by Chris Sacchi
Two teams throughout the Hamptons League season sparred back and forth all season for the top spot.
The Riverhead Tomcats and Westhampton Aviators both won 27 regular season games, besting their franchise marks. Their dominance over the league can be punctuated by this fact; no other team in the 7-squad league finished above .500.
It was no surprise, then, that these two forces would meet in a three game series to determine the league champion.
Due to a 4-2 head to head record, the Aviators received the top seed and thus enjoyed home field in games one and three, if needed. They swept the Southampton Breakers two games to none in round one.
Riverhead was taken to a decisive game three against Sag Harbor before scoring key runs in the bottom of the eighth to move on.
Heading back to Veterans Memorial Park in Calverton for game two, home of the Tomcats ,the Aviators look to clinch a ring, while Riverhead tries to force another fateful game three.
In a 10-4 victory for Westhampton at Aviator field, the game unsurprisingly began with a back-and-forth nature, similar to the race in the standings all of June and July.
After Aviators starter Harrison Cohen retired his first two batters, it looked like another smooth start for the right hander. This was a pitcher who started the All Star Game and dominated all season with a 1.70 ERA.
He made quick work of Tomcats leadoff man Robert Gallagher, with Riverhead franchise a record 38 stolen bases and a .319 regular season average. So too was Jason Coules retired, he of the over .400 clip, the only player to do so in the entire league.
Louis Antos, a member of last year’s Riverhead championship team, and a key offensive force in the playoffs (.438 average after a 2-5 day,) stayed hot with a two out single.
Lefty swinging All Star Jared Greene also smacked a single, and suddenly Cohen was working to avoid an early run, with the sweet-swinging catcher Andrew Hernandez striding to the plate.
On the second pitch, Hernandez laced a single into short center field, and Antos, running in contact, slid in safely under the tag of Aviators catcher Landon Gray. Despite a strong throw from center fielder Dan Franchi, the Tomcats struck first with a 1-0 lead heading to the home half.
Franchi didn’t have to wait long to try and get that run back for his Aviators. Owning the Westhampton record for hits in a season (55,) Franchi was patient against Riverhead righty starter Brian Hendry, working a walk.
A passed ball and a single by teammate Eric Callahan allowed a first and third situation with nobody out for All Star Bailey Peterson, who cashed in with a single to tie up the game.
After Hendry walked Landon Gray to follow, the Aviators enjoyed bases loaded and no outs, seeming poised to pile on some early runs.
Hendry had other ideas, inducing a short fly ball out to Jason Bottari, and striking out All Star Chaney Dodge and regular season home run champion Sean O’Keefe. In the postseason, every chance to score is crucial, even in the first, and Westhampton let one slip in a big way.
Riverhead took advantage of the unexpected momentum swing with a another run to build a 2-1 lead after an inning and a half.
Tomas Papadopoulos started the inning by putting immediate pressure on Cohen with an eleven pitch at-bat that included six straight foul balls with two strikes. Despite Papadopoulos’ flyout, it taxes Cohen and added some stress that would lead to a rally.
Next up was Markell Graham, a speedy right handed bat who enjoyed an over .300 average on the season. He worked a walk.
Isiah Payton, known more for his defense than his bat (.203 regular season clip,) bunted Graham over to second. While most would disagree that a runner on second with two outs is preferable to a runner at first with only one away, this is a situation manager Bill Ianniciello has accepted whenever it can become available. It brings the order back to the top, and a chance for Gallagher and potentially Coules to get that runner in.
Another important development was Graham stealing third without a throw. That extra ninety feet made the difference; Gallagher hit a short flair into center that dropped for a single, and Graham came around to score to give his team the lead.
This game would continue on a back-and-forth swing as Westhampton immediately got a rally going in the home second.
The last two hitters in the order, John Tucillo and Dave Franchi, worked walks against Hendry, and Dan Franchi knocked a single. The runners went station-to-station to load the bases, in large part due to an excellent deke by Papadopoulos out in right. While Franchi’s single knocked off the fence, Papadopoulos made it look like he was going to catch the ball, holding
his glove in a position to catch before turning his back and fielding it of the wall at the last second.
So, after coming up empty with bases loaded and no outs the inning prior, Westhampton had a chance to right their wrong. Maybe a rally of singles would do the trick? Even a walk or sacrifice fly would at least add a run.
Enter Eric Callahan, who deposited a long shot into deep left field, over the wall for a grand slam. With the customary airplane sound effects coming over the speakers, the Aviators dugout went wild as they took a 5-2 lead that would stretch to 6-2 by innings end. After coming up empty in the first, Callahan ensured a productive bases loaded situation this time.
Riverhead didn’t know it at the time, after battling in the first two innings to take two separate leads, they would trial the rest of the game. Callahan’s long drive seem to give Westhampton the juice and confidence they needed, especially at home.
The Tomcats would continue to battle at this point, though. Bryce Wallace added a homer of his own, a two run shot over the right field fence off of Cohen. Hernandez, who reached on a two out single, once again tagged Cohen with two outs, and Wallace finished the job. 6-4 Aviators heading into the home third, the afternoon already filled with a game’s worth of moments.
With each team scoring in every frame, it was no surprise that Westhampton added another, Tucillo scoring after a Callahan double to make it 7-4. Callahan, a member of the 2017 Aviators that lost in the championship series, was now a triple shy of being the first in HCBL history to hit for the cycle. After Tucillo was walked to lead off the frame, starter Brian Hendry was replaced by righty Coleton Reitan, who allowed the inherited run to score.
The top of the fourth was the first scoreless half inning in the game, as Cohen allowed only one runner. In the bottom half, Westhampton kept coming with another, a homer off Reitan by Landon Gray that went out over right center, the deepest part of the park. 8-4 Aviators after 4.
In the sixth, Westhampton added another off Reitan thanks to the speed of Chaney Dodge. Now the all time Aviators record holder for stolen bases in a season (25,) Dodge took second and third after a walk before coming home on a Tucillo base hit.
The icing on the cake came in the eighth, when Gray hit a no-doubter over the right field fence to give his team the 10-4 lead they would win with.
Riverhead was kept quiet after the Wallace home run thanks to a masterful bullpen job. With first and second with one out in the fifth, and Cohen set to face Wallace again, manager Alex Brosnan went to hard throwing right hander Ty Wilson.
The 6-6, 250 pound righty walked his first batter to load the bases but struck out his next two, and went 2.2 scoreless and the victory. Lefty Tucker Wittman added two innings of shoutout ball to close out the win.
Despite his struggles, Coleton Reitan, who started during the regular season, ate up 5.1 innings for the Tomcats, crucial as we head to a game two in Calverton, with the host Tomcats playing to extend their season and force a game three.
