Kingston power on display in title win
Back-to-back home runs by Genther, Kivlan spark Tigers to third straight Section 9 title
Back-toback homers by Fritz Genther and Jon Kivlan in the fifth inning put Kingston High on top for good, as the Tigers beat Warwick 10-5 to win their third straight Section 9, Class AA baseball championship Saturday at Cantine Field.
With the win, Kingston faces Section 1 titlist Clarkstown South 7 p.m. Thursday at Pace University in a state regional contest. Clarkstown South advanced to regionals with a 4-0 win over Mamaroneck on Saturday.
The Tigers trailed 3-2 in the fifth when Genther belted a leadoff bomb to center field that shattered a window in an adjacent pavilion to tie the score at 3-3.
Genther said the homer was a turning point for the Tigers, after an error set the table for an RBI single by Brody Ryan and two-run double by James Pinelli that gave the Wildcats a 3-2 lead in the third.
Kingston grabbed a 2-0 in the first on a Jake McNutt double that drove in Thomas Restivo and Genther, who reached on a single and a walk, respectively.
“We hit good all night but
we were just not getting the runs in,” Genther noted.
Before Genther’s homer, the Tigers stranded runners on first and second in both the second and third innings and left a runner on third in fourth.
“I had a rush of emotion that just couldn’t be stopped,” Genther said of the homer.
Kivlan then went sent one flying over the fence in left-center to give The Tigers a 4-3 lead.
“I got the opportunity to blast another one,” Kivlan said, as he celebrated the team’s 13th straight victory.
Garrett Warnecke followed
with a double and Christian Ott knocked a single. Later in the inning, when it appeared Warnecke would be caught in a rundown between third and home, Bobcats catcher Harrison Parelli couldn’t hang onto the ball and Kingston went up 5-3.
Warwick pulled Ryan, but reliever Ian Ritchie didn’t fare much better issuing a pair of walks to Ryan Nace and Brady Short. Restivo then belted a three-run double to cap off a six-run inning that made it 8-3 Kingston.
Joe Ferrer smoked a tworun single that drove in McNutt, who reached on a leadoff walk and Warnecke, who reached on a single, to give the Tigers a 10-3 lead in the sixth.
Freshman Steven Freer came through for Kingston in relief of starter Ott, retiring the side in order in the fourth, and bouncing back in sixth with three straight strikeouts after issuing a leadoff walk to Luke Vignola.
Devin Boone kicked off a small Warwick rally in the seventh with a leadoff walk. Ryan then drove him in a double and reached third after Kingston’s defense couldn’t come up with the ball. Ryan later scored on a fielder’s choice on a grounder to short, but the effort would prove futile as Kingston rolled to the win.
Tigers’ coach Mike Groppuso said he was proud of his team and they definitely earned the crown.
He noted getting on
the board early was key to Kingston’s victory, and was impressed that while the error opened the door for Warwick to take the lead it didn’t hamper his squad’s efforts.
“We built this team for the fifth, sixth and seventh,” Groppuso said. “We put some runs up in the fifth and Kivlan gave us the lead.”
He added that he was impressed with how Freer’s performance even when he got in a couple of jams.
“He’s competitive, he doesn’t get rattled even when he doesn’t have his best stuff,” Groppuso said.
Kivlan feels optimistic about Thursday.
“We’re rolling, we just have to keep doing what we’re doing,” Kivlan said.