Victor Frederick does it all in St. Dominic's win over St. Francis Prep
St. Dominic starting pitcher Victor Frederick throws from the windup during a CHSAA baseball game against St. Francis Prep on Tuesday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Victor Frederick is known more as a power pitcher than a big-time hitter.
The junior was a lot of both on Tuesday.
Frederick threw 5 1/3 innings of one-hit ball and struck out five to key St. Dominic’s 4-0 win over previously undefeated St. Francis Prep in a CHSAA baseball game in East Norwich.
Frederick also drilled three hard-hit singles in a 3-for-3 hitting performance that ignited the Bayhawks' offense. His line-drive base hit keyed a two-run third inning for a 3-0 lead against starter AJ Schoelles.
“I didn’t have my best stuff out there, but the defense played really well,” said Frederick, who improved to 3-0. “I thought my command was good against a very strong team.”
Frederick, a St. John’s commit, used a fastball that sat between 87-89 miles per hour through the first four innings to retire 12 of 14 hitters. The lone hit came on a bunt single with two outs in the fourth to break up the no-hit bid.
“He was rolling, pretty much unhittable,” St. Dominic coach Joe Fusco said. “Vic was outstanding. He attacked the zone and stayed ahead in the count.”
St. Francis Prep (5-1) managed to move only two runners to second base through the first six innings.
St. Dominic (4-2) opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning. Jordan Ynoa lined a one-out triple to rightfield. With two outs, cleanup hitter Vin Deiosso grounded a hard single between shortstop and third base to score Ynoa for the 1-0 lead.
The Bayhawks extended the lead with some timely hitting in the third. Ynoa led off with a double and Cole Cruz followed with a run-scoring double down the leftfield line to make it 2-0.
“I’ve been waiting back much better and hunting fastballs,” said Ynoa, a junior. “I was flying open and overanxious and got off to a slow start this season. But now I’m seeing the ball well, trusting my hands and going the other way.”
Frederick’s single scored Cruz to make it 3-0.
“Victor is getting the barrel out and driving the ball all over the field,” St. Dominic assistant coach Joe Salanitri said. “He’s not trying to do too much. His swing looks great and he’s hitting over .550.”
St. Dominic outhit St. Francis Prep, 10-1, and added a fourth run in the fifth when Danny Lambertson scored Deiosso with a two-out infield single.
Bayhawks relievers Luke Lang and Jack Puvogel struck out two batters each to help Frederick combine for the shutout.
"Our team can really hit and we’re flying a little bit under the radar,” Fusco said. “I liked the way we swung the bats today. We attacked the ball against a good pitcher.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
