Jimmy McCormack said the winning formula for Fordham Prep is pretty simple.
“Every time he’s on base, we win,” McCormack said.
McCormack is referring to leadoff hitter Andrew Velazquez and there was plenty of evidence to support his theory in an 11-1 victory over No. 11 Monsignor McClancy in the decisive third game of a third round qualifying series Tuesday at Coffey Field.
The junior centerfielder, who has already drawn interest from major Division I schools like LSU, Virginia Tech, Louisville and St. John’s, was a single shy of hitting for the cycle and scored three runs as the seventh-seeded Rams exploded for nine runs in the first two innings.
“He does everything, he’s got every tool in the book,” McCormack said. “That’s why all these colleges are after him. He’s our catalyst.”
Velazquez was relatively quiet in the opening two games of the best-of-three series, but he made an immediate impact Tuesday, belting a leadoff double to left and scoring on a wild pitch to spark the Rams four-run first inning.
“My approach was pretty bad,” Velazquez said of the first two games. “I was getting myself out by swinging at bad pitches, taking weak hacks. But today I came out and told myself to be more aggressive, hit my pitch, take a good swing and it worked.”
That approach was true for the rest of the Rams batters, who had 14 hitters scattered throughout its lineup.
“Hitting is contagious, so is not hitting,” Fordham Prep coach Pat Deane said. “But today it got rolling and guys fed off that.”
Velazquez crushed a solo home run off ineffective McClancy starter Anthony Merchan, who was on three days rest for the first time this season, as part of a five-run second inning. It was that one bad inning Crusaders coach Nick Melito said he was concerned about.
“He’s been pretty quiet in the series and I couldn’t believe he hit those,” said Melito, whose team finished at 11-10. “He surprised me today. For a little guy he jacked those. They were rockets that he hit.”
Velazquez should have been credited with a second home run to almost the same spot in a two-run sixth, but the umpires wrongly ruled the ball stayed in the park and Velazquez settled for a triple.
“I wasn’t even trying to swing for a home run, I just wanted to make good contact,” Velazquez said. “The second one, I came up to the plate and I was guessing inside and sure enough he threw me inside and I went with it.”
With a nine-run cushion after two innings, McCormack was relaxed on the mound and it showed. The senior right-hander pitched a complete-game, five-hitter, striking out one with two walks.
“It was unbelievable,” McCormack said of the run support. “It just let me take a lot off and just throw strikes and make them put the ball in play and let my fielders field.”
While McClancy’s season ended, Fordham Prep (14-7) advances to the double-elimination CHSAA Class AA championship tournament and will meet archrival Iona Prep Wednesday afternoon at Coffey Field.
“Pitching is what wins championships and we have the talent to do it,” McCormack said. “We just have to come out and play hard every day, not make mistakes and play small ball.”