Kilpatrick blanks Molloy

Last spring the borough’s Catholic league baseball teams were littered with big-name seniors headed for Division I schools, from Danny Forman to Paul Karmas to Dennis O’Grady.
This year is not quite the same. Holy Cross, though, has the most heralded name remaining - left-handed pitcher Kevin Kilpatrick.
On opening day, he deserved the recognition. The St. John’s-bound southpaw silenced Archbishop Molloy over six innings, limiting the Stanners to a pair of singles, striking out 11 and walking just one in an ace-worthy performance.
Kilpatrick, backed by two runs batted in from third baseman Derek Lamacchia and another by shortstop Mike Socci, struck out the first five he faced as the Knights breezed to a 5-0 victory at the Briarwood school Monday afternoon. Only one Stanner - shortstop Pat Brown - put the ball in play through the air, a meek infield pop-up.
Throwing all four of his pitches for strikes, Kilpatrick was in complete command. He worked both sides of the plate, and put away Molloy hitters with his mid-to-high 80’s fastball and knuckle-curve.
“I felt better than most days,” he said. “I guess just the first game of the season, the adrenaline was really going.”
One of a deep crop of starters last year, Kilpatrick enjoyed an impressive summer with the Bayside Yankees, landing the college scholarship to St. John’s and even drawing looks from a few pro scouts. He gained added strength to boost his fastball and maturity on the hill.
“I just learned more,” he said.
“He has taken over the reins,” Holy Cross Manager Doug Manfredonia said.
Catcher Matt Valle saw it before Kilpatrick’s first delivery, how serious he approached his warm-ups and the focus he took to the mound.
“You knew he was going to have his best game,” Valle said. “Right away he’s really into it. … I could tell he wanted to win this game by the way he was throwing [in warm-ups].”
Of course, just seeing the 6-foot lefty toe the rubber is a welcome sight to Cross.
“We see it as a ‘W’ right away when he’s on the mound,” Valle said.
Eyeing a third consecutive Brooklyn/Queens regular-season crown, the Knights got off to a fast start. However, that was due to Kilpatrick, Manfredonia said. Switch the two starters, and the result may be different. There were at-bats he would like to see improve, and he isn’t sure yet about his every-day lineup having graduated so much of their core notably the Leisenheimer twins, Justin and Ian, who are now at Maine.
Yet, to start the season, Kilpatrick delivered just as advertised. It was last year, Foreman, now at Manhattan, pitched St. Francis Prep to the city championship, throwing a no-hitter in the final. There are already similarities.
“What Forman represented for Prep, he’s going to represent for us,” Manfredonia said. “If the time comes we need a big win in the playoffs, he’s going to play that same role.”