By Chris Sacchi
Riverhead’s Bobby Vath entered play on Monday against the North Fork Ospreys trying to replicate a historic performance; he had a no-hitter in his last start.
The last pitcher in the MLB to throw back to back no hitters was Johnny Vander Meer in 1938, with the second game coming in the first ever night game at Ebbets Field.
While Vath couldn’t do what Vander Meer did, he was able to match a current major league player.
With 13 strikeouts over six innings, Vath tied the Tomcats record for strikeouts in a game, set twice by Nick Tropeano in 2009. Tropeano now pitches out of the Los Angeles Angels bullpen.
“It feels pretty good,” Vath said postgame, as seen on the AxcessBaseball twitter.
Given a chance to go back out for the seventh inning, Vath might have been able to break the record, but his team still cruised to an 11-4 win.
The first four hitter all earned All Star nods, and remained productive on Monday. Robert Gallagher, the usual leadoff hitter and getting his first start at shortstop, went 2 for 3 with two walks and a triple. He also stole four bases, and while on the topic of Tomcats franchise records, his 34 steals this year is just one shy of tying the single season mark.
Number two batter Jason Coules had a three RBI triple, his fifth of the season that sets the all time Hamptons League record for tripled in a season.
Bryce Willits was next, with two RBI doubles, two steals, two runs scored, and a walk.
Jared Greene, the cleanup hitter, finished the day with an RBI double, rounding out an All Star crew that continues to tear threw Hamptons League pitching.
For good measure, Tomcats home run derby participant and team leader (a returning player from last year’s championship team) had three hits and two runs batted in.
North Fork scored first, though, and it was Tryese Clayborne, who Vath hit on his first pitch. He came around to score when Ospreys All Star Javier Vaz grounded one to second base that Noah Centeno couldn’t handle. Centeno was moved from his regular shortstop position because of defensive issues, but had two run scoring errors at second on the day.
After the unearned run in the first, Vath settled in to allow only one more through six, this one earned. Vaz came around to score in the sixth on an Anthony Fontana RBI single. Fontana, who celebrated his birthday Monday and also participated in the HR derby, drove in two of the four North Fork runs, with Vaz scoring on both.
Joseph Murphy came in to relive Vath, and allowed two runs, unearned due to the Centeno error. It will be interesting to see how Riverhead handles their shortstop position as the playoffs get closer; Isiah Payton has shown more with his glove than Centeno, but is only hitting .175. Gallagher, a usual outfielder, said pregame that Monday’s game was his first action at shortstop since high school. He didn’t receive much action, but did allow an infield single that some shortstops would have cut off for an out.
En route to 11 runs, the Tomcats enjoyed big games from their All Stars, and a nice performance from an All Star snub, too. Outfielder Markell Graham, measured as the fastest player at the Hamptons League scout day at Baseball Heaven two weeks ago, entered play hitting .303 and reached first base four times and stole a base.
Centeno pitched the ninth to close it out in his fourth appearance. Despite the two errors, Centeno had two hits including an RBI double and an inning of scoreless relief.
