by Tucker Terranova
Beau Durbin played a large role in Southampton’s 9-6 win, going 4-4 with 2 RBIs and reaching base in all five appearances.
He spoke with Axcess Baseball about a full-team effort that has the Breakers one win away from their first HCBL Championship since 2014. pic.twitter.com/0cvYiJIJQn
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 28, 2024
The Southampton Breakers acknowledge that their recent run has been nothing short of extraordinary. Undefeated since July 16th, they’ve averaged an impressive 8.6 runs per game during this stretch and hold a record of 9-0-1.
After dominantly upsetting the top-seeded Sag Harbor Whalers last week, Southampton turned their focus to the HCBL Championship series against the Shelter Island Bucks, aiming to finish their Cinderella story with a championship victory. They took the first step towards their goal on Sunday, securing a gritty 9-6 victory on the road to take Game 1 of the best-of-three set.
“One through nine we’re a great squad. Everybody can put the ball in play and everyone has some juice. Whenever we get rolling as a whole lineup we’re dangerous” Beau Durbin (Bradley) told Axcess Baseball after the game when asked about the lineup’s prowess. “The bats are going, the pitching has been good, we’re putting it all together.”
They say scoring first is the key to winning playoff baseball, and Southampton has been proof of that during their recent stretch. Continuing their trend of early scoring in all three playoff games, Collin Quintano (Villanova) roped Noah Terzo’s (Lesley) pitch into the left-field corner to score the afternoon’s first run in the top of the third. Michael Vilardi (Queens) followed with a two-out, two-RBI single up the middle, extending Southampton’s early lead to 3-0.
Shelter Island responded quickly in the fourth with a three-spot of their own. JD Stemhagen (Manhattan) put the Bucks on the scoreboard with an RBI single to right field, followed by an RBI single courtesy of Ty Bourne (Emerson), cutting the deficit to one. Working a 3-2 count with the bases loaded and two away, Briggs Loveland (Emerson) drew a game-tying walk off Kyle Kearns (West Chester), evening the score at three.
As the afternoon progressed and the Southampton lineup approached their third turn through the order, they regained their recent form.
In the sixth, Durbin laced a go-ahead RBI single, his second of four hits on the day, giving Southampton the lead.
“My approach today was to hit fastballs in the zone, stay with my opposite-field approach, and turn on inside pitches,” Durbin said.
In the seventh inning, Southampton shifted gears from their small-ball strategy to the long-ball. Ty Gilligan (Dominican) launched a towering two-run homer to right field, putting the Breakers ahead 6-3. Not to be outdone, Luke Fisher (William & Mary) joined the party by blasting a two-run shot of his own, extending Southampton’s lead to 8-3.
The Bucks refused to go down without a fight, scoring three runs between the seventh and eighth innings. Stemhagen stayed hot, delivering his second RBI single of the day. In the eighth, Tyler Galletti (Manhattan) connected for a single off his former collegiate teammate Louis Stallone (Sacred Heart), bringing his total to three hits and trimming the lead to 8-6.
Beau Durbin adds insurance with a ground rule double for his fourth hit of the game, putting Southampton up 9-6 with three outs to go pic.twitter.com/J0GXmEoWIX
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 28, 2024
To support Anthony Pellagrini’s (Middlebury) effort in closing out the game, Durbin drove Gilligan home in the top of the ninth with a ground-rule double that was just inches away from being Southampton’s third homer of the day, extending their lead to 9-6.
That cushion proved more than sufficient, as Pellagrini continued his strong summer, sealing the victory for Southampton in Game 1.
Needing just one win to clinch their fourth championship in franchise history and their first since 2021, the Breakers will return to Southampton High School on Monday at 4 PM, aiming to close out the sweep.
