Sports
Forest Hills High School Baseball Finishes Up-And-Down Season On Winning Note
Team makes PSAL playoffs after win in their final outing.
It’s been a topsy-turvy season for the boy’s Forest Hills baseball team. They sprinted to a 6-0 season start, then got mired in a 7 game losing streak, but won their last three games to earn a spot in the PSAL playoffs. The seeding of teams will be announced early next week.
“You gotta go out there and compete,” said head coach Marty Finkelstein of Forest Hills (9-7).
That’s what the Rangers did. Perhaps a telling sign came when the team played Cardozo High in a recent away game. It was a close game 2-1, with Cardozo leading and the Judges scored 7 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning.
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Facing a 9-1 decifit, the team didn’t quit, and in their last inning, put some hits together along with some walks and scored 6 runs to make the score 9-7. Forest Hills had two runners in scoring position at 2nd and 3rd base, but came up just short of tying up one of the top team in Queens.
In the next game, Forest Hills beat Long Island City 4-3. The Rangers won the game in their last at-bat when senior Arnauris Santana drove in Frank Duffy from second base with a base hit. At last, Forest Hills could exhale.
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When they faced the Patriots of Francis Lewis, Forest Hills had something to play for, a chance to make the playoffs. The team got a great game from pitcher Santana who fanned fifteen batters. Santana also drove in two runs. Justin Ramos accounted for a RBI, and Dan Spilke drove in two runs with a key hit.
“It was a total team effort,” said Finkelstein about the Rangers play this past week.
“The kids will never forget a season like this.”
Referring to the win over Long Island City, Finkelstein said, “It’s been a long time
since we had a victory. ... We hung in there.”
Finkelstein cited improved pitching and players getting accustomed to their roles on the team as factors which contributed to the success. Finkelstein noted Anthony Ortega’s improved play at second base, a solid year from catcher Dan Spilke, the emergence of Santana as a go-to guy, and a good season from Frank Duffy, who got some key hits.
As the losses mounted up during a seven game losing streak, Finkelstein stressed the positive. You can learn from any situation and turn it to help you. “You never give up,” he said. Forest Hills rallied and now they will face a formidable opponent in the first round of the PSAL tournament.