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First-ever baseball meeting between JFK and RKA is an instant classic, Knights score three in bottom of seventh for walk-off win
By Jason Eisenberg
May 6, 2011 -- The boys’ soccer teams from John F. Kennedy and Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy have engaged in some of the most tense and exciting games of the fall season for several years running, but up to this point, that has been the extent of the sports rivalry between these two local high schools.
However, that officially changed earlier this week, as the JFK Knights and RKA Tigers met in a regular season baseball game for the first time, and what took place on the diamond proved to be more than worth the wait. In fact, from here on out, it will be hard-pressed for any contest to top this one as the game of the spring season.
The back-and-forth matchup had the feeling of a playoff atmosphere, as both managers used multiple pitchers -- a combined total of eight in the game -- and pulled out all the stops to get a victory. The “B” Division city champions of RKA, who are in the midst of a rookie campaign at the PSAL’s “A” level, gave perennial “A” contender Kennedy all it could handle, but in the end, the Knights overcame two separate deficits of three runs or more during the final four innings and claimed a thrilling 11-10 win.
“That [RKA] is a really good team over there and their starting pitcher [Jason Araujo] is the real deal, but we just kept fighting, kept chipping away and pulled out a great win,” said JFK head coach Alex Torres, whose team has now won four straight after losing three in a row. “That ‘never die’ attitude you saw today, it is what I have been trying to get out of these guys all season. This was a big one, the kind of win that I think can push us over the top.”
The Knights would actually strike first in the game, thanks to a nightmarish fielding performance by RKA in the bottom of the opening frame. Despite the fact that Tigers junior ace pitcher Jason Araujo did not allow a single hit to leave the infield, two errors by the defense behind him directly led to three runs for Kennedy.
RKA would get one run back immediately, when junior Matthew Arias crushed a solo shot over the leftfield fence in the second inning. One frame later, the Tigers tied the game when senior catcher Nathan Heller tripled off the fence in deep centerfield to bring home Javier Rossi and Issa Beydoun. The RKA offense was suddenly beginning to resemble the one that used to smack around opposing pitchers in the “B” Division for the past few years, and this surge continued in the fourth inning. An RBI single by Rossi and a monster two-run homer by sophomore Allen Torres combined to put three more runs on the board and gave the Tigers a 6-3 lead.
Then, the momentum abruptly shifted in the other direction, as it was JFK’s turn to battle back. Sophomore Erich Gonzalez singlehandedly got the Knights back in the game with hits in back-to-back innings -- a two-run double and then an RBI single -- that evened the score at six after five frames. However, this up-and-down roller coaster ride was far from over. The Kennedy bullpen completely imploded in the top of the sixth, and by walking five of the first six batters that came to the plate, the Knights allowed RKA to go on and score four runs without a single hit.
Even trailing 10-6 and coming off a morale-crushing inning was not enough to finish off JFK on this day. In the bottom of the sixth, the Knights cut the deficit in half as senior Williams Martinez singled and later scored on a passed ball, before junior Phillie Guzman hit a sacrifice fly that brought home Pedro Taveras. This same cast of characters would prove to be the heroes once again when Kennedy completed the comeback in the final frame. An RBI single by Martinez got the rally started and Guzman soon ended it with a two-run double that scored Gonzalez as the tying run and Taveras as the game-winning run. This walk-off hit was Guzman’s first and only one of the day, but it set off a massive on-field celebration by the Knights, while the Tigers could only walk toward the dugout with their heads down and in total disbelief.
Kennedy’s record currently stands at 7-3, which puts the Knights in second place within the Bronx “A” West standings, just two back in the loss column of front-running Lehman. On the flip side, RKA has a disappointing mark of 2-7, yet this poor record is not truly indicative of how the Tigers have played this season.
