Beacon’s mission was simple Wednesday afternoon in Washington Heights: Show no fear, play with poise and don’t let the opponent or the setting intimidate.
The Blue Demons followed suit in all three regards. But nobody in a blue jersey left Washington Heights pleased. Not after blowing a three-run lead and losing in as painful fashion as possible – when ace Kai Glick walked in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh – in a 5-4 setback.
Beacon (6-1, Manhattan A West) scored first, on Samuel Fox’s run-scoring single in the first, and led 4-1 in the fourth after Dylan Long drove home two runs with a two-out single in the third and Garrison Polius added a run-scoring double. The Manhattan school was seven outs from victory, from pulling off a mammoth upset that would’ve sent shockwaves through the entire city.
“We came away with recognition and to have faith in ourselves,” starting pitcher Orlando Adorno said.
But the Blue Demons couldn’t overcome their own mistakes. There were the three runners thrown out on the base-paths. Second baseman Gabriel Warshaw failing to cover first base on a sacrifice bunt,which led to George Washington’s first run. And center fielder Erik Poldroo not taking charge on Alexis Torres’ two-run triple in the fifth. He seemed to have a beat on the ball as left fielder Giovanni Dingcong couldn’t come up with.
“I’m very proud of the boys but the nature of high school baseball is you win and lose by mistakes,” Beacon coach Tom Covotsos said. “And the mistake we made was that ball to center field – that’s Erik’s ball. That was a crucial mistake that tied the game up.”
Adorno and Glick combining to issue 12 walks didn’t help, either, particularly the last one, when Glick threw four straight balls to Erick Roman with the bases loaded to force in the winning run. In 1 2/3, Glick, still not 100 percent after offseason surgery, was charged with six walks, one intentional, and didn’t possess his usual precise command.
“I just think he lost it in that inning,” Covotsos said. “He’s gonna be ready for the playoffs. He’ll be leading us.”
Beacon did take several positives out of the loss. Arguably outplaying high-powered George Washington, the Blue Devils put together good at bats and Adorno was solid in 4 1/3, striking out four and allowing four hits. He worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the second, fanning Trojans top-flight prospect Nelson Rodriguez to end the threat. His lone mistake was the 2-2 fastball Torres wacked to deep left-center that Poldroo and Dingcong were unable to corral.
“I can’t say enough about Orlando,” Covotsos said. “This kid is a competitor. He’s as tough as they come.”
Despite the loss, Beacon still sits comfortably atop Manhattan A West, one full game ahead of Environmental Studies. When the city playoffs come around, the Blue Devils will remember Wednesday’s loss – for what they have to do differently, but also how well they performed.
“What I explained to them after the game is we can play with anybody,” Covotsos said. “We’re playing a nationally ranked team and we’re right there. We put more pressure on them today than they had in years. They played to win, they didn’t take us lightly, they took us very seriously and that’s why we’re going to do a lot this year.”