Barrett hurls complete game in Kendall victory over Northstar

By PAUL GOTHAM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Looking to build off back-to-back wins, Tige Noni’s Kendall baseball team faced a Saturday schedule that included two games in two separate counties.

The importance of a sustained outing from the starter in game one goes without saying.

Noni’s Eagles got just that.

Zach Barrett tossed a complete game as Kendall defeated host Northstar Christian, 10-2 in non-league action from Grace and Truth Park.

“It’s fun when you win a game like that,” Noni said. “Zach dealt today. He definitely locked down and threw strikes.”

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The junior right-hander fanned six without surrendering a walk as Kendall improved its record 9 wins and 4 losses.

“Him hitting the corners and getting them off-balance was the key,” Noni explained.

Barrett faced the minimum in four different innings including the fourth frame when he needed just four pitches to retire the heart of the Northstar batting order.

Zach Barrett needs four pitches to get through the fourth. ⁦⁦@BaseballKendall⁩ 8 Northstar 1 pic.twitter.com/uD94ottiby

— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 14, 2022

“Early on in the season he would go deep into counts,” Noni stated. “In some games, he was throwing a lot more pitches because he was missing. It was frustrating him. Today, he was hitting spots. He was getting ahead in the count. That was huge for him.”

Kendall took a lead it did not surrender in the top of the first. Louie Conte connected on a two-out double and scored on a Rueben Marquess base hit.

Marquess paced the offense going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, two RBI and a run scored. The sophomore third baseman’s only out of the day was a frozen rope to right field.

“He sees the ball well and puts it in play,” Noni said of his cleanup hitter. “Most of the time when he squares one up, he hits it hard.”

Kendall added a run in the second and another in the third before putting five-spot on the board in the fourth.

Jimmy Swift reached on an error to start the frame. One out later, Colby Hughes singled. Barrett brought home the first run of the inning with a double. Conte plated two with a single. Marquess doubled and scored on a James Fox single to centerfield.

“This is huge for us because we’ve got a week and then we got sectionals.”

Zach Barrett stays middle third for an RBI double. Louie Conte follows with a two-run single. Reuben Marquess doubles in another. ⁦@BaseballKendall⁩ 7-1. One out in the fourth. pic.twitter.com/GHIa03CPkB

— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 14, 2022

The big inning didn’t affect Barrett who retired eight of nine batters at one point. He was at his best in the sixth when Northstar took advantage of a rundown to score. The Knights escaped the sequence while not surrendering an out.

Barrett induced a groundball from the next batter for an inning-ending double play.

“He might have gotten rattled if they started really hitting him,” Noni said. “They didn’t. He stayed with the flow and stayed calm.”

James Fox connects on a two-out RBI single to give ⁦@BaseballKendall⁩ a 3-1 lead. Zach Barrett scores on the play. pic.twitter.com/yQNvIg0EdD

— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 14, 2022

He followed with a 1-2-3 seventh.

“He’s played a lot of baseball. He has a lot of experience with travel baseball and playing through the years. Mentally, he’s matured to the level where that stuff he just forgets about it.”

Barrett and Hughes both finished 2-for-5 on the day with two runs scored. Conte went 3-for-5 and crossed home twice. Fox was 2-for-3 with a walk.

Northstar’s AJ Mitchell finished 2-for-3. Andrew Eschner had an RBI sacrifice fly. Dom Kurmis singled and scored. Matt Allen, Steven Merkel and Da’Vonn Stephens added a single apiece.

David Eschner gets ⁦@NCA1972⁩ on the scoreboard with a sacrifice fly. Tim Leary scores on the play. ⁦@BaseballKendall⁩ 2-1 heading to the third. pic.twitter.com/ca51y5ZK7r

— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 14, 2022

The game was played in less than two hours. Enough time for Kendall to head west about 30 miles for a Genesee Region matchup with Byron-Bergen.

“We’ll reload,” Noni said. “Stop somewhere and get some refueling. It’s a long day, though.”