Magic season ends in defeat for Senators

It’s only been in existence since 2002, but in that short amount of time, the High School for American Studies has built quite an academic reputation. The small school with an enrollment of about 400 students was recently named the top high school in the state of New York by U.S. News & World Report and is currently ranked 11th in the nation.

So there is no denying its place on the academic stage.

But last week provided American Studies an opportunity to add to its growing athletic reputation, too, as it looked to claim some championship hardware when the Senators took on East Side Community High School for the Public Schools Athletic League’s (PSAL) AA baseball title at Yankee Stadium.

The Senators came into the championship riding a 13-game winning streak. They had not lost since dropping a 2-1 decision to archrival Bronx High School of Science on April 28 and had outscored their four opponents, 33-3, in the PSAL playoffs leading up to the championship game at the Stadium.

It was also an opportunity for coach Howard Blitz, in his 35th year of coaching high school baseball, to claim his first championship trophy.

So with all that momentum going for it and with a “win-one-for-coach” battle cry, what could go wrong?

Two words: Timothy Lopez.

Lopez, East Side’s diminutive right-hander, allowed just five hits and struck out six as American Studies’ magical season came to an end with a 7-0 loss in the title game. The Senators finished the season with a stellar 17-3 record.

“We played our archrival [Bronx Science] in the semifinals and we put a lot of energy into that game and we were just flat today,” said the 62-year-old Blitz. “We did win 13 games in a row and the guys are exhausted.”    

The Senators were indeed flat as they could do little against Lopez, who retired American Studies in order in four of the seven innings. Despite their lack of offense, the Senators were still in a 1-0 game through four innings and its championship dreams were very much alive.

Until the fifth inning, that is.