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Hilario's arm, Parra's bat lift Gompers over Stuy
By Zachary Braziller May 20, 2009
Last spring, the Gompers baseball team rode the left arms of Juan Hilario and Dominique Parra all the way to the PSAL Class A semifinals.
In the opener of this postseason, it was Hilario on the mound again, tossing seven brilliant, one-hit innings in front of an impeccable defense that handled every chance flawlessly. Parra was integral, too – but with his bat.
The senior belted a sixth-inning home run – the only run of the pitcher’s duel – as the 16th-seeded Panthers blanked No. 17 Stuyvesant, 1-0, at St. Mary’s Park in the Bronx Wednesday afternoon.
He drilled the long line drive to dead center field off Hitmen ace Nolan Becker, a hard-throwing southpaw bound for Yale, in the sixth inning.
“When I saw the ball reach the mound of the other diamond and Dominique rounding second, I was sending him,” Gompers coach Louis Figueroa said. “We knew we were going to reach the kid, it was just a matter of time. He started to throw a lot of pitches as the game went on.”
Hilario, who walked two, struck out eight and allowed just the one hit, a single by senior shortstop Zachary Karson, closed it out. He walked two in the seventh, but struck out sophomore third baseman Scott Chiusano looking to end it.
It was yet another frustrating afternoon for Becker, who paid dearly for his one mistake. The dominant senior struck out 11 and allowed just two hits. He received a no decision in his last start, an eventual 7-1, eight-inning loss to Beacon, after allowing no earned runs in seven innings.
“I feel so bad for this kid; every time he pitches we can never score runs for him,” Stuyvesant coach John Carlesi said, whose club fell to 11-6 overall. “I don’t know if it’s the Johan Santana syndrome.”
The win sets up an enticing pitching duel against top-seeded Norman Thomas, between Parra and ace right-hander Mariel Checo, who draws Major League scouts every time he pitches.
“If both guys are on, it’s going to be some match-up,” Figueroa said. “I’ve heard a lot about the kid. I’ve never seen him pitch.”
After an under-the-radar, 10-6 finish in Bronx A West, one of the best divisions in the city, Gompers (11-6) is thinking big yet again. it made the semis last year as the 13th seed, knocking off No. 4 Monroe and No. 5 Norman Thomas in the process. Figueroa sees similarities – Hilario and Parra, after all, still head his pitching staff – but actually feels this current team is better offensively and defensively.
“This group is focused,” Figueroa said. “I got a lot of returning guys, it’s a better hitting team and with our pitching I don’t see why we can’t make another run.”
zbraziller@fiveborosports.com
In the opener of this postseason, it was Hilario on the mound again, tossing seven brilliant, one-hit innings in front of an impeccable defense that handled every chance flawlessly. Parra was integral, too – but with his bat.
The senior belted a sixth-inning home run – the only run of the pitcher’s duel – as the 16th-seeded Panthers blanked No. 17 Stuyvesant, 1-0, at St. Mary’s Park in the Bronx Wednesday afternoon.
He drilled the long line drive to dead center field off Hitmen ace Nolan Becker, a hard-throwing southpaw bound for Yale, in the sixth inning.
“When I saw the ball reach the mound of the other diamond and Dominique rounding second, I was sending him,” Gompers coach Louis Figueroa said. “We knew we were going to reach the kid, it was just a matter of time. He started to throw a lot of pitches as the game went on.”
Hilario, who walked two, struck out eight and allowed just the one hit, a single by senior shortstop Zachary Karson, closed it out. He walked two in the seventh, but struck out sophomore third baseman Scott Chiusano looking to end it.
It was yet another frustrating afternoon for Becker, who paid dearly for his one mistake. The dominant senior struck out 11 and allowed just two hits. He received a no decision in his last start, an eventual 7-1, eight-inning loss to Beacon, after allowing no earned runs in seven innings.
“I feel so bad for this kid; every time he pitches we can never score runs for him,” Stuyvesant coach John Carlesi said, whose club fell to 11-6 overall. “I don’t know if it’s the Johan Santana syndrome.”
The win sets up an enticing pitching duel against top-seeded Norman Thomas, between Parra and ace right-hander Mariel Checo, who draws Major League scouts every time he pitches.
“If both guys are on, it’s going to be some match-up,” Figueroa said. “I’ve heard a lot about the kid. I’ve never seen him pitch.”
After an under-the-radar, 10-6 finish in Bronx A West, one of the best divisions in the city, Gompers (11-6) is thinking big yet again. it made the semis last year as the 13th seed, knocking off No. 4 Monroe and No. 5 Norman Thomas in the process. Figueroa sees similarities – Hilario and Parra, after all, still head his pitching staff – but actually feels this current team is better offensively and defensively.
“This group is focused,” Figueroa said. “I got a lot of returning guys, it’s a better hitting team and with our pitching I don’t see why we can’t make another run.”
zbraziller@fiveborosports.com