News First-year infielder Wander Almonte swings hot bat in PSAL semis leading Monroe past Madison.
Mike Turo and the Monroe coaches were joking around before their semifinal game Sunday, throwing out theories to explain the suddenly scorching bat of first-year third baseman Wander Almonte.
"I don't know, maybe it was the warmer weather," Turo suggested with a laugh.
Turo's theory seemed to hold weight; Almonte put his underwhelming regular-season performance in the rearview mirror at KeySpan Park this weekend. He went 3-for-4 with five RBI in two games to help No. 6 Monroe (19-2) sweep its three-game semifinal series against No. 10 Madison and advance to the PSAL championship game against top-seeded Norman Thomas (21-0). The title game is tentatively scheduled for next Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.
Almonte hit .321 in the regular season, a solid batting average but one that ranked outside of the top 150 in the 'A' division.
He said through a translator on Sunday that he wasn't pressing early on, but credited Monroe coaches with helping him make a key adjustment in his swing to keep him from popping the ball up. He dropped his elbow recently and has been hitting line drives ever since.
"I feel great getting those chances," Almonte said of his big hits in the weekend series. "I just wanted to get the job done."
Almonte wasn't the only Eagle to play a pivotal role in the semifinal after a tough regular season. Starter Jesus Vasquez was academically ineligible for the regular season, but gained eligibility before the playoffs and proved his worth with a strong start (5 IP, 4 ER) in Monroe's 14-4 win over Kennedy in Game 1 on Saturday. He also had a sacrifice fly in the series-clinching 5-2 win on Sunday.
Vasquez hopes to start Tuesday's title game - Monroe will be going for its fifth city championship since 2000 - but Turo hadn't made a decision on his starter as of Sunday afternoon. It likely will be all hands on deck for the Eagles in the win-or-go-home game. They're just happy to have Almonte and Vasquez back as contributing members of the crew.
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