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The breezes were swirling at Argo on March 17, and that made Kennedy’s Mason Rychetsky even more effective.
The sophomore right-hander opened the season on a high note, striking out 11 and walking three over 4 2/3 no-hit innings as the Crusaders pulled away for a 10-3 win in both teams’ season opener.
Freshman right fielder Nicholas Reyes went 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI for Kennedy, while sophomore third baseman Christian Estrada finished 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
That was more than enough support for Rychetsky and sophomore reliever Issac Quintanilla, who combined on a two-hitter.
“I felt good,” Rychetsky said. “It was just a little bit windy so all my breaking stuff was moving a little bit more than I would like it to. That’s not a problem, though. It kind of helped.”
His fastball also was effective. Rychetsky, who started his freshman year at St. Laurence before transferring to Kennedy before baseball season, said he’s consistently been clocked between 87 and 89 mph.
“Mason’s a workhorse,” Kennedy coach Mario Silva said. “He’s in the weight room the entire winter. He’s got his own pitching coach, which is awesome. That’s a nice advantage that he has. (We’re) just hoping to throw strikes.”
Silva figured the adrenaline would be flowing a little more on opening day.
“He’s a sophomore, so he gets a little pumped up. So I expected him to overthrow a little bit and he did early on. But I think he settled in pretty good.”
So did the Crusaders, who are coming off a 21-10 season that included an unbeaten run to the Public League American South title. They’re young this season, with a starting lineup against Argo that featured two seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen.
Rychetsky will be a key piece this spring.
“He’s got good stuff, he’s got good movement,” Silva said. “He had good stuff last year and we kind of held him back a little bit because he was a freshman. We are expecting a lot from him. But we have a lot of other guys that are going to fill in (too).”
Reyes and fellow freshman Jaycob Solorio, who plays shortstop and bats leadoff, also are expected to play big roles for the Crusaders this season.
“Those guys are just gamers,” Silva said. “So we’re excited about those guys.”
A bright spot for Argo was senior right-hander Daniel Padilla, who struck out six, walked one and allowed two runs (both earned) over four innings in a no-decision. Xavier Brant went 1-for-3 with a double and a run for the Argonauts.
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