2017 SEASON IN REVIEW
The Engineers season began on a dreary March afternoon in south Brooklyn with a scrimmage vs. AAA powerhouse, HS for Telecommunication Arts. Tel-Comm (who would ultimately advance to the PSAL AAA semi-finals) brought their big bats to the game and throttled the AA Engineers 10-1.
It wasn’t an auspicious start with the Engineers continuing to scuffle as the official season began. Due to inclement weather the Engineers were forced to reschedule seven games, including many during spring break with players unavailable for Coach Mike Rodriguez and 1st year assistant, Lou Sisto.
The low point of the season occurred during the recess when the Engineers were dominated by league opponent, Bushwick Campus (14-3); then losing a non-league game to Petrides HS in Staten Is. (8-6) despite having an early 6-2 lead. The Engineers record at the end of break stood at 2-3.
However, once back in session the clouds literally parted as the Engineers’s season took off. They proceeded to reel off an 11-game winning streak and finish in 1st place in the Brooklyn AA league.
Dormant bats woke up with a vengeance led by Seniors John Sutera, Lucas Hoye, Max Rettig and Joe Hur (batting .537, .400, .324, .231 respectively) as well as Sophomore Jasper Stoddard returning in early May from an injury and going 7/8 in his first three games while scoring 7 runs.
The Engineers swept Juan Morel Campus home and away (16-0, 10-0) and also shut down both New Utrecht and EBC/Bushwick HS 10-0 — the games called in the 5th inning due to the PSAL mercy rule.
The Engineers also upended SHSAT rival AAA Stuyvesant HS in a scrimmage 8-4.
The pitching staff was anchored by Sophomore Jackson Morris (who threw two no-hitters this season and was #2 in the league in strikeouts) and Junior Frank Adams who led the Brooklyn AA league with 5 wins.
In the AA playoffs, pitching carried the Engineers through the first two rounds vs. HS-American Studies/Lehman (another SHSAT rival!) and Bronx School/LGJ with 5-1 and 2-0 victories.
However, in the quarterfinals the Engineers nemesis Petrides HS again prevailed at home, rallying from a 0-2 deficit to edge BTHS 4-2. Losing by only two runs to the #1 seeded AA team twice was a tough blow for the scrappy Engineers but it highlighted continued improvement from their 1-15 low point in 2014.
While the Engineers lose six seniors in 2018, the core of their pitching staff remains and promising underclass hitters have another year’s experience under their belts to help replace the graduates.
Freshman Luca Vasiliu hit .667 for the Engineers while Sophomore Zach Gee continued his mastery on the base paths, hitting .345 overall and stealing 8 bases. Sophomore catcher, Andy Santella not only managed the pitching staff and but also contributed a .302 batting average to the offense.
The future is indeed bright for the BTHS Engineers baseball team in 2018.
Coach Rodriguez to the Class of 2017 baseball players:
“To our 6 seniors, thank you for all your time, dedication and sacrifice for Brooklyn Tech Baseball. As you leave Brooklyn Tech Baseball know that it was my pleasure seeing you work hard to be at your best to compete against the best teams in our division. It’s an example set by past players and continued this year by you, our 6 seniors. I wish you all the best!”
Principal David Newman at Freshman Orientation, 5/22/17:
“I don’t remember a Tech baseball team ever going 13-3 in my 18 years here!”
