On Friday, Jean Carlos Rodriguez and Fernando Frias will be at Shea Stadium when George Washington tries to win its first PSAL title since 1997.
On Thursday, they will know how close they are to getting to the majors if, as expected, they are selected in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft.
“It’s going to be a fun week,” Rodriguez said after third-seeded GW finished off a sweep of No. 18 Clinton in the best-of-three semifinals with a 14-8 win yesterday at the College of Staten Island. “I’m not nervous. I just want to get going.”
GW, which produced Manny Ramirez, last won it all in 1997 and most recently lost in the finals in 2004 and 2006.
“Freaky things always seem to happen when we get [to the finals],” said head coach Steve Mandl. “We just want to get there and play.”
The Trojans will face No. 1 Madison on Friday at Shea. Madison, after beating 13th-seeded Gompers in Game 1 on Friday, fell to the Panthers 3-2, yesterday to even the series and then won it with a 7-1 victory in the deciding game.
As for GW, the Trojans erupted for nine runs in the last two innings, breaking open what had been a 5-5 game when it was suspended because of rain on Saturday. Yeriel Nieves broke the tie in the sixth.
GW was helped by the absence of Clinton’s standout catcher Mauricio Matos, who opted to travel to Kansas City for a pre-draft workout with the Royals, who are said to be interested in him.
Without Matos, the Governors’ three-run rally in the seventh came up short.
The presence of Rodriguez and Frias doesn’t guarantee a win for the Trojans. Angel Salome was a fifth-round pick of the Brewers when GW lost in 2004.
“I’ve talked to Angel and he tells me what to expect with both things,” Rodriguez said of the draft and title game. “I just hope it works out for us.”
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Xaverian scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to advance to the championship round of the CHSAA playoffs, with Robbie Duran providing the game-winning single in an 11-10 win over No. 2 Moore Catholic.
The top-seeded Clippers rallied against Eddie Medina. After Anthony Hajjar drove in the tying run and stole second, Duran knocked him in, as Xaverian came back four times.
“To do that shows the character of this team,” said head coach Dennis Canale, whose team last reached the finals when it won the title in 2004. “We don’t have any stars, but I guess we don’t need any.”
Moore will play Regis tomorrow in an elimination game at St. John’s, with the winner meeting Xaverian at SJU on Friday.