Dominican native Brito is force for Frankford in win over Northeast

The scene is as old as high school sports themselves.

A kid, having arrived by transfer, approaches a coach in a hallway or classroom and tries to pass himself off as not only varsity worthy, but major star material.

"You hear it all the time," said Juan Namnun, baseball boss at Frankford High. "I usually just chuckle."

When Edimil Brito approached Namnun earlier this school year, the conversation was in Spanish. The former lived in the Dominican Republic as recently as last June, and that's the country to which Namnun, a former Frankford pitcher, can trace his roots.

Quite early, the conversation got very interesting.

"When I asked Eddie where he played last year," Namnun said, "he said he caught for the minor league pitchers in the Cincinnati Reds' and Washington Nationals' systems at a training facility over there."

Whoa!

"During the winter, when we had our open gyms, he looked very polished behind the plate," Namnun added. "I knew right away, 'We've got something here.' "

In perfect weather yesterday, the 5-11, 175-pound Brito, a junior, made a double-edged impact as the Pioneers topped visiting Northeast, 10-3, in a Public A game.

Hitting cleanup, Brito went 2-for-3 with a sacrifice fly and two RBI. And in the fifth inning, after Northeast's first three batters reached base, he removed major starch by quickly recovering a would-be wild pitch and gunning down Dario Perez at third.

Brito speaks very little English thus far and is rather quiet anyway, so Namnun's skills as a translator were not exactly taxed.

Brito said his family moved to Philadelphia because it "wanted a better place." He added that he likes Frankford, the school and neighborhood, and that he's having fun with everything.

He especially finds it amazing that he hits fourth.

"I'm on a new team and nobody saw me play," he said. "To be hitting fourth, that's pretty significant."

Brito's first hit was a perfectly placed RBI bloop single to center. He followed by powering a sac fly to deep right and firing a groundball through the hole to left. His final at-bat was the most interesting, though it resulted in a strikeout.

On the mound was junior Nathan Coronado, also a Dominican native new to the United States. He throws major gas and plays third base when he's not pitching. His brother, Nelson, a lefthanded hitter who also boasts a good arm and rangy size, is the shortstop. They bat 3-4.

Nathan had hoped to start yesterday. Concerned about a recently tender arm, coach Sam Feldman instead went with sophomore lefty Tyler Layfield. The plan changed in the fourth as Frankford batted around. Onto the hill strode the older Coronado.

The batter was Amalec Guzman, who'd started the four-run uprising with a homer to exact left-center, up and over the high fence and out onto Pratt Street. After taking Coronado's second pitch, Guzman's eyes almost popped out of his head. "Damn!" he shrieked. At least high 80s. He wound up fanning on a perfect curve.

In a sloppy fifth, Frankford scored two runs on a dropped flyball. With two away and Kevin Montero (two hits, including a two-run double) on second, Brito stepped to the plate. Calm and collected. In a great battle, featuring a fouled-off-straight-back fastball, he struck out on a curve.

"I just knew I needed to help my team in that at-bat," said Brito, who grew up in San Cristobal. "I wanted to give my best. How hard a guy throws is not important. Still have to hit him."

Brito opined that Thomas Edison's Martin Nolasco might throw even slightly harder. Namnun came close to agreeing.

Frankford's pitcher was sophomore righty Brandon Gonzalez, who allowed nine hits and fanned the same number. He also went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI singles. For Northeast, Nathan Coronado went 3-for-4 with one RBI while Ramon Class doubled twice.

Brito said he'd never been to Philadelphia before his family decided to move here.

Here's guessing Namnun won't let him leave through June 2011.