Hamptons League
North Fork Ospreys Defeat Riverhead, 6-4
The North Fork Ospreys picked up their fourth victory of the season last night as they defeated the Riverhead Tomcats 6-4 at home, at Jean Cochran Park, in Peconic, NY. Riverhead had previously defeated North Fork in the first two games of the season series. Adelphi’s Josh Rovner started the game on the mound for North Fork, giving up four runs, two earned, on seven hits, through five innings. Riverhead’s Rob Gallagher (UMass Lowell) popped up to shallow center on the first pitch of the game, and was retired off of a sliding, shoestring grab by North Fork’s Joe Tardiff of Cortland. Riverhead Right fielder Jason Coules of Fordham then clobbered a fastball over the right field wall to give the Tomcats their first lead of the game at 1-0. Rovner settled in and recorded two straight outs after...
Offensive Explosion in Double Header Between Southampton and LI Road Warriors
by Chris Sacchi The Southampton Breakers had just about done all they could to secure a victory in game one of a double header against the Long Island Road Warriors at Baseball Heaven on Thursday. Entering the bottom of the sixth inning, the Breakers led 12-1. Since double header games are seven innings each in the Hamptons League, the mercy rule of 10 runs comes into effect after 5 innings. So, Southampton was only three outs away from getting a mercy rule victory over the Road Warriors. The Breakers mounted that 11 run lead heading into the bottom of the sixth thanks to a powerful offensive showing. They struck for three runs in the top of the third from an RBI double off the bat of Johnny Hipsman, scoring Chris Wasson and Tony Zambito, and Hipsman later come around to score on a wild pi...
North Fork Ospreys and Sag Harbor Whalers Split in Thursday Double Header
The North Fork Ospreys and the Sag Harbor Whalers settled for a split of today’s Hamptons League doubleheader at Baseball Heaven. Sag Harbor is now 10-5 with the split, as the Ospreys are 3-14. GAME 1 The visiting North Fork Ospreys went down quietly in the first inning of game 1 against Sag Harbor starting pitcher Ryan Taurek of St Mary’s of California. In the seven inning game, Taurek tossed a complete game shutout giving up only two hits, striking out five. The Sag Harbor offense got to North Fork starter Justin Baeyens (STAC) early as they exploded for seven first inning runs. Leadoff man River Town (LSU at Eunice) singled followed by a walk to second baseman Will Strauss of McDaniel College. Bucknell’s Peter Marren singled to load the bases before Ramon Jimenez (Boston College) drove...
Riverhead Tomcats Start off HCBL With a 2-0 Victory
Reporter @SachChristopher talks with @RHTomcats outfielder Robert Gallagher about “setting the table” at the top of the order. Gallagher scored both Tomcats runs out of the lead off spot in a 2-0 victory. pic.twitter.com/3iGJpR1dsK — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 1, 2019 Last season, the Riverhead Tomcats entered play as the only team in the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League without a championship. Fast forward a year, and they’re looking to be the only team in HCBL history to win back-to-back titles. “We were the last club to win it,” Tomcats general manger Patti White told the Riverhead Times. “We’re going to be the first club to repeat.” Entering opening day of its matchup with the Shelter Island Bucks, the Tomcats had returned only three players from last season’s champio...
Stage is Set for Game 3 of HCBL Championship
Our Player of the Game is Eric Roubal. The Queens College righty came up huge in today’s win-or-go-home game, going 3-for-5 at the plate with four RBIs, including a three-run home run. He spoke with our @jpaura24 postgame. #RHvLI pic.twitter.com/nq37sLVqiB — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 31, 2018 The Long Island Road Warriors are accustomed to success. In their inaugural season, Head Coach Neal Heaton and his squad won the HCBL Championship without losing one game in the playoffs. This postseason has gone a lot differently as the team dropped its first semifinal game against Westhampton and game 1 of the Championship Series to Riverhead. Just like in the semis, Long Island bounced back from a game 1 loss, defeating the Tomcats 11-10 at home. The two juggernauts play a winner-ta...
Riverhead Inches Closer to HCBL Title with Game 1 Win
Our Player of the Game is Daniel ODonnell. The Riverhead starter lasted six innings and held a dangerous Long Island offense to just two runs. He spoke with @jpaura24 after his clutch performance. pic.twitter.com/x0ykbkLhKR — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 30, 2018 One month ago, Daniel O’Donnell was not a member of the Riverhead Tomcats. He pitched only two games during the regular season before his first playoff start in game 1 of the HCBL Championship Series. The Lesley senior rose to the challenge and earned the win as the top-seeded Riverhead Tomcats defeated the Long Island Road Warriors, 8-2. Long Island’s offense seemed to be a problem in the beginning of this game. In their three-game series against Westhampton in the semis, the Road Warriors averaged seven runs p...
