Kings Park hurler Hunter Colagrande shuts down Sayville
Kings Park starting pitcher Hunter Colagrande throws from the stretch during a Suffolk League VI baseball game against Sayville in Kings Park on Monday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
The solar eclipse had come and gone over Craig Biggio Field, and now Hunter Colagrande stood on the mound for Kings Park and nothing obscured the Stony Brook commit’s brilliance.
Colagrande yielded a slicing single to right with two outs in the first by Tyler Sebor, and that was it Monday for the visiting bats from Sayville.
The senior righthander gave a dominating show for a handful of major-league scouts on hand to see him, striking out 10 and walking just one in his one-hit masterpiece. The first-place Kingsmen emerged with a 3-0, Suffolk VI win in the opener of a three-game series.
“I just stayed in the zone, trusted my defense,” Colagrande said. “It worked well for us. Stayed confident. Have to thank my catcher [Vincenzo Buffolino]. Does a great job back there.”
Kings Park has done a great job so far — period.
“Seven-and-0 is not bad,” coach Andrew Abreu said. “It’s a good start. We like that after seven. Lot of season left.”
This baseball team returned every pitcher who threw at least an inning last season. The Kingsmen have allowed three runs or less in every game, including four shutouts. They own two no-hitters, including a combined one when Colagrande took the first five innings.
“It’s anyone at any time,” Abreu said. “We can throw multiple pitches for strikes. We have depth. … Defensively, we make plays.”
Colagrande (3-0) has allowed no runs and fanned 27 across 18 innings. The Golden Flashes (5-2) saw him retire their final 13 batters.
“He has a dominant fastball,” Abreu said. “There’s no doubt about that. But he’s able to command it on both sides of the plate. … And then the cutter, he was able to backdoor it a couple of times, which was impressive. So his arsenal is no joke.”
Kings Park backed Colagrande by scoring three in the fifth off Sayville starter Tyler Brown (2-1).
Brandon Hauk lifted an RBI double to left. Then Buffolino delivered a two-run single to right.
“Hunter’s a great pitcher, but we also have a great team around us,” Hauk said. “One through 23 can play. We have the depth to go wherever we can. We can compete against anybody.”
So is this indeed a contender for a Class A county crown?
“I would love to say so, yeah,” Abreu said. “We’ve just got to keep playing good baseball because there’s a lot of talented teams. … We believe.”
