After a sensational sophomore year, Carlos Lopez has struggled offensively at the plate as a junior. The Brooklyn Studio Secondary School catcher didn’t lack confidence when he stepped to the plate in a tie game Wednesday afternoon with two men aboard in the bottom of the sixth inning.
“I’m getting a hit right now,” coach Craig Cutaneo recalled he said. “Kids say that all time, but there was something about it, I really believed him. Just something I saw in his eyes.”
Lopez came through, driving in the go-ahead runs in the fourth-seeded Knights’ wild 10-8 PSAL Class B second round playoff victory over No. 20 Health Professions, the defending city champion. Brooklyn Studio now faces No. 5 Juan Morel Campos in the quarterfinals Thursday at Old Boys High Field at 3:30 p.m.
There were plenty of heroes for the Knights, undefeated Brooklyn B South division winners. Joseph Gonzalez pitched two flawless innings of relief for the victory. Jesse Rivera tied the game with a two-run single in the sixth and second baseman Chris Armento had two RBIs and scored three runs.
“I’m happy as anything we’re able to prevail,” Cutaneo said. “It took every ounce of energy. They were as good as any team we played in the ‘A’ or ‘B’ this year.”
The two teams started the game on Tuesday but could only make it through an inning due to inclement weather. Health Professions scored three first-inning runs then, thanks to three errors by Brooklyn Studio (18-0). Cutaneo felt his team was tight, and the day off served as a bonus.
Wednesday, the Knights responded every time Health Professions extended its lead. They didn’t go ahead until scoring five times in the sixth inning, highlighted by Lopez’s drive. Just to be in the quarterfinals is an impressive feat for a program that went just 4-12 each of the last two years and 2-14 the season before that.
“It was an unbelievable game,” Cutaneo said. “We went 16-0 against weaker competition. We didn’t know if we were battle-tested. We got a good idea today. My kids came through.”
Bronx Science 7, Taft 4: The 19th-seeded Wolverines pulled off their second straight upset, eliminating No. 3 Taft, the Bronx B South champion and city runner-up last year. Bronx Science (12-6), which topped No. 14 Frank Sinatra in the opening round, meets No. 6 Washington Irving on Thursday at Thomas Jefferson at 3:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals. Taft fell to 16-2.