Mineola baseball's three-run first inning more than enough support for lefthander Fred Klauck
Fred Klauck of Mineola throws to the plate during a Nassau baseball game against Floral Park on Friday, April 10, 2025 in Floral Park. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Mineola sophomore lefthander Fred Klauck was not thrilled with how his first varsity start went in a loss to Wantagh last week. He made sure the second one went smoother.
“First start didn't go too well," Klauck said. "Pitches weren't going where I wanted. Off-speed wasn't locating. Fastball felt slow. So I just threw the pen, focused on my mechanics more, developing my off-speeds, and then today, it actually worked out.”
It sure did.
Klauck allowed only three hits and one unearned run in six innings, striking out 11 and walking three to propel visiting Mineola to a 4-1 win over Floral Park in a Nassau Conference A-I baseball game on Friday at Alva T. Stanforth Athletic Complex in Elmont.
“He’s only had two starts, and the first one wasn't so memorable,” Mineola coach Helms Bohringer said. “And this was a good bounce-back for him, so it shows that he's got a little work. He said he wanted to throw a bullpen, which was a good, mature thing to ask for… We worked on a couple things, and he was able to execute today.”
“The fastball was just working today,” Klauck added. “I felt smooth. I just felt good out there. I felt the rhythm.”
Said junior shortstop Ryan Valente: “His fastball, he was pumping strikes. They couldn't catch up to it. He looked good.”
Joey Dunlop struck out the side in order in the seventh inning for the save.
Mineola (3-3, 3-3) gave him a three-run cushion to work with in the first inning. Valente and Jayden Sleeper had RBI singles and Jesse Kostulias had an RBI triple. The Mustangs added their fourth run in the second inning on another RBI single by Valente, who went 3-for-4 with a run scored. Sleeper went 2-for-3.
“[We’re] a bunch of lions, what can I say?” Klauck said of the early run support.
Floral Park junior righthander David Cabrera — pitching to his twin brother, catcher Sebastian Cabrera — settled in nicely for and tossed six innings. He overcame runners in scoring position in the fourth and fifth.
Friday's victory handed Mineola a three-game sweep over the Knights (2-5, 2-4).
“That’s huge,” Bohringer said. “This league is tough, top to bottom. Our goal is always to win series. So now that we won a series before today, now you have to take that opportunity and get that third win because you never know at the end of the season — with tiebreakers and wins and points — how many wins you’re going to need to be a playoff team, which we hope to be by the end of the season.”
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
