Aug. 1, 2007 — The Yankees are the 2007 Raphael Jackson AA Baseball champions, thanks mostly to the pitching of rookie Roberto Soto.
Soto scattered six hits over nine innings while striking out 11 Monarchs hitters in propelling his team to a hard fought 2-1 victory. His counterpart, Max Velasquez, turned in almost as stellar a performance. His only mistakes were two pitches to the Yankees’ bash brothers, Leroy Simmonds and Mackeel Rogers, that he subsequently wished he could have back. Both of those pitches were dispatched for two long, towering blasts over the left-field fence, making the difference in the game.
The game was arguably the best of the entire season. The 2-1 final score was easily the lowest combined score of any contest. Early in the game a player could be overheard telling one umpire that he expected a high-scoring affair, and most people in the stands shared those same sentiments. The high-scoring expectations, of course, were a result of the high-scoring games throughout the season and on into the playoffs. It was not to be, however, as Soto and Velasquez turned in a spectacular pitching duel.
“He grew up on that mound tonight — he really became a man out there tonight,” exclaimed Soto’s father, Cruz Soto. “I really worked on that boy to get him ready. Man, I rubbed him down and used a lot of ice on him. He really pitched good tonight.”
Earlier in the season in the midst of a five-game losing streak, Yankees Manager Steve Simmonds said his team would be just fine in the end, and he was right. His confidence was undoubtedly boosted by the fact that he knew that his brother, Leroy, was about to return to the Yankees’ lineup.
Leroy, still suffering from the effects of a leg injury he sustained from his father’s possessed lawnmower, could not run or walk without a limp. But he could still throw, and of course he showed that he is still one of the best — and most feared — hitters in the entire Virgin Islands. So in the end Steve’s confidence was well grounded, because Leroy really helped to revive a Yankees season that was heading south fast during that losing streak.
The Monarchs also had an up-and-down year. When the regular season ended, they qualified in the fourth and final playoff spot. The fourth-place finish meant that they would have to face the defending-champion Vikings in the first round of the playoffs, but the Monarchs were not deterred as they upset the Vikings and marched into the playoffs, where they gave the Yankees all they could handle and then some.
Rogers’ solo blast in the bottom of the first inning opened the scoring for the game. The Monarchs tied it at one in the top of the second on Carmelo Torres’s RBI single.
The score would stay deadlocked until the bottom of the fourth, when Leroy Simmonds deliver the final run of the game, his solo shot to deep left that proved to be the game winner.
Soto’s only other threat after the second inning came in the top of the fifth, when the Monarch had a runner on third with two outs and one of their better hitters in Renee Rosado at the plate. Soto was able to coerce an easy ground ball to second from him for the final out of the inning.
Soto’s strong performance earned him and the Yankees the championship, while Velasquez — who pitched a very good seven and two-thirds innings — got the tough loss. Top hitters for the Yankees were Rogers, 2 for 4 with a home run and one RBI; Leroy Simmonds, 1 for 3 with a home run and one RBI; and Jose Morales, 2 for 3. For the Monarchs, Torres went 1 for 4 with an RBI and Andre Poche went 2 for 4.
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