The Long Island Road Warriors of the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League were Tuesday evening as they came-from-behind to defeat the Southampton Breakers 8-4 at Bellport High School. Southampton falls to 1-9 with the loss.
In the top of the second inning, the Breakers struck first for two runs off of Road Warriors starter, Liam Pulsipher of Stony Brook. Southampton centerfielder Justice Thompson (Northwest Florida State) led the inning off with a single to center, followed by Princeton second baseman Eric Marasheski’s single to right. Right Fielder Isaiah Winikur of Towson singled to load the bases but he attempted to advance to an occupied second base, and was tagged for the first out of the inning. Designated hitter Jacob Bassil (Williams College) drove both runs in but was stranded at third, as the Breakers took a 2-0 lead into the third inning.
Southampton picked up right where they left off as first baseman Robbie Holmes (Monmouth) led the top of the third off with a double and was singled in by Saint Thomas Aquinas’ Kyle Lagrutta for the third run of the game. With two away, Winikur doubled in Lagrutta to put Southampton up by four at the end of the top of the third.
Long Island continued their slow start, as Southampton’s Connor Stephens (Western Kentucky) finished his first three innings on the mound giving up just one hit. It wasn’t until the bottom of the fourth that the Road Warriors finally put a run across as Stetson’s Jake Liberatore hit a solo home run over the left field wall. Stephens went right back to work finishing the fourth inning giving up only the one hit.
Pulsipher’s day ended after three innings giving up four runs on eight hits. He was relieved by Hofstra left hander James Cardinale who was dominant in his five innings of work. Cardinale gave up just two hits and a walk, shutting the door on Southampton.
The Road Warriors cut the lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Liberatore and Eric Roubal (Queens) singled back to back, followed by David Soto’s walk to load the bases. Southampton reliever Chase Smith (Towson) came on to replace the starter Stephens and induced a fielder’s choice ground ball off of the bat of Jake McCarthy (Molloy) that scored a run, followed by a second ground ball to end the sixth inning. Stephens finished the game with two runs on four hits, as he struck out six in the no decision.
Chase Smith pitched a scoreless seventh before being relieved by Rutgers New Brunswick’s Jacob Newman to start the bottom of the 8th. Down 4-2, LI first baseman Jon Marti (Delaware) worked a four pitch walk before Liberatore struck out. Marti advanced to second on a passed ball and was then driven in by Eric Roubal to cut the Southampton lead to 4-3. David Soto than tripled scoring Roubal to tie the game 4-4. With an opportunity to take the lead for the first time all game, Jake McCarthy deposited a two-run shot over the left field wall to give the Road Warriors their first lead of the night at 6-4. Later in the inning, Jon Marti stepped to the plate again with two outs and the bases loaded. He doubled to right center scoring two more runs, giving Long Island an 8-4 lead heading into the ninth inning.
Right hander Michael Mirando of Hofstra walked to the mound to begin the ninth for the Road Warriors with a four-run lead. He gave up a leadoff single to Isaiah Winikur, followed by Jacob Bassil reaching on a hit by pitch. Chris Wasson (LIU Post) flew out to center on the first pitch he saw for out number one. Winikur stole third right before Johnny Hipsman (Richmond) struck out. With runners on the corners and two away in the top of the ninth, Mirando shut the door as he got Gerard Sweeney (Lehigh) to fly out to right field, to complete the come from behind victory for Long Island. James Cardinale was the winning pitcher, as Southampton’s Jacob Newman was tagged with the loss.
The @LIRoadWarriors came from behind to defeat the @SH_Breakers 8-4 in @HamptonsLeague play. Long Island scored 6 runs in the bottom of the 8th, highlighted by Jake McCarthy’s go ahead two run homer. @mattytredeuce spoke with McCarthy after the win. pic.twitter.com/pMqMcKF7PC
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 12, 2019
The Long Island Road Warriors will hit the road on Wednesday the 12th to take on the Riverhead Tomcats at Veterans Memorial Park in Calverton with first pitch scheduled for 5pm. Southampton has the day off, and will return to action on Thursday, June 13th to face the North Fork Ospreys on the road at Cochran Park in Peconic, at 7pm.
