FINAL: For the first time in HCBL history, the Riverhead Tomcats are champions! @RHTomcats defeats @LIRoadWarriors 8-4 in game 3, winning the Championship Series 2-1. #LIvRH pic.twitter.com/AL13yo8JqQ
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 1, 2018
Prior to this season, six of the seven teams in the Hamptons Colligate Baseball League have won the league’s championship. On Wednesday afternoon, the Riverhead Tomcats completed the list of champions by capturing the title in game 3 of the Championship Series. John Galanoudis’ squad defeated the Long Island Road Warriors, 8-4, in the decisive game at Veterans Memorial Park.
“It’s unbelievable that we finished this season the way we did,” Galanoudis said. “We have been through so much this season, but everyone here has gelled so well and worked real hard and we never stopped fighting.”
The first-year manager made the call to start UMass Amherst righty Casey Aubin for game 3. Aubin carried the same stuff he had in the semifinal finale against Sag Harbor into Wednesday, piecing together his best outing of the summer. In just his second start, Aubin lasted six innings and allowed no runs and only one hit to the same Long Island offense that hung 11 runs on his team in game 2.
Working in unison with Aubin’s pitching, Riverhead’s offense came up clutch in the winner-take-all situation. The top of the lineup wasted no time putting runs on the board. Luke Oliphant and Alex Baratta led off the first by reaching base, setting up Louis Antos’ double that would score Oliphant. Eduardo Malinowski got in on the action next at-bat, muscling a single to cap off a nine-pitch battle with LI starter Chris Mott. Matt Daller worked a walk with the bases loaded later in the frame, giving the Tomcats a 3-0 lead after just one inning.
Oliphant led off the second with a double, then Malinowski hit his second RBI single of the game to extend Riverhead’s lead with two outs. The UPenn sophomore did not slow up in fourth, reaching base and bringing home a run for the third time in as many at-bats. He finished the day going 2-for-4 with one run scored and three RBIs.
The Tomcats did not give an inch for most the game. Josh Greene slapped a two-run single in the fifth and Chris Stefl crushed a solo homer in the seventh to put top seed Riverhead ahead 8-0 going into the eighth.
But just like in Tuesday’s game 2, chaos ensued late in the game. Closer Beau Keathley relieved Joe Murphy with one out in the eighth and Long Island’s bats came alive. Matthew Stepnoski earned his fifth RBI of the series with a single, followed by a RBI hit from Eric Roubal. Thomas Colombo kept the hit parade going with a laser to score Stepnoski and Roubal, but he got caught trying to reach second, ending the inning.
Keathley returned in the ninth to protect the 8-4 advantage. He issued a pair of walks, but kept Long Island from scoring again and got Marcos Perivolaris to fly out to end the season. The Riverhead Tomcats were crowned champions of the HCBL for the first time in franchise history.
The co-MVPs of the Championship Series are Eduardo Malinowski and Chris Stefl. Malinowski went 7-for-13 with a home run, a triple, sox RBIs and four stolen bases through the three-game series. He finished the playoffs with a .462 average after finishing fifth in the regular season batting standings. Stefl was 7–for-12 with three doubles, a homer and six RBIs in the series. The St. Johns lefty also led all postseason players with 16 strikeouts and hit .435 in the playoffs.
Our Player of the Game is Casey Aubin. Aubin finished his summer with season-highs in innings pitched (six) and strikeouts (seven) in his second start this season. His first start this summer was in game 3 of the semifinals against the Whalers, where he only allowed one run through four innings.
