By Patrick McCormack
Benjamin Cardozo senior Keith Rogers showed with both his arm and his bat why he is considered a top player in the city.
He was dominant on the mound, going five innings, giving up one run on four hits, striking out five and walking just one. At the plate Rogers went 3-for-3 with an RBI to help lift host Cardozo to a 9-1 victory over John Adams in a PSAL baseball crossover game between two different divisions last Friday.
Rogers had good command of his pitches, and he was also aggressive with the bat.
“My curve ball was hitting its spots,” he said. “My two-seam [fast ball] was moving well and I was able to work both sides of the plate. At the plate, I attack the ball every time, never think too much and do what I know I can.”
He believes the Judges are the best team in the city offensively because many of Cardozo’s players can hit and run. The Dozo offense didn’t waste time showing what it can do. The Judges scored five runs on six hits, five of which were singles in the bottom of the first inning. The selective offense demonstrates Judges Coach Ron Gorecki’s approach for his players at the plate.
“My philosophy on hitting is I do not ask the kids for singles, doubles, triples and home runs,” he said. “I ask them to swing as hard as they can in the batter’s box until they get two strikes. When they get two strikes, I ask them to put the ball in play, and anything can happen when they put the ball in play.”
The Judges’ bats came alive again in the third, when they scored three more runs on four hits to make it 8-0. The big blow in the inning came from the eighth spot when junior Nick Jairam, who was 3-for-3, delivered an RBI double.
Gorecki’s team is playing well this season because more than just the seniors are contributing. Competition among the players has brought success.
“The team is probably the best team in the last six years because there is synergy involved,” Gorecki said. “We don’t have the best players in the city. What’s happening is the juniors, sophomores and the freshmen are all competing for lineup spots and they are all fighting one another. We have a war going on for positions.”
John Adams Coach Glenn Beyer thought the Judges seemed better prepared for the game and beat his team in every facet of it. It’s just the Spartans’ second PSAL loss of the season, the other coming to Construction.
“We were simply out-coached and out-prepared, and that’s why we lost this game,” he said.
The Judges are 11-0 and sit at the top of the PSAL Queens A East standings. After the win over John Adams, Gorecki knows he has a good team, but also understands that playoffs are different than the regular season.
“We seem not to get through the quarterfinals,” Gorecki said. “We lose by one run in the quarterfinals. Playoffs are a different animal.”
