Tottenville’s Salvatore Manzella makes contact. (Denis Gostev)
Tottenville’s Joe Sessa slides safety into home as Lehman catcher Andy Ramos takes the throw. (Denis Gostev)
Adam Droz described the rematch against Tottenville as just another game. Jhosse Estrella didn’t get the memo – the Lehman shortstop couldn’t sleep Tuesday night he was so excited. Andy Ramos wasn’t aware of Lehman’s opponent in Wednesday’s Monroe Tournament quarterfinals, but when the senior catcher saw the Pirates’ unmistakable purple upon arriving at the field, his blood began pumping like it had last June, before Tottenville pulled out a 1-0 victory in the PSAL Class A final in 10 innings.
“I wanted revenge, personally,” he said. “I was happy to face Tottenville.”
Though Droz, the intense Lehman coach, and his two key seniors disagreed on the game’s significance, they didn’t differ in their joy following the come-from-behind, 7-6 win over the Pirates.
Not only did they get some semblance of revenge by beating the team that knocked them off in last year’s title game, but did so after trailing by four runs entering the bottom of the fourth.
That’s when Estrella, a leadoff man with pop befitting a middle-of-the-order hitter, took charge. He drove in two runs with an opposite-field single in the fourth and got Lehman even with a two-run double in the sixth, again going the other way.
“This kid is an athlete, he can do it all,” Droz said. “Whatever job I ask him to do, he’ll do it and he’ll never question you.”
Ramos followed with a run-scoring double and Angel Zapata drove in Ramos with a single to right. The comeback was just the latest rally for Lehman, which has already beaten South Shore, Riverdale/Kingsbridge and Manhattan Center in similar fashion.
“I see us being a scrappy team that’s gonna keep scratching at you,” Droz said. “We’re not the overpowering team, but you know what, that’s all right. If we keep playing smart baseball, then we’re gonna keep winning.”
Ace Dymin Morillo made sure a comeback was possible despite getting touched up for five runs in the road fourth. After yielding an RBI single to Joe Sessa and a two-run double to Carmelo Donofrio, the soft-tossing southpaw retired Kevin Krause and Gil Mendoza with the bases loaded to end the threat. He retired the next six Pirates and gave way to Estrella in the seventh. With a 3-0 count, runners on the corners and two outs, he got senior Michael Sullivan to popup with runners on the corners and two outs.
“I like his agressiveness, he’s not waiting for the next guy to do it,” Tottenville coach Tom Tierney Jr. said. “He’s in the five spot for a reason, because he can hit. He hits a double, we’re saying that’s a great move.”
It capped a frustrating few days for Tottenville, which was 18-0 before losses to Grand Street and now Lehman less than 24 hours apart.
“This is a growing experience for us,” Tierney said. “The kids see the top competition in the city and what we’re gonna see in the PSAL playoffs, and that’s why we play here.”
Ramos, Morillo and Estrella – all experienced seniors who played pivotal roles in last year’s run to the title game – have figured prominently so far this spring in leading Lehman to the top of Bronx A West. Droz, however, refuses to single them out with a ‘C’ on their jerseys. He’s never used Captains in running the powerful program over the last decade. He likes to think of each game as an opportunity for any player to become a captain.
“It doesn’t revolve around one guy,” Droz said. “It’s nine guys out there doing what they got to do.”
While Estrella clearly stood out on Wednesday, not only with his run production but said save, Droz pointed to the players who weren’t on the field the last time Lehman met Tottenville. In the Lions’ two big innings, junior Jesse Garcia, freshman Jorge Alvarez and senior Jonathan Martinez set the table for the top of the order.
Ramos and Estrella said while the victory eases the pain somewhat, it does little to take away from that heartbreaking June night in Coney Island when Tottenville outlasted them in those thrilling 10 innings. More than revenge, it showed the Lions are perhaps capable of getting back to the final.
“We lost 1-0 last year on an error, so we’re trying to feed off that,” Estrella said. “To help that motivate us and try to win it all.”
