us come in on a Saturday and give up two hours and then they’re going to change things?”
The seeding also drew the ire of coaches in other respects. Many felt Construction, at No. 4, was seeded unfairly low despite its impressive résumé. Same for No. 8 Bryant and No. 10 McKee/Staten Island Tech.
Bitterman would have been happy to get a low seed and challenge a fellow Queens team like Construction, which plays in a separate division. He wanted to see how his team stacked up. But more than anything, he wanted his seniors like Rios, his star pitcher/slugger who led the PSAL in RBIs (6-8), and Rodriguez, to experience their first and only playoff game.
“My kids,” Bitterman said, “are devastated.”
Quinones named Spellman female athlete of the year: Victoria Quinones never thought it would be her name being called to receive Cardinal Spellman’s highest honor for a senior athlete. The soccer and softball standout thought it was going to soccer star Taylor Addison or basketball standout Onia Webb, both of whom are signed with Division I schools.
“It blew my mind,” she said. “I really had no idea I was going to get it
Quninones accepted the Pilots Athlete of the Year award at the school’s awards dinner. Quinones was also one of the football team’s managers and played midfield, defense and this year sweeper on the soccer pitch. She’s been the softball team’s most versatile player and most consistent hitter since she was a freshman.
Quinones played shortstop, catcher and third base during that time. She helped lead Spellman to a second-place finish in CHSAA Bronx/Westchester this season, an upset of rival Preston and is batting close to .500. She feels this is her team’s best chance to advance in the Archdiocesan playoffs.
“This team we work together so well, the chemistry of all the players this season has worked out so well,” Quinones said.
She will be attending Pace next fall, but is unsure if she is going to continue her softball career at the Division II level after being offered the opportunity. The school doesn’t allow you to combine athletic and academic scholarship money and she chose the greater money on the academic side. Quinones would also like a chance to settle into college life before making a decision on joining the team as a walk on.
“I’ve played softball since the fifth grade so it’s part of my life,” she said. “It’s going to be a tough change, but if I don’t play it will take some getting used to. Maybe get a job.”
Emotional Senior Day for SFP’s Lomangino: Nicole Lomangino’s Senior Day became a little more personal.
Inclement weather and poor field conditions in Cunningham Park forced St. Francis Prep to move its game against Fontbonne Hall to Preller Field in Bellerose. The Terriers ace’s grandfather Nick Lomangino was the president there for seven years and has a softball field dedicated to him.
That’s where his granddaughter toed the rubber for her final regular-season home game for SFP.
“It felt like I had a little angel watching over me,” she said.
Lomangino never knew her grandfather, who passed away when her dad was 18 years old. She played on that field when she was little, but that was her first time in s St. Francis Prep uniform. Lomangino still feels a special connection with him being one of th few female grandchildren who are athletes. She picked up a 9-4 win over the Bonnies.
“If he was here, he would be at every game,” she said.