Freeport battling through adversity

The Freeport baseball program is looking for a rebound season with a small roster.

For the first time since Roberto Delgado took over as head coach a decade ago, Freeport was unable to field a junior varsity program this spring due to low numbers. Delgago said the COVID-19 pandemic, which canceled the 2020 season and led to an abridged schedule last year with many restrictions, has resulted in far fewer students wanting to play baseball in Freeport than normal of late.

“I have two kids from the middle school and a bunch of freshmen on varsity who should be playing JV but unfortunately we didn’t have the quantity,” said Delgado, a former professional baseball player in the San Francisco Giants minor league system. “It’s been tough.”

The Red Devils are coming off a 2-10 season tackling tough competition in Conference AA- I, which comprises Nassau County’s largest high schools. Prior to the 2020 season’s cancellation, Freeport went 2-10 in Conference AA-1 with several close losses to snap its streak of four straight playoff appearances.

Senior catcher/second baseman Erick Aguilera provides some experience for the Red Devils as a leader offensively and in the field. He also shines in the classroom as an honors student and has drawn interest from several college baseball programs for his post-Freeport career including Columbia and NJIT.

“He is an honor roll student and ranked in the top 10 in the school,” Delgado said of Aguilera’s academic excellence. “He can play catcher or middle infield.”

Delgado also has senior leadership from infielder/pitcher Jarian Peralta and first baseman Darlyn Liberato. Sophomore Julio Frometa Gomez adds versatility as a catcher and pitcher who can also play other positions if necessary.

Freeport was swept by Syosset to open the season, but made strides throughout the week dropping the final two contests 6-4 and 9-7 after an 18-0 loss in the season opener. The Red Devils then dropped a close 4-3 decision to Oceanside Monday in which freshman Xavier Guardado tossed four strong innings before taking a line drive off his foot. 

The Red Devils’ concluded their three-game series with Oceanside Thursday with a 10:30 a.m. road game before facing Farmingdale next week starting Monday at Cleveland Avenue Elementary School for a 4:30 p.m. first pitch. Freeport concludes the regular season with series against Port Washington and Massapequa.

Delgado is looking to build back up a program he previously revived after it incurred three straight winless seasons between 2009 and 2011 culminating in 2018 with Freeport’s first quarterfinal appearance in nearly 40 years. He is seeking to improve Freeport’s baseball foundation at the Little League level and is also hoping district officials will also put more financial backing into the varsity program that would enable the hiring of an assistant coach at the middle school level.

“I had a sit down with the school to try and see how we can get more kids to come and play and also get more support,” he said.