Aidan Kempf missed all of last baseball season following knee surgery. Nanuet went 5-15.
Perhaps the comeback of the year coincided with the sections greatest turnaround on Saturday. Kempf twirled another gem in the postseason, striking out 13 in a three-hit shutout to lift Nanuet to a 1-0 victory over Panas in the Section 1 Class A Championship at Purchase College.
Tournament Bracket: Nanuet wins Class A
Game Replay: Watch on LocalLive
Season Results: Nanuet | Panas
Highlights: Kempf, Nanuet shut down defending champion Panas
Kempf, a senior left-hander, followed up his 18 strikeout performance in Wednesdays semifinals – an outing that required just 82 pitches – with one just as dominant. The Pace University commit needed only 94 pitches to knock off a defending champion Panas that had been mashing in the postseason.
The K in Kempf
| Date | Result | IP | H | ER | K | PC |
| May 18 vs Nyack | W 6-0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 98 |
| May 22 vs John Jay-CR | W 5-4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 85 |
| May 25 vs Panas | W 1-0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 94 |
| Totals | 3-0 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 46 | 277 |
Here’s an interview with Kempf following his MVP performance on Saturday, which concluded with a strikeout in the seventh:
Kempf struck out the side in the first and was staked a lead in the bottom of the inning. Leadoff man Vincent Duffy, the catcher, singled off Panas starter Nick DiMaso, and later scored on a sac-fly by Charlie Moustakakis.
It was all offense Kempf would need.
He got a doube-play ball to end the second, struck our the side in the third, and retired nine in a row before a one-out walk in the fifth.
And that’s when Kempf, who tripled to the warning track, made his most impressive play. On a sacrifice bunt attempt, Kempf came off the mound and made a diving catch. He then jumped to his feet and threw to first for the double play.
Check out the play here:
Panas put a runner on in the seventh when Dean Sewall singled off Kempf for the second time. Kempf dug in and struck out the final two batters to end it.
Nanuet advanced to the NYSPHSAA Class A Regionals. The Golden Knights (17-4-1) will host the Section 4 champion on Thursday at Purchase College at 1 p.m.
