Freshman hurls Kingston to victory
Freshman Freer hurls Tigers to rain-shortened victory over Crusaders
Freshman Steven Freer, 3-0 since being called up from Kingston’s junior varsity, turned in another strong outing for the Tigers on Thursday, pitching them to a rain-shortened six-inning 7-1 victory over Monroe-Woodbury.
Freer struck out six, walked none and scattered four hits for the win.
“It was another solid outing by Steven. He continues to show improvement and get better in many facets with each game,” Kingston coach Mike Groppuso said.
The Tigers completed a threegame sweep of the Crusaders on their Senior Day, honoring Thomas Restivo, Jon Kivlan, Ryan Nace and Izayah Wells, who were members of last year’s squad that reached the state Class A semifinals.
“It is always special to win on Senior Day,” Groppuso said. “We have a small group this year and they all have been vital in our success. They were part of something special last year and knew coming in it was going to be a year we needed to establish a new identity and, at the same time, compete at a high level.
“That valuable experience and their dedication has been a big help in seeing us win our last eight overall and five in the division,” he added. “I am proud of all of them, but what is even better is they understand there is still much to be done.”
Brady Short drove in two runs with a single and double, and Jake McNutt and Garrett Warnecke also had two RBI for the Tigers.
Kingston took charge with a four-run third inning. Walks by Restivo and Fritz Genther set up McNutt’s two-out, two-run single to put the Tigers ahead. After Chris-
tian Ott singled, Warnecke hit a two-run single.
Short doubled and Restivo doubled him home in the fourth. Monroe got a run off Freer in the fifth, on Steven Campione’s triple, but Short responded with a two-run single in the bottom half of the inning.
Dylan Beers took the loss for Monroe. Andrew Jeminson had a pair of hits for the Crusaders.
With the win, Kingston improved to 11-5 overall and 7-5 in the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association Division I.