by Andrew Barbieri
Zev Moore is the Muddy Locker Player of the Game. He hit the first cycle in HCBL history today in a 13-6 win. pic.twitter.com/ukfK43OjBX
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 23, 2023
As they have done all summer long, the Aviators bats produced plenty of runs to finalize their regular season record at 21-11-2 with a 13-6 win over the North Fork Ospreys at Aviator Field.
North Fork started the game off hot, Brady Karp and Jackson Curtis got aboard on back-to-back walks, then Christian Fagnant hit one inside the right field foul pole for a 3-run homer to get ahead in the 1st. Fagnant finishes the season with 7 home runs which was good for 2nd in the league, he also hit a grand slam in the HCBL All Star Game for Team Blue. The Ospreys’ lead would not last for long though, the Aviators returned and then some by getting 4 straight singles from Ethan Guerra, Matt Torres, Zev Moore, and Luke Mistone. Mistone’s single would manage to tie the game and later in the inning Lou Martineau gave Westhampton the lead with a liner to left. An E8 right after Martineau’s single would then give the Aviators a 5-3 advantage.
Guerra in the 3rd drilled a no doubter to right to make the extend the lead to 7-3. North Fork would scratch a run back from an RBI by Ty Acker but once again the Aviator bats got 1 back in the 4th. Moore led off the 4th with an opposite field bomb and put himself on cycle watch as he had a single in the 1st, a double in the 2nd to go with his homer.
Jack Turner would help keep the score 8-4 as he dealt for 2 innings out of the bullpen with 4 strikeouts and later earning the win. With his performance, Turner got his 5th win which leads the league, and collected his 38th strikeout, also atop the league in that statistic.
Zev Moore has now hit for the cycle with this triple! It’s 13-4 in the 7th now as Tyler Smith (Saint Peters) just sent a 2 run homer over the wall. pic.twitter.com/2nLCriLcWm
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 23, 2023
Ethan Toone would pinch hit in the 7th for Westhampton and find a gap to plate 2 with a double and next to bat was Moore, with all eyes on him to hit a triple. He did exactly that as he drove a ball into the right field fence to score Toone and more importantly give him enough time to scamper into third to hit for the first cycle in HCBL history. The Aviators continued to score in the inning to go up 13-4 after Tyler Smith roped a 2-run shot.
The Ospreys would 2 more runs up on the board, 1 from a Ulysses Luciano base hit to left, Luciano had an interesting day on the defensive side as he played all 9 positions on the field at some point in the game.
Nonetheless the Aviators would finish the game off in the 9th and give themselves a 13-6 victory to round out their successful regular season atop the standings. North Fork concluded their season with the loss, they finished with a 11-22-1 record, the Shelter Island Bucks join them as the other team in the league to the playoffs by going 13-19-2.
The Aviators will face the 4th Southampton Breakers in the playoffs. The Breakers wrapped up their regular season with a 16-17-1 record. The other 2 teams facing off will be the 3rd seeded South Shore Clippers (18-14-2) and the 2nd seeded Sag Harbor Whalers (19-15).
FINAL: Westhampton Aviators 13, North Fork Ospreys 6. The Aviators will be playing in the playoffs this week as the top seed. pic.twitter.com/ChHblAFBBP
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 23, 2023
Matt Torres went 1-3 on the day with a walk but ultimately earned the batting title by hitting 27-59 (.458) for the Aviators on the season. His teammate Sean Keys hit 11 home runs which led the league with the closest competitor being Christian Fagnant with 7. Keys’ great performance in the Hamptons League caught the eye of the Cape Cod league as Keys recently transferred over to the Cape to play more summer ball. Another Aviator Ethan Guerra led in RBIs with 45 which further reinforces how explosive Westhampton’s offense was in the regular season.
John Kwiatkowski led the league ERA for Southampton with a .78 during his outings. It will be important for him to be on his “A” game for Southampton when they meet Westhampton in the playoffs in the upcoming days.
