Thursday, October 1, 2026
Freeport’s baseball team is poised for a winning season and more in a newly constructed league.
The Red Devils went 1-12-1 in a challenging AAA-1 conference last season but will have a more favorable schedule in a realigned AAA-2 this spring featuring Uniondale, Baldwin, Hicksville, Westbury, Valley Stream Central and Herricks.
“We will have a little more equal competition,” said 14th-year Freeport coach Roberto Delgado. “The only downside is that only one team makes the playoffs.”
Freeport (3-0 in AAA-2) is off to a strong start in its quest to win a conference title and reach the postseason after sweeping Uniondale in dominating fashion by a combined score of 28-2.
Junior pitcher JC Rodriguez has shined on the mound early in the season and tossed five scoreless innings in Freeport’s 12-2 win against Uniondale on April 7. The pitching staff is also bolstered by junior Jermani Buchanan, who registered a win in Freeport’s 10-0 series opening triumph against Uniondale on April 8, and junior Jon Marco Nunez.
Senior catcher Frewin Diaz Baez helps lead the pitching staff from behind the plate and brings plenty of offensive punch to the plate. Diaz Baez, who has committed to play college baseball at SUNY Old Westbury next year, displayed his power abilities against top competition last year when he hit a home run in an 8-4 loss at Massapequa toward the end of the regular season.
“I’m expecting a good season out of him,” Delgado said of Diaz Baez, a fourth-year varsity player who smacked a home run in Freeport’s 12-2 victory against Uniondale.
Leadoff hitter Albert Duran sparks the offense and is strong defensively behind the plate.
The Red Devils’ lineup has plenty of veteran experience including senior third baseman Justin Frometa, who has committed to play collegiate baseball next year at Prince George’s Community College in Maryland. Senior shortstop Jayden Brown and junior second baseman Edrian Tavarez have also produced some key hits early in the season.
“This team is really committed," said Delgado, a former minor league baseball player in the San Francisco Giants organization. “I was very pleased with how the preseason went and like the commitment of the players.”
The Red Devils conclude a three-game series against neighborhood rival Baldwin at home Thursday at 5 p.m. at Cleveland Avenue Field. Freeport will then battle Westbury in a series that features one home game on April 21 at 5 p.m. before facing Valley Stream Central the following week.
Delgado said the new league positions Freeport to establish a winning culture this spring after encountering disadvantages against fierce competition the last few years.
“It’s hard when you go to another school where they are a real powerhouse and they have way way more more players than us,” said Delgado, who previously spearheaded a turnaround when he took over as Freeport head coach in 2012 after the program went winless from 2009 to 2011 to lead the Red Devils to the county quarterfinals in 2018. “Now we feel we compete in every single game.”