Riverhead to Challenge Long Island for HCBL Championship
Our Player of the Game is Louis Antos: 2/4, HR, RBI, 2 R. One of the league’s best spoke with @jpaura24 after aiding Riverhead past Sag Harbor. The Tomcats host No. 2 Long Island in game 1 of the best-of-three championship series Monday. #SAGvRH pic.twitter.com/wKXmObbTab — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 28, 2018 The Riverhead Tomcats are celebrating their best season in franchise history. They secured the No. 1 seed in the HCBL playoffs for the first time in their 10-year history and earlier this week, they got their first playoff win since 2012. On Saturday, Riverhead accomplished another feat it hasn’t conquered in six years: make the HCBL Championship Series. In a winner-take-all game 3, the Tomcats grinded out a 4-1 victory over the Sag Harbor Whalers to earn a date with th...
Long Island Survives to Force Winner-Take-All Game Saturday
Long Island forces a game 3 in the @HamptonsLeague semifinal and our Player of the Game is winning pitcher, Sal Zafonte. The Cortland lefty tossed 3.1 innings in relief, surrendering only two hits. pic.twitter.com/884jQyzvsE — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 27, 2018 The defending HCBL champions were playing for their season Friday afternoon. Long Island lost its opening playoff game to Westhampton at home Thursday, meaning a loss would spoil its opportunity to repeat. But Friday’s game went much differently than Thursday’s and the Road Warriors proved deserving of their name. Neal Heaton’s squad never trailed in a 6-2 victory at Aviator Field to even up the semifinal series at one game apiece. Westhampton sent their best starting pitcher to the hill in Tyler Thorington. The leag...
Stefl Shines, Riverhead Wins First Playoff Game in Six Years
Chris Stefl (7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11K) on the 4-0 Game 1 victory for Riverhead pic.twitter.com/wFpm5htluy — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 26, 2018 For the first time in Riverhead Tomcat history, the team earned the top seed in the HCBL playoffs. The Tomcats won their last seven games of the regular season and beat Long Island by one point in the standings to secure home field advantage. No team on the Island was hotter coming into the playoffs then Riverhead and it showed Thursday. Chris Stefl blanked the fifth ranked Sag Harbor Whalers through seven innings in route to a 4-0 victory. John Galanoudis elected to use Stefl over Tyler Henry for game 1. Henry leads all Riverhead starters in ERA, a mark of 2.31 that ranked third in the league during the regular season. The risk pai...
2018 HCBL Playoff Preview
It has been quite an exciting summer of baseball in Long Island’s premiere collegiate league. The Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League (HCBL) features an abundance of high level talent and the best have emerged as the playoffs are set to start on Thursday. The top-seeded Riverhead Tomcats take on the Sag Harbor Whalers, who defeated the Shelter Island Bucks in a one-game playoff Wednesday night. On the other side of the bracket, the Long Island Road Warriors go to battle with the Westhampton Aviators in a rematch of last season’s championship series. As per usual, each series in the playoffs is best two-out-of-three, including the championship series, with rotating home field advantage. There was a lot to follow this season, so you may not know what to expect in the next week. But have no f...
Tyler Becker’s Amazing 2018 is Catching the Eyes of Many
(Photo Credit: Chris Bergmann) The HCBL is full of elite five-tool players with hopes of elevating their baseball careers. The league is made for athletes who may not have been on a scout’s prospect list, but have a ceiling to make a name for themselves. Nobody has taken that opportunity and ran with it quite like Westhampton’s Tyler Becker. “I think he is the best overall player in the Hamptons League,” Bill Ianniciello, coach of the North Fork Ospreys and Becker’s assistant coach at Adelphi University, said. “He is an all-around player. He hits for average, hits for power and his range defensively is really impressive.” Becker hits at the top of the order and starts at shortstop for an Aviators team that has already clinched a playoff berth. He ranks third in the HCBL in RBIs and home ru...
Greene Walks Off for Riverhead in Late Season Thriller
The HCBL regular season comes to an end Monday, but there is no shortage of excitement in the games leading to the postseason. The four playoff teams were set in stone on Thursday and we saw a potential first-round matchup between third-place Sag Harbor (17-16-4) and second-place Riverhead (21-13-3) at Veterans Memorial Park. The Whalers seemed firmly in control throughout the afternoon, but reliance mixed in with a little bit of luck put the Tomcats on the top. Josh Greene capped off a five-run comeback inning with a walk-off double as Riverhead defeats Sag Harbor in an 8-7 classic that featured 27 hits. Before Sag Harbor made their mark in the ball game, Riverhead got on the scoreboard first. With three of the league’s top four hitters (in terms of batting average) sitting at second, thi...
