Aidan Kempf throws another shutout and secures a Section 1 championship for Nanuet
PURCHASE – The numbers are ridiculous.
Aidan Kemp quickly demoralized another team and extended Nanuet’s memorable playoff run with a 1-0 victory over Walter Panas in the Section 1 Class A baseball championship Saturday at Purchase College.
“Oh, my God, I don’t even know how to describe that,” the senior lefty said following another three-hitter. “It was electric to start with and we got a student section out here that made it even more electric. I was just in a zone attacking all the hitters. Love it. Love it.”
Kempf recorded 13 strikeouts. He only faced 22 batters.
“It seems every time Aidan pitches, he establishes a new normal,” Golden Knights coach Carlos Fidalgo said. “He’s increased his compete level by measures in the playoffs and he’s still climbing.”
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Kempf has three consecutive playoff shutouts. He’s fanned 46 and surrendered just seven hits over those 21 innings.
Ridiculous.
“Every time he’s on the mound, I know it’s our game,” Nanuet shortstop Charlie Moustakakis said of the Pace University commit. “This is in his blood.”
It’s the first sectional title for the Golden Knights program since 1995.
“We didn’t qualify last season at 5-15, but we had a system in place and we had standards,” Fidalgo said. "The kids got better over the last year. They got wiser, older and stronger and they believed in what we’re teaching.”
Moustakakis produced the only run of the game with a sacrifice fly to left in the bottom of the first inning. He plated Vincent Duffy, who led off with a single, went to second on a sacrifice bunt and got to third via a balk.
What it means
Kempf was ready to go again after getting the mandated three nights and two days of rest between the semis and the final. He’s got more than enough time for a full reset ahead of a 6 p.m. NYSPHSAA regional semifinal on Thursday at Purchase College against the Section 4 champion Maine-Endwell.
Player of the game
Kempf set a proper tone in the top of the first, striking out the first three Panthers.
“Scare them. Scare them,” he said. “It’s what I’m always hoping to do. Scare them for the rest of the game. That’s my goal.”
By the numbers
No. 4 Panas (17-6): Nick DiMaso threw a gem, too, but was completely overshadowed. He gave up three hits and one run, striking out three and walking three. … Dean Sewall had both Panthers hits.
No. 2 Nanuet (17-5-1): Duffy led off and reached all three times he came up, getting a single to go with a pair of walks. .. Kempf also hit a lead-off triple in the fifth, but was stranded.
They said it
“This was special,” Kempf said. “This was a Section 1 championship game, so it was more special than any other game I’ve pitched.”
“Every time you see a team that is exceptional, you start to think of them as scary good,” Fidalgo said. “I began thinking of this team as scary good somewhere in the second half of the season. Now we need to set our sights on something new.”
“I knew we could do this after the first game,” Moustakakis said. “We lost, but you could see the fight. I knew then we could do this.”
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Aidan Kempf throws shutout, Nanuet beats Panas in Section 1 baseball
