Windsor senior Gavin Kinworthy pitched a no-hitter against Festus in a 3-1 Owls win in Imperial on Monday.
The Tigers had scored 35 runs in winning their previous three Jefferson County Activities Association large-schools games, but couldn’t solve Kinworthy, who struck out nine without issuing a walk. The Festus run was unearned. The Tigers never got the ball out of the infield in the seventh inning as Kinworthy’s masterful performance needed just 78 pitches.
“My curveball wasn’t working in the last inning, but I got the job done,” said Kinworthy, who has pitched well all season but lacked run support.
Festus took a 1-0 lead in the third when freshman Hayden Bates scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Tyler Bizzle.
After the Owls went scoreless in their half of the third, Windsor head coach Randy Green gathered his team outside the dugout for a simple message: “Understand the strike zone, look for a fastball and take it somewhere.”
Kinworthy, who ended up 3 for 3 at the plate, legged out an infield single with one out in the fourth. Senior Nolan Estopare singled to center field and the Owls had two runners on. The Tigers’ sophomore starting pitcher, Nate Moore, walked senior Hunter Ward to load the bases, then hit junior Nathan Beerman with a pitch to score Kinworthy and tie the game 1-1. Senior Truman Ward delivered a two-out, two-RBI single that provided the game’s deciding runs.
“It was a tight game and they did a little more than we did,” Festus head coach Jeff Montgomery said. “Our pitchers (were) good and we made plays. But they scored on a hit-by-pitch and a hit and that was the game.”
Moore lasted four innings, allowing five hits and striking out five. Kaleb Kennedy pitched the last two innings for the Tigers. In the sixth he hit Beerman with a pitch, walked senior Zach Austin and gave up a single to Truman Ward to load the bases with no outs. But the sophomore pitched his way out of the jam and kept the Tigers in the game.
“Nate has thrown really well and he has a lot of potential,” Montgomery said. “We’re going in the right direction. It will take awhile to find our way and complete games. We played well enough to win today.”
With the win, the Owls improved to 7-4 overall and 1-0 in the JCAA’s large-schools division while Festus dipped to 6-7 and 1-2.
Kinworthy’s previous two starts were road losses, 2-1 at Eureka and 2-0 at Fox. In Windsor’s three other recent wins, over Affton, Mehlville and Farmington, the Owls scored 33 runs.
“Gavin’s a beast on the mound,” Green said. “I told him to keep his mind clear and take care of business and he did. He should have had a shutout. He mixes his pitches up and has great velocity and location. They had 0-2 counts and he threw it upstairs and they chased it, just like it’s supposed to happen. He’s a special product, for sure.
“Our hitting is colder than I thought it would be,” Green added. “I said that in (the season opener) against Eureka. We had the bases loaded and nobody out and couldn’t scratch out a run.”