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Sosa has Lancers on fast track

Thursday, May, 22 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

The sports writer spotted the longtime Los Angeles Dodgers scout at the backstop.

"What could you possibly be doing at a Lawrence-Whittier Tech baseball game?" the reporter asked.

As if on cue, Lawrence senior Ruben Sosa delivered an instant answer, launching a missile deep over the right fielder's head.

Like "The Flash," Sosa sped from home to third, cruising in with a standup, two-run triple.

"So he ran track this winter, eh," the scout asked. Indeed, Sosa ran an eye-popping 6.52 to place fourth in the 55 meters at the New England Championships.

Sosa, who just turned 17, leads the 9-8 Lancers into this weekend's 27th Lawrence Invitational Tournament. The tourney opens tonight with a 7 p.m. first-rounder between North Andover and Pentucket and runs through Sunday night at the South Lawrence East School field.

Carrying a .404 average into the tourney, the senior remains undecided about his college plans.

"I like UMass Lowell and I've talked to the coach there. That might be where I'd like to play," said Sosa, who also was a starting defensive back for the Lancer football team. "I'm kind of undecided, because there aren't a lot of people that have heard about me."

There is a reason for that. Coming to Lawrence from the Dominican Republic in the eighth grade, he attended Greater Lawrence Tech, following in the footsteps of his uncle, former Seattle Mariners minor leaguer Rucky Vasquez.

Despite his diminutive size (5-6, 160 pounds), Sosa immediately packed a punch. He led this 22-school region in hitting as a sophomore with a .575 average.

But last year, his family moved just outside of Orlando, Fla., where he played for a travel team but didn't play high school ball. A return to the Valley and a change of scenery at Lawrence High have allowed Sosa to flourish in all three sports.

Baseball coach Brendan Neilon saw it early.

"He can really play, and he has those baseball smarts, those things you can't teach that we haven't had around here in a long time," said Neilon. "He's little, but he hits the ball as hard or as far as anyone."

Sosa is dreaming big.

"I've played ball since I was 3 and have always thought about playing for a living," said Sosa, who leads the Lancers with 19 runs and 16 RBIs. "But I'm trying right now to keep my distance from that. I don't want to be tempted by it."

Sosa says first things first, locking up a state tourney berth and hopefully winning the Lawrence Invitational stand at the top of the list.

"I think we've got a good chance," said Sosa, noting the team is playing well right now, riding a modest two-game win streak into the tourney.