JOHN TAGGART/JOHN TAGGART FOR NEW YORK DAILY
A warm day is a good day for baseball at Randall’s Island, where LIC beats Bryant on Tuesday.
The Long Island City HS baseball team was quite familiar with William C. Bryant senior Adonis Lao.
The lefthander shut down the Bulldogs in a game last season, allowing just two hits in six innings while impressively picking off five runners at first base.
Lao faced the Bulldogs again on Tuesday and for the most part was his usual, dominant self. But a poor first inning combined with a good performance by his counterpart doomed Lao and the Owls, who lost to LIC, 4-1, at Randall’s Island Field 42 in a PSAL Queens A West duel.
Two singles and a walk given up by Lao in the bottom of the first loaded the bases for Bulldog junior catcher Erison Valerio, who ripped a two-run single to center. After senior left fielder Ramon Amancio struck out, Valerio took off for second, drawing a throw from Owl catcher Jaicer Abreu. That allowed senior shortstop Cristian Guerrero to score from third. Valerio stole third after another strikeout and scored on a bloop infield hit by senior center fielder Kewin Franco.
Lao settled in after the first, allowing just one single the rest of the way in a six-inning complete game. He allowed five total hits, walked one and struck out 10, displaying tricky off-speed stuff with a hard fastball.
“Once he gets on a roll and he’s in the zone, he’s tough to hit,” LIC coach Thomas Lehman said of Lao. “If he gets ahead of our batters, he has a good change-up and curveball. From the left side, it’s very difficult. We’re very fortunate that we got to him early.”
Radames Peralta, a former JFK assistant who took over head coaching duties at Bryant (2-1 PSAL) this year, pinned Lao and the team’s poor start on a lack of intensity from the outset.
“I felt that they took advantage of our body language in the first inning, and they executed,” Peralta said. “They didn’t come out here to play, and that’s the identity they have and I want to change that.”
The Bulldogs (11-1, 3-0 PSAL) benefited from a good performance by their own starter, junior Albert Ramirez, whose role coming into the season was undefined. Ramirez won his second game Tuesday by tossing six innings and surrendering just an unearned run on five hits and two walks. He added seven strikeouts.
Lehman decided to make Ramirez a starter when the season began, and now he’s established himself as the team’s ace.
“He’s going against all the Number 1s. So far, so good,” Lehman said. “He’s a very smart pitcher and has a good rapport with (Valerio.)”
Valerio, who’s known Lao since the two were little, was confident the Bulldogs’ four-run first would be enough.
“Once we’re up, we’re going to stay up,” he said. “We’re planning on going far this year.”
