Kingston cruises to 9th straight victory
Jon Kivlan belts two homers and drives in seven runs as Tigers rout Vikings en route to ninth straight victory
Jon Kivlan smacked a pair of home runs, including a grand slam in the top of the fifth inning, as Kingston High earned its ninth straight win by thumping Valley Central, 11-1, in an Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association baseball contest on Friday.
The game was the completion of one stopped after four innings by rain on May 3 with the Tigers leading 3-0 on Kivlan’s 3-run homer.
Kingston, which improved to 10-3 overall, picked up where it left off on Friday, scoring seven runs in the fifth, highlighted by Kivlan’s slam. Kivlan finished with seven RBI in the game. The Vikings scored their lone run in the bottom of the frame before Ryan Nace RBI ground out in the sixth ended the scoring.
Winning pitcher Joe Ferrer helped himself with a pair of hits, including a double, and an RBI, while Garrett Warnecke added a pair of hits. Christian Ott, meanwhile, threw two innings of 1-run ball in relief.
“We knew we coming in this was a three-inning game,” Kingston coach Mike Groppuso said. “But it was a fifth, sixth and seventh inning game which is what we have worked on all year so we were prepared mentally and executed perfectly.
“It was a great week of baseball and definitely helps keep the momentum going into the last week of the season before the playoffs”
Xavier Torres had a double and an RBI to lead Valley Central
Kingston returns to Gruner Field on Monday to host Warwick before traveling to play at Washingtonville on Tuesday and at Wallkill on Thursday to conclude their regular season.