At the end of their season, the Hawks baseball team’s record now stands at 13 wins and 3 losses. The team had a nine-game winning streak, which began with a 7-2 win on April 15 against the High School for Arts and Business. This hot streak came after a difficult two-game series that saw the team defeated by division rival East New York Transit Tech H.S.
On April 22, the Hawks scored 31 unanswered points against Jamaica High School before the game ended in the fifth inning. Junior Harry Quinn led the team in runs, scoring 5 that game, and five other players scored 3 runs each.
During their streak, the Hawks had both lopsided victories as well as a few good tests of how long the streak would last. Over its course, the Hawks defeated Arts and Business twice, Hillcrest twice, August Martin, Jamaica, Martin Van Buren, Information Technology H.S. (coached by Townsend Harris Alum Josh Sipkin), and Renaissance.
Coach Morales noted that the streak “has the team showing up to games confident about winning.”
The first of the Hawks’ tests came against Martin Van Buren. It was a pitcher’s duel throughout, with the first run being scored in the sixth inning by Van Buren. Entering the bottom of the seventh inning down by one, the Hawks were down to their final out. In stepped Johnny O’Neill, junior, who hit an RBI triple to tie the game at one, leading to extra-innings. In the bottom of the 9th with the bases loaded, Van Buren allowed a walk, giving Harris the walk-off win.
The second of the Hawks’ tests came while playing against Arts and Business for the second time. After Arts and Business tied the game by scoring three runs in the top of the 7th, Townsend came right back in the bottom half of the inning and scored on Freshman Mason Rivero’s RBI groundout to shortstop, giving them their second walk-off victory in as many days.
The Hawks defeated Robert. F. Kennedy on May 10 in a 12-0 shutout, but lost to Robert F. Wagner on May 13, which ended at 7-3. The Hawks faced Wagner again on May 15, where senior TJ Ritter helped the team take the lead in the seventh inning to win the game. The Hawks ended their season in second place, only behind East New York Transit Tech.
Additional reporting by Dimitri Theofanis
