Bx Sci sees season end with playoff loss

After a regular season which saw the Bronx Science softball team once again dominate the borough piling up 13 wins and winning the Bronx A Division for a third consecutive time, good things were expected from the Wolverines as the Public School Athletic League playoffs kicked off last week.

The first sign that pointed toward a healthy postseason run came when Science was tabbed as the fifth seed in the 27-team tournament. But the euphoria of that accomplishment didn’t last long as the Wolverines were paired up in their second-round game against a very talented Telecommunications High School team out of Brooklyn, which went 11-4 in the powerhouse Brooklyn A Division this season, but was somehow seeded 12th for the postseason.

So the reward for winning the Bronx again this year for the Wolverines was a matchup with a Yellowjackets team that reached the PSAL quarterfinals last season and is a favorite for a deep playoff run again this year.

Science head coach Thomas Morris knew early on the matchup with Telecommunications would be a stiff one for the Wolverines.

“Check out the pitcher they have,” Morris said as he arrived at Harris Field. “She’s excellent and she throws gas.”

Morris was referring to the Jackets’ Thalia Santiago. But Santiago didn’t even get the start. Telecommunications’ head coach Glen McCartney opted instead to open the game with Jessica Ariza, brilliant in her own right limiting Science to just one run over four innings before Santiago came in and dominated the final three innings, fanning seven of the nine batters she faced. 

With that, the Wolverines saw their season come to an end with a 6-1 loss to Telecommunications.

Science finishes its season at 13-2.

“I’m disappointed with the matchup,” Morris said. “ It begs the question, ‘What is going on with the seeding?’”

Science, however, came close to drawing first blood in the first inning when it had runners on first and second and just one out. But a fielder’s choice cut down Anna Leidner at third base for the second out. And when the Wolverines ultimately loaded the bases with two out, Maya Schuchert’s hard smash drive to centerfield was caught to end the threat.

“We had that nice first inning, but give them credit, they made two really nice plays there at third base and in centerfield,” Morris said. “If either one of those balls gets in, then we have a two- or three-run lead, and who knows what happens?”

The Yellowjackets got to Science starter Ava Cutler for three runs in the fourth inning to break a scoreless tie, the big blow coming on Amanda Ramos’ two-run homer. Science did manage to get on the board in the fifth when Caroline Bradley scored from third on a wild pitch. But the Jackets added another run in the sixth and two more in the seventh, and that was all she wrote for the Wolverines.

“We probably should have made a few more plays in the field that would have made it closer,” Morris said. “But I told them right from the start, the reality is we know what was coming, that someone who throws gas will be coming into the game later, so if we’re going to score runs, we got to do it now. 

“But we couldn’t get going offensively.”

After the game, Morris assembled his team for one last post-game gathering, one where he was forced to say good-bye to his two seniors, Cutler and Helen Black.

“I thanked the seniors for their contributions,” Morris said. “Ava for her four years and her big-time performances, and Helen for her improvement and her great attitude. It’s a coach’s dream to work with somebody who is so flexible, humble and willing to do whatever was needed to help the team out.”

The loss ended what was a very successful four seasons for Cutler, who was part of the three division title winners and helped fuel the Wolverines’ ride to the PSAL quarterfinals last season.

“Being on this team has been a special experience,” said Cutler, who will attend Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, next season. “It was really a great experience to know I was contributing to the team. I was pitching since freshman year, and it’s just been so great playing with this group of girls. Everyone has been so kind and they are so talented. 

“It’s just been such a wonderful experience.”