The Flushing High School baseball team advanced to the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) championship Friday with their 6-1 victory over Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy.
Flushing High School will take on South Bronx High School Thursday at Staten Island University Hospital, Community Park, home of the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic Baseball League. The game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m.
South Bronx will present the greatest challenge yet for Flushing High School. While both teams went a perfect 15-0 during the regular season, South Bronx High School was the number one seeded team in the PSAL tournament.
Flushing High School head coach Joe Gerloven feels that the two teams are pretty much on par with each other. As his team prepares for the big game, Gerloven credits the team’s success as a great group effort between the players and coaches.
“This wouldn’t be possible without these outstanding student athletes and coaching staff,” Gerloven said. “The coaching staff, including Antonio Bausone and Ismael Perez, were instrumental in helping the student athletes get to the next level.”
Gerloven also shined a light on three of the team’s senior players, Carlos Martinez, Jorsixt Jimenez and Ronald Pimental. All three players will be participating in the PSAL Exceptional Senior Game Wednesday.
Martinez, the team’s star pitcher, will take the mound in the championship game after only allowing one run in five innings of the semi-final game. This season, he attracted a lot of attention from scouts for professional teams as well as colleges before ultimately committing to Hofstra University.
Jimenez led the AA league in homers this season. He’s primarily been used at centerfield and shortstop, two of the most important defensive positions. Additionally, he’s logged in a lot of work as a pitcher. According to Gerloven, Jimenez will be attending Queens College in the fall.
Pimental has thrived under the difficult task of having to effectively catch Martinez, Jimenez and the rest of the team’s talented young arms. He’s also proven to be just as effective in the batters box as he is behind the plate.
Another player Gerloven heaped praise upon was shortstop Brandon Gonzalez. He posted a league-best .390 batting average while also leading the league in hits.
A total of 32 high schools from across all five boroughs of New York City participated in the PSAL AA Division tournament. The finals were initially scheduled to be played at Yankee Stadium, but a scheduling conflict caused the championship game to be moved to Staten Island University Hospital, Community Park. Prior to being the home of the FerryHawks, it housed the Staten Island Yankees, the Class A minor league affiliate of the New York Yankees, from 2001-2020.
