Kennedy rolls to first section baseball title

Jun. 19—DELANO — Jacob Fragoso has had his share of doubts during the past 10 years as baseball coach at Kennedy.

Back-to-back winless seasons and a 54-game losing streak during an almost three-year stretch can do that to a person.

But to his credit, Fragoso refused to give up, and on Friday night he received the ultimate reward when the Thunderbirds captured the school’s first Central Section baseball title, rolling past Fresno Christian 19-0 in the Division VI final at Delano High.

“I started off in 2012 and that year we went 0-23 and the following year we got a little bit better and went 0-21,” said Fragoso, whose team improved to 12-3-1 and advanced to next week’s SoCal Regionals. The pairings will be announced Sunday afternoon.

“Since then we’ve just been gradually moving up. I mean going from two wins, to four wins to six wins to 10 wins. Now we finish things off with a Valley Championship.”

The game started at 7 p.m. due to excessive heat warnings and didn’t finish until 9:45 after a 20-minute delay after the fourth inning when half of the lights turned off.

But the outcome was never really in doubt.

The Thunderbirds scored six runs in the first inning, posted single runs in the second and third and then added seven more in the fourth and four in the sixth for good measure.

“I did the best that I could, it was the commitment of the kids,” said Fragoso of the school’s turnaround in the past 10 years. “And I think that the kids saw the commitment that we had as a coaching staff and they bought in. And they continued to buy in. And it’s hard when you’re 0-24. It’s hard to stick around when you’re 2-20, consistently. But these kids continued to work and that work ethic that they have is on display today.”

With its offense running at full throttle, Kennedy sophomore right-hander Julian Orozco settled in, matching his teammates’ energy with a dominant performance on the mound.

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Orozco retired the first 11 batters he faced and finished with a complete-game one-hitter with 14 strikeouts. He walked two and hit a batter, but struck out eight of the last 10 batters he faced — including the last three — to put the explanation point on a historic night for the Thunderbirds.

“To me, I was always the smallest guy on the team and for me to bust my butt day in and day out …” said senior Frankie Ruiz, who accepted the championship trophy for his team and followed with a celebratory scream, followed by tears of joy. “After four years of hard work, we finally did it. And I owe everything to the Lord, because without him I wouldn’t have the strength to do what I did today.”

After Orozco retired the Eagles in order in the top of the first, Ruiz got things started for RFK, lining a single into left field on the first offering from Fresno Christian starter Mason Petrie.

It was the start of a wild first inning for Kennedy, which sent 10 batters to the plate, scoring six. Junior Ever Murgia and sophomore Miguel Barraza each had RBi singles in the inning that featured two errors and two hit batters.

“It’s something I’ve been praying for and something I’ve been working so hard for,” said Ruiz of winning the title. “It’s a mix of emotions, definitely of happiness. It’s just emotional, very emotional because it means so much to me. And it means so much to be able to bring a title home to Delano.”

It was a rough night for the Eagles, who blew through four pitchers, who hit five batters and issued seven walks, three of which were intentional.

Fresno Christian also committed six errors, including two during a seven-run Kennedy fourth inning as the Thunderbirds sent 12 batters to the plate.

Ruiz, Murgia, Casey Josso and Barraza each had two hits for RFK, which finished with 13 hits.

“I’m a lot older than the younger guys so I try to mentor them and give them tips,” Ruiz said. “Just to keep their chins up because at the end of the day it doesn’t matter how you start, it’s how you finish.”

With the game in hand, Fragoso sent four pinch hitters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth, and each continued the offensive momentum of the starting group.

Senior Luis Carrillo was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a single by junior Alan Montano and scored on a double by sophomore Joserra Colado. After starting catcher Gerardo Walked to load the bases, Ruiz , pinch hitter Fernando Sotelo and Jasso drove in runs with infield grounders to cap the scoring.

“It’s a sense of relief,” said Fragoso, who was showered with ice from a cooler as he gave post-game interviews. “Being a ballplayer myself, sometimes you question yourself and ‘do I know what I’m doing.’ Right now it confirms that I do know and that I do know the game and we were able to get it done.”