Though Xaverian H.S., Bay Ridge, senior catcher and MLB Draft hopeful Elvin Soto will have to wait a few years to play professional baseball, he now has something else to be proud of.

The Xaverian Clippers defeated the All-Hallows H.S., the Bronx, Gaels, 7-1, in the Class ‘AA’ Intersectional City Championship at Jack Kaiser Stadium on the campus of St. John’s University, Jamaica, on June 10.
“We play in the best league in the city,” said Lou Piccola, Xaverian head coach. “Today the better team won. I think today proved the quality of our program.”
The Clippers took an early two-run lead on back-to-back RBI singles by Soto and Tommy Midolo in the bottom of the first inning. Xaverian starting pitcher Anthony Pastrana was pleased his team gave him some breathing room.
“Any pitcher would love a two-run first inning,” said Pastrana. “Some pressure was taken off me, and I felt like I could just throw more in the zone.”
Pastrana kept the Gaels off balance for four and two-thirds innings. Nine of the 14 outs he recorded came via strikeout.
“I was working both out and in with my fastball, and I tried to mix my curveball in,” said Pastrana.
With two outs in the top of the fifth inning, Piccola was faced with a tough decision. In a 4-1 ballgame, the Gaels had two runners on base with a dangerous hitter in James Norwood representing the tying run.
Piccola replaced Pastrana with Blaise Scerbo, who was slated to be the starter the following day if All-Hallows won. On one pitch, Scerbo induced a fielder’s choice ground-out to end the Gaels’ threat.
“Blaise is a strike machine,” said Pastrana. “I have so much confidence in him coming after me. He did a great job.”
The Clippers added some insurance in the bottom of the sixth inning by scoring three runs, capped off by RBI singles from Eric Kalman and Victor Bautista to establish a six-run lead.
Scerbo shut the door in the seventh, giving Xaverian its first city championship since 2008. Soto finished two-for-two on the game with a triple, two RBIs and three runs scored.
“It was a typical Xaverian game,” said Piccola. “The key to the win was putting pressure on them [All-Hallows] early.”
With the win, Xaverian finished the season 21-2. Even without former Clipper and current New York Met relief pitcher Pedro Beato, the X-men relied on a deep pitching staff, which was a key factor in the championship.
“From December, we all worked hard, and we all worked out together,” said Scerbo. “It was a big team effort today.”
Though Soto was upset at not being drafted, he was thrilled for his team’s victory. He will attend the University of Pittsburgh, Pa., this fall on a full baseball scholarship.
“It’s just an amazing feeling,” said Soto. “We had a task at hand, and we took care of business today.”
“He’s [Soto] the best catcher that I’ve pitched to,” said Scerbo. “He’s very motivational out there, and he’s a good team leader.”
Soto is excited for his baseball career to blossom. As for the rest of the Clippers, the road to next spring’s city championship begins now.
“We work harder than anybody,” said Piccola. “We have a tremendous coaching staff, and we put a lot of time and effort into our program.”