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for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com march 27, 2014 • The CourieR SUN 51 sports BASEBALL IS BACK CTK WINS STATE  CARDOZO’S THREE MUSKETEERS BY LIAM LA GUERRE lguerre@queenscourier.com @liamlaguerre Last season the Benjamin Cardozo High School Judges baseball team was plagued with injuries. Senior Adrian Castano, who signed with the Detroit Tigers, had injured his lower back and an elbow, senior Connor Doyle, who now plays for Stony Brook University, suffered a torn ACL, and junior Christopher Campbell hyperextended his right shoulder. All three missed the season, resulting in a loss of overall power. But this year the Judges are looking healthier, and will be led by a triple threat of seniors. Keith Rogers, one of the PSAL’s top pitchers, is back to lead the Judges’ rotation. David Lim, a versatile fielder and solid batter, is poised to have a career year. Also, after missing most of his junior year, Campbell is back to platoon the outfield in center. “This year I feel like out of all three Christ the King senior Andre Walker had his best game of the season on the last game of his high school career. Christ the King wins back-to-back state titles BY LIAM LA GUERRE lguerre@queenscourier.com /@liamlaguerre Christ the King point guard Andre Walker, like most high school seniors, didn’t want to lose his final game before graduation. Walker told his teammates he wanted to go out as a champion in the locker room before the state Federation Class AA championship game against Long Island Lutheran on March 22 in Albany, but he saw that dream falling apart as the Royals were trailing the Crusaders by as much as 14 points in the first half. Then Walker stepped up. Walker, who has taken a backseat in the scoring category all season, was almost perfect. He notched a game-high 25 points, making 3-of-3 three-pointers, to help defeat Lutheran, 58-52, and give Christ the King back-to-back state titles. Walker was named tournament MVP. “Somebody needed to step up and he wanted to do it,” junior forward Travis Atson said. “This was going to be his last game before he left high school, and he really didn’t want to go out with a loss.” In last year’s state title game, guard Rawle Alkins and former Royal Jon Severe, torched Lutheran. So this year the Crusaders prepared for the Royals’ star players. Alkins had only nine points and Atson scored eight. But this opened up space for other players on the team to shine, and the seniors, Walker, Adonis Delarosa and Bryler Paige, had the necessary motivation. Paige finished with 10 points and Delarosa added six points and 13 rebounds. Walker attacked aggressively in the third quarter, where he scored 13 of his 25 points. “Fans only recognize points, but they don’t see what we do,” Walker said. “We can score too, but it’s not our roles on the team.” Still undecided on where he will continue to play basketball and further his education next year, Walker is just happy that he’ll leave Christ the King with its winning dynasty intact. “It feels good,” Walker said. “Only a select few can say they won two state championships, back-to-back.” THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre years I’ve been here we have much better team chemistry, and we might not have as many big guys, but everybody is here as a team,” Campbell said. The three seniors showcased their talents in the Judges’ 2014 season opener on March 24, coasting to an 11-0 mercy rule win in five innings over Queens High School of Teaching. Rogers, who is thinking of attending either Southern University or Grambling State University, had 11 strikeouts and no hits in four innings pitched. Campbell was 1-for-1 and scored three runs, while Lim, who has received an offer from Fairleigh Dickinson University, went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Besides their individual skills, the seniors are expected to be leaders on the field as well. “They’re my eyes on the field,” head coach Ron Gorecki said. “What I don’t see or my coaches doesn’t see, my guys on the field see. So we have six coaches, three of which are kids.” And being that the seniors are leaving after this year, the guys are focused on going for the gold. “We want to leave saying that we won the city championship,” Campbell said. “We want to bring a lot of attention to our baseball program.” THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre Benjamin Cardozo’s baseball team will be led by a trio of seniors this season, David Lim, Keith Rogers and Christopher Campbell.


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