“We have now lost three games by one or two runs and also had a lead late in another one, but fell apart in extra innings. It is all part of a learning curve and is pretty much the same thing we had to go through several years back when moving from the developmental league to the ‘B’ Division,” said RKA head coach John Reingold. “The difference between us and teams like Kennedy right now is the ability to close out games. Unfortunately, the thought process seems to be what will we do today to blow this one, and really the only way to get out from behind the 8-ball is to start stringing some ‘W’s’ together.”
Three Stars of the Game
#1 - Erich Gonzalez, Kennedy - Fantastic day for the junior utility man in every aspect of the game. Gonzalez went 3-for-4 at the plate, with two singles, a double, a walk, three RBIs and two runs scored. He also recorded the final five outs in a scoreless relief pitching appearance. Finally, he made a fantastic run-saving defensive play by grabbing a ground ball near the mound and outracing the batter to first base to end the sixth inning.
#2 - Phillie Guzman, Kennedy - It had been a quiet day so far for the junior catcher, with just a sacrifice fly to show for his first four trips to the plate, but that changed when the team needed him most. In the seventh inning, Guzman came through with the biggest hit of the game, doubling to deep centerfield and driving in both the tying and winning runs.
#3 - Nathan Heller, RKA - The senior catcher tripled off the centerfield fence to drive in both of RKA’s runs during the third inning and then drew a walk with the bases loaded in the sixth to pick up his third RBI of the day. However, Heller’s most memorable moment came when he was run over at home plate in the fourth inning, yet successfully held on to the ball to get the final out and save a run. The catcher remained in the game the rest of the way despite appearing to be in some discomfort at times.
Coach’s Quotebook
JFK coach Alex Torres on his squad’s recent turnaround: “That slump we went through was a direct result of these guys not putting their best effort out on the field, so I told them that if they did not want to be here, we can turn this in to a track team. I guess they don’t like to run, because since then, everybody has suddenly been playing a lot better.”
RKA Report Card
Offense: A-
The RKA offense in the first four innings was reminiscent of what the team used to do in the “B” Division over the past two years. The Tigers were crushing the ball, including monster shots over the leftfield fence by Arias and Torres, as well as a triple off the fence in deep center by Heller. From then on, the team’s bats went silent, as they relied mostly on drawing walks and reaching on errors.
Defense: C
If there was one thing to pinpoint as the reason RKA lost this game, it was clearly a lack of focus on defense. The Tigers made two errors in the opening inning alone and fell behind 3-0 despite JFK not hitting a single ball out of the infield. Fielding mistakes would haunt them again during Kennedy’s late rally. However, Cheren made a nice catch in centerfield and Heller deserves credit for taking a big hit to block the plate and prevent a run.
Pitching: B-
It was not one of Araujo’s best days on the mound, but the junior ace received very little help from the defense behind him and he was still the top pitcher in the game. Only three of the six runs against were earned, just four of the seven hits allowed left the infield and he struck out seven in five innings. The Tigers’ bullpen gave up five runs over the final two innings, but again, the defense let them down on several occasions.
JFK Report Card
Offense: A-
JFK was not smashing extra base hits and homers like RKA on this day, but the Knights never stopped battling at the plate and got the job done. Gonzalez was the offensive star in this game and reached base four times, with three hits as well as a walk, while driving in three runs. Considering Kennedy’s three, four and five hitters went a combined 1-for-11, they at least made the one hit count, on Guzman’s walk-off two-run double.
Defense: B
For the most part, the Kennedy defense did not do anything flashy or spectacular. However, the Knights did not make the kind of crucial, ill-timed mistakes that plagued RKA and that was the difference in this game. Rightfielder Hansel Rodriguez made a sliding catch on a low line-drive to initiate a double-play that ended the first inning and directly saved one or two runs.
Pitching: C+
With two notable exceptions, pitching was definitely the weak point for JFK in this contest. RKA was crushing the ball throughout the first half of the game, but then the Knights’ bullpen completely unraveled by walking five of the first six batters in the sixth inning. Edwin Ozuna threw a solid fifth frame and struck out a pair, but it was Erich Gonzalez that truly gave JFK a chance to come back by recording the final five outs of the contest.
