The Flushing High School baseball team is only three wins away from playing in the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) AA Division championship game at Yankee Stadium. Ranked the third-best team in the city, the Flushing High School baseball team has gone 15-0 so far this season.
According to Head Coach Joe Gerloven, about half of the 15 players on the roster are actually relatively new to the sport. He credits the team’s coaches and seniors for helping to both recruit and educate them. In 12 seasons as the school’s head baseball coach, Gerloven believes this may be the most talented team he’s had.
“There’s a great blend of youth with experienced seniors,” Gerloven said. “Any good coach wants to see their athletes thrive. It’s especially great to see the seniors succeed and send them off in a positive way after everything they’ve been through these last few years with the pandemic.”
While the team went 10-0 last season, there were no playoffs. It had been decided prior to that season that would be the case due to COVID-19 concerns, with the main goal of the season being to let the students play.
One player that Gerloven cites as being a big part of the team’s success is senior pitcher Carlos Martinez. In his most recent outing, Martinez threw six perfect innings with 15 strikeouts. He has attracted attention from professional baseball teams and colleges looking to recruit him. He ended up committing to Hofstra University, where he’s expected to play baseball under head coach and 14-year MLB veteran Frank Catalanotto.
After defeating the Adlai Stevenson Educational Campus in the first round of the PSAL tournament, Gerloven feels like Flushing High School is heavily favored to make it to the finals at Yankee Stadium. However, he also understands that there’s still plenty of work left for his team to do.
The next obstacle standing in their way from achieving this goal comes in the form of Lehman High School. The schools will face off May 27 on Flushing High School’s Leavitt Field at 3:30 p.m.
A total of 32 high schools from across all five boroughs of New York City are participating in the PSAL AA Division tournament. As of now, the quarterfinals games are scheduled to occur on June 1 at 3:30 p.m. and the semi-final games on June 4 at 11 a.m. The date and time for the finals game at Yankee Stadium have yet to be announced.
Student-athletes whose teams make it to the finals will be able to reserve between two and four tickets for friends and/or family to attend the game.
