Back in the playoffs, CTK falls short

Not many coaches would wax poetic about their team after a drama-filled, heartbreaking, could’ve-would’ve-should’ve, one-run defeat that ended their year.
But this wasn’t just any season for Christ the King’s first-year Manager Allen Watson, the former New York Met and Yankee pitcher. With help from a talented, albeit young core, Watson restored hope to a moribund program that had won just three league games in the last two years, and hadn’t reached the playoffs in nine seasons. “The progress these guys made is amazing,” he said. “I’m proud of all of them.”
The resurgence included wins over Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan winner Holy Cross, St. Francis Prep and perennial power Xaverian, the very team that ended their season Monday afternoon, 9-8, at American Legion Field in Brooklyn in the opening round of the CHSAA intersectional playoffs.
“It’s a big improvement from last year, obviously,” said CTK’s ace southpaw Bobby Tesseyman, who took the loss after yielding five runs in six innings. “It was a whole different feeling, a winning attitude.”
Still, the Royals were a few errors and mental mistakes away from advancing. In the third, trailing 2-1, they put their first two runners on with the heart of the order coming up. Unfortunately, shortstop Chris Valerio struck out and two runners were subsequently picked off. “That’s a matter of having a young team,” Valerio surmised. “You’re going to make mistakes.”
The physical errors, however, proved far more costly. With two outs and a pair of men on in the seventh, trailing 5-2, shortstop Juan Rodriguez - inserted when Valerio relieved Tesseyman to start the inning - couldn’t corral a wind-blown pop up that none of the other Royals got a bead on, allowing the sixth Clipper to cross the plate. “We catch that fly ball, it’s [still] 5-2 and maybe we’re [eventually] winning 8-5,” Watson lamented.
Stewart Park led the Clippers (11-6) with four hits and two RBIs in support of winning pitcher Ricky Espinosa, who allowed just two earned runs in six innings of work. Greg Scarpulla paced CTK (9-9) with three hits, an RBI and two runs scored.
Xaverian added four runs after the miscue on three straight hits, expanding the lead to 9-2. It didn’t seem to make a difference at the time but after a six-run rally - fueled by five straight walks - fell short when Howard Jacobson whiffed with Joe Nuss on second, the Royals were left wondering, “what if.”
Still, the uprising was emblematic of the different mindset. “We wanted to go out with a fight,” Valerio said. “It shows our team has a lot of heart coming back.”
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St. Francis Prep and Monsignor McClancy each advanced in the opening round of the CHSAA intersectional playoffs behind impressive pitching performances.
The Terriers, the city runner-up a year ago, topped Archbishop Stepinac, 9-2 Monday in White Plains, behind Rob Casal’s complete-game two-hitter. Nick Seara drove in four runs and Jason Kaye added two RBIs. The Terriers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead.
St. Francis Prep (14-10) will face Moore Catholic, the very team who beat them in the city championship last spring, in their best-of-three playoff series.
McClancy (12-11), meanwhile, edged St. Peter’s, 2-1, behind Nick Condos’s five-hitter. The junior also drove in what turned out to be the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning. Dan Lopez, the University of Pittsburgh-bound shortstop, scored a run and doubled. The Crusaders will match-up with LaSalle in their best-of-three playoff series.