Kieran Finnegan was a player few in Section 1 knew about before the season began. After Saturday’s performance in the Class AA title game, he’s not a pitcher anybody in the area should soon forget.

The senior left-hander may have cemented himself as the section’s best pitcher in 2018, tossing a one-hit shutout as Clarkstown South beat Mamaroneck, 4-0, in the Section 1 championship at Palisade Credit Union Park.

“He showed today he’s the best pitcher in Section 1,” South coach Mike Amendola said.

HIGHLIGHTS:

The win gave Clarkstown South (18-5) its 13th win in 14 games — the lone loss coming in the finale to Class A champion Lakeland — and the first Section 1 title in program history.

Finnegan struck out 12 and had a perfect game broken out with one out in the sixth. Mike Watroba had Mamaroneck’s lone hit but was stranded after Finnegan struck out the next two batters.

“I felt a little relieved after (the double),” Finnegan said. “I knew I didn’t have to worry about trying to pitch a perfect game after that. I could just concentrate on trying win the section championship.”

Finnegan had two hits at the plate and a run scored while Marco Feliciano was 3 for 3 with two RBI as the No. 8 hitter in a deep South lineup. Trevor Montana also drove in a run for the Vikings, who’ll play Kingston of Section 9 in the regional semifinals on May 31 at 7 p.m. at Pace University.

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