Final: Kings Park 2, Mount Sinai 0
WP: Everett Zarzicki (CG shutout, 2 H, 3 BB, Ks)Zarzicki also drove in a run with a sac fly pic.twitter.com/OeykfK0vy3
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 8, 2025
Long Islanders are accustomed to playing in the cold in the early portion of the season. Today seemed particularly cruel with a constant 25 mph wind and 40 mph gust which made the temperature feel like 25 degrees at Middle Country Park.
Kings Park, the reigning Class A Long Island Champs, were not about to make any excuses.
“Our boys have been out here all off-season, weight rooms, Saturday mornings, 8am, so the cold, we prepared for this and didn’t really effect us at all,” said Zarzicki, who will be a highly-sought after player once the Division-I recruiting window opens on August 1.
He burst onto the scene last year going 6-2 as a freshman, has stepped into the role of ace in 2025 after the graduation of Hunter Colagrande. He fired a masterpiece, throwing a two-hit complete game shutout with 5 strikeouts against a pesky Mount Sinai team.
His counterpart, junior southpaw Jake Zabbara, is one of the top up-and-coming pitchers in the county. Both pitchers were sharp despite the frigid conditions.
After both pitchers traded zeros for two innings, Kings Park was able to manufacture a run the old fashioned way. Vincenzo Buffolino, the leadoff hitter, hit a one-out single and stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Anthony Lobasso.
That was all that Zarzicki needed in this one, as offense was especially hard to come by. Zarzicki was fired up, showing emotion after each big strikeout that he compiled.
The Kingsmen were able to add an insurance run in the top of the sixth inning when Buffolino was the catalyst once again. He was hit by a pitch, and after a pair of walks, a sac fly off the bat of Zarzicki extended the lead to 2-0.
With the way this game was going, you just had the feeling that it was more than enough. Zarzicki went back out and worked around a two-out walk in the sixth inning before firing a 1-2-3 seventh inning capped with a strikeout on a high fastball.
As far as defending their crown, Zarzicki said, “Our morale is high right now so if we can keep putting together at bats, keep getting outs on the mound, we’ll see where it takes us.”
With a 1-2 punch like Zarzicki and Dylan Frers, the Kingsmen will be a tough customer once again.
These teams will be back in action on Thursday at Kings Park.
