The Bronx school took another step in their quest with a convincing 10-0 five inning mercy-ruled victory over Bayside last Friday, May 23, at Lehman, behind the amazing pitching of Jeffrey Adames and a rare offensive flurry that left coach Adam Droz confident about his team’s future.
“The name of the game is hitting,” said Droz. “We have not been hitting well, but today, hitting was our strong point.”
Hector Rodriguez opened up the offense in the bottom of the 2nd inning, with a leadoff bloop single and then drew first blood with an amazing running play. With runners on 1st and 2nd base, Rodriguez, heading for 3rd on a routine ground ball, prevented a double play, by slowing down and forcing 3B Michael Fermin to hesitate and settle for a force out at 2nd.
“You can’t teach that,” commented Droz. “This is where instincts take over and Hector made an important decision.”
Rodriguez advanced to 3rd base and would score the first run on a sacrifice fly to center field by Gabriel Pena.
But the offense was just getting started. In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Lehman had already scored three runs, when with runners in scoring position, Randy Adames hit a double in the gap between right and center field to put two more runs on the board. Jhosse Estrella would round out the rally, scoring two more runs on a single to center field to put Lehman up 7-0, giving Jeffrey Adames all the run support he needed in the win.
“I have been very lucky,” Adames said. “My team has always provided me with run support. When my team is hitting like that, I know I can struggle a little and my team will back me up.”
Adames, who was reportedly being watched by a Cleveland Indians scout, gave the major league team a reason to be impressed, overcoming an initial scare in the 1st inning when two errors put runners on 1st and 2nd base with no outs.
The senior struck out Kevin Brown, before allowing a single into center field to load up the bases. A short grounder by Antonios Koulotouros resulted in a force out at home. Adames would then strike out Aaron Shapiro to end the threat.
Lehman will next take on George Washington High School this week with the winner advancing to the semifinals on Friday, May 30, against either Clinton High School or the High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology.
