ITEM PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON
KIPP’s Dionne Rodriguez delivers a pitch to Salem Academy’s Ryan Kaminsky.
By KATIE MORRISON
LYNN — There are a lot of kinks that need to be ironed out for the KIPP baseball team, but there will be time for that.
The Panthers scuffled on defense and their pitchers struggled to find the strike zone at times in a 17-7 loss in four innings to Salem Academy Charter Tuesday at Fraser Field in their season opener. But once KIPP settled in, things started to click a bit.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, the same thing happened in the other dugout, making for a quick final two innings.
“We have a young team, so we only have three or four guys who have played before. A lot of newbies,” KIPP coach Alberto Cuevas said. “It’s going to be a hard season, but we’ll hang in there.”
After graduating a big group of players and fielding a somewhat depleted lineup Tuesday, it took some tweaking for KIPP to find its groove, especially on the mound.
Benny Reyes got the start and walked the leadoff man. Salem’s Carson Connor followed with a single, and Ryan Kaminsky followed with another hit. Whenever the Navigators got on base, they ran wild, getting huge jumps and testing the arm of KIPP’s Jordany Delgado, the team’s back-up catcher, in for Jhomar Cuevas who filled in at third base.
The Navigators did most of their damage with one out in the inning. Connor and Kaminsky scored on David Stepan’s single, and Stepan scored on a booming triple from Kolby Berube that rolled to the fence in left. Salem struck five times in the first on three hits and two walks before Reyes got Alex Quintin looking to end the inning.
Navigators starting pitcher Stepan also struggled, and the Panthers took advantage. A leadoff walk to Aubrey Connors got the ball rolling, and he came around to score on an error after stealing second. Dionne Rodriguez reached on an error and Carlos Herrera walked, and Kenneth Beato hit a two-run double. That’d be all the Panthers would get in the inning, but they cut into Salem’s lead at 5-3.
“The offense was pretty good, there are a couple things here and there to work on, but I like it,” Cuevas said. “It’ll take some time with new kids, we have to get the jitters out.”
The second inning is when things unraveled for KIPP. Reyes began the inning with a walk and hit batter, and Cuevas brought on Herrera to pitch. Things didn’t go much better for Herrera, who got two outs but allowed two inherited runners to score, as well as seven of his own (six earned) on four hits and three walks. Add in some errors behind him, and the Panthers were looking at a 14-3 deficit in the second.
Cuevas called on Rodriguez to stop the bleeding and he got Kaminsky to ground out to short.
Rodriguez ended up being the bright spot on the mound for KIPP, allowing three runs in 2 1/3 innings.
In the second, the Panthers were patient at the plate and Stepan struggled to find the zone. They tagged him for four runs in the second, capitalizing on five walks and an error. Salem coach Drew Betts called on Connor to relieve Stepan, which turned out to be the move of the game. Connor was efficient on the mound and shut down the KIPP offense, allowing one hit, walking three and striking out six batters.
Rodriguez struggled a bit in the third, but both the pitcher and his defense behind him settled in to log a 1-2-3 fourth inning. He allowed one walk and struck out four Navigators.
“He’s a new pitcher this year, he hasn’t pitched before,” Cuevas said of Rodriguez. “It took some time to teach him the basics, and I can see the potential he has in the future. He throws pretty hard.”
The Panthers will look to get into the win column when they visit Boston Collegiate Saturday.
