Velazquez’s homer lifts LIC

Harley Watstein has coached countless gifted athletes in his 10 years running the baseball and basketball programs at Long Island City. But none of his players, Watstein says, can compare to Omar Velazquez, his superstar centerfielder/pitcher.
Velazquez continued to impress last Wednesday afternoon, when he broke open a tie game in the sixth inning with a three-run, go-ahead opposite field homer off the Cardozo ace, Arllen Cruz. “He’s a big-time player and he steps up in big-time moments,” Watstein said after Velazquez’s bomb propelled LIC to a 13-6 intra-division win over the Judges (4-3, Queens A-East), enabling the Bulldogs (8-0, Queens A-West) to remain undefeated in league play and clinch a playoff berth.
Freshman Gelpys Peralta went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer and four RBIs and Xavier Saez homered and drove in two runs, helping the Bulldogs take a commanding 5-1 lead. But Cardozo fought back against southpaw Kevin Perez. In the fifth, junior third baseman Andy Vega crushed a two-run homer to left, and Jamie Liebowitz drove in a run and scored on a Matt Pascarelli wild pitch.
But then Velazquez, who has yet to allow an earned run in 26 innings on the mound after facing the minimum in a complete-game one-hitter over Bryant the day before, stepped up against the hard-throwing Cruz with two men on.
He jumped on the first pitch, a fastball away, sending the offering over the right field wall and out onto Springfield Boulevard with that compact, level, quick-to-the-point cut of his. “I was looking for a pitch I could drive to the opposite field because he throws hard,” Velazquez said. “After that, we didn’t look back.”
“I expect Omar to come through,” said Pascarelli, who earned the win with 2 2/3 innings of solid relief. “I’ve seen him do it over three years.”
Even though LIC was undefeated coming in, this victory will serve as a confidence builder - their first six wins came against opponents with a combined 0-20 record within their division - and far more important, brings them a step closer to the division title, or at least a second place finish. A top two spot in Queens A-West - considered by many to be the best division in the city with perennial contenders Newtown, Grand Street Campus and John Adams, in addition to LIC - should land the Bulldogs a home playoff game and a golden opportunity to advance in the playoffs for the first time in quite a while.
“That’s our main goal - to get past the first round and show we can play,” Velazquez said.