HCBL 2023
GAME RECAP: South Shore Clippers Take Game 3 to win Their 2nd HCBL Championship
by Andrew Barbieri Bobby Finn is our Muddy Locker Player of the Game. pic.twitter.com/yUtz7p7YF5 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 31, 2023 With a 15-5 win over the Westhampton Aviators to take the best of 3 HCBL Championship Series, the South Shore Clippers won their 1st Championship since 2017, at the time they were the Long Island Road Warriors. All 6 games they played in the postseason were at their opponent’s ballpark, they took 2 of 3 against Sag Harbor to then win 8-7 in game 1 versus Westhampton, then secure a victory in game 3 after a 11-3 loss in game 2. In all their wins, the common denominator for the Clipper was solid pitching. Against the Whalers in their wins, South Shore only gave up 2 runs and even in their game 1 win against the Aviators where they allowed 7 run...
GAME RECAP: Aviators Force a Game 3 in the HCBL Championship Series with a Dominating Win
by Andrew Barbieri There will be a Game 3! The Aviators defeat the Clippers and we’ll see a winner take all Game 3 to determine the champion tomorrow at 4pm at Aviator Field. pic.twitter.com/Jo7KUzR2EE — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 30, 2023 With their backs against the wall, the Westhampton Aviators, as the away team in their own ballpark, did what they do best which is produce runs as they scored 11 to beat the South Shore Clippers 11-3. South Shore won Game 1, 8-7, after Tyree Jackson hit a go-ahead home run to give the Clippers the win on Saturday. With the win for Westhampton today, Game 3 will be at 4:00 on Monday at Aviator Field. The Clippers are seeking their 2nd title in club history, the Aviators seeking their 5th. The main issue for South Shore was they did not h...
Steven Hardiman On Overcoming Adversity to Become a College Pitcher
Steven Hardiman (Kellenberg 2022) was recently named Hampton Collegiate Baseball League’s Pitcher of the Week. The Bentley southpaw went six innings for the Southampton Breakers, allowing two unearned runs, two hits and one walk with 8 strikeouts as his team clinched a playoff berth. For the season, he struck out 30 batters over 24.1 innings. While every athlete faces some type of adversity along the way, most of those hardships pale in comparison to what Hardiman faced. When he was just five years old, he had an ABC tumor in his right femur bone that caused a multitude of problems. He broke his femur bone three times, needed two rods, four screws and a plate put in his leg which necessitated five surgeries. The doctors told his family they didn’t know if he was going to be abl...
GAME RECAP: Westhampton Aviators Advance to Hamptons League Finals
by Chris Donnelly Post game interview with Greg Becil pic.twitter.com/o8JtWJlHU2 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 27, 2023 The Westhampton Aviators won game 3 and the Hamptons League semifinals against the Southampton Breakers by a score of 3-2 to send them to the championship series against the South Shore Clippers. It was a pitching duel as the Aviators sent Jake DeSlauriers (Hofstra) to the mound to send them to the championship series and he showed out going 7 innings only surrendering 1 hit and 1 earned run giving him the win. The Breakers sent Steven Hardiman (Bentley U) to the hill, and he was spectacular – going 6 innings, striking out 5 and only giving up 1 run which gave the Breakers a great chance to win. Hardiman worked through some trouble early giving up a l...
Moore Hits First Cycle in HCBL History, Top Seeded Aviators Take Care of Business in Regular Season Finale
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 th...
Team Red and Team Blue Tie in the HCBL’s 10th Annual All-Star Game
by Andrew Barbieri Ty Gilligan is our Muddy Locker Player of the Game. pic.twitter.com/iUwPSItJ2v — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 15, 2023 For the first time in the history of the All-Star Game the two teams tied with the score being 9-9. With 6 teams in the league, Team Red comprised of the best players from Shelter Island, South Shore, and Westhampton while Team Blue carried the best players from Southampton, Sag Harbor, and North Fork. Team Red jumped out early in the 2nd inning with a 7-spot to get themselves off and running. Sean Keys, Matt Torres, and Jack Halloran all singled to setup their Aviator teammate Luke Mistone to drive in with a 2-run single. Later on after a couple of runs scored, another Aviator Ethan Guerra drilled a 3-run homer to make it 7-0. Guerra is 2n...
GAME RECAP: Shelter Island Bucks Never Let Up in Big Win Over the Aviators
by Chris Donnelly In a Hamptons League Matchup between the Shelter Island Bucks and the Westhampton Aviators there was more than enough offense as the Bucks won 19-8 with a total of 27 runs scored. Luke Mistone started the game for the Aviators striking out 2 in the first and a caught stealing from catcher Waldier Perez to keep the Bucks off the board. Jacob Nolan took the ball for the Bucks and started off strong with a strikeout but, then struggled to find the zone proceeding to walk the next 2 batters. A double steal leading to a throwing error would start and end the scoring for the Aviators in the 1st inning giving them a 1-0 lead heading to the 2nd inning. The 2nd inning would be quiet for both teams, they both failed to push any runs across sending the game to the 3rd inning. ...
GAME RECAP: South Shore and Westhampton Split a Doubleheader While Still Battling Atop the HCBL Standings
by Andrew Barbieri The Muddy Locker Player of the Game is Nic Benhardt. pic.twitter.com/UAFeRGnROu — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 5, 2023 The Clippers and Aviators have now met 6 times and the series heading into the doubleheader was tied at 2-2. It now sits at 3-3 after a Clippers 11-1 and a Aviators 6-2 win. Game 1 saw 2 high powered offenses neutralized in the first half of the game, but it was only a matter of time until one of them broke out. Jonathan Jones took the start for Westhampton and Nic Benhardt got the ball for the Clippers. A 2 out double from Greg Marmo was Benhardt’s only bump In the road in the 1st inning as he used the winds blowing in at Bellport High School to his advantage by inducing 3 flyouts. Jones had a rough time finding the zone in the 1st as he hi...
GAME RECAP: MB Thunder Cruise in 12-0 Win over South Shore Elite
by Andrew Barbieri Our Muddy Locker Player of the Game is Max Goodman. He went 3-3 with 3RBIs and also struck out 4 in the Thunder’s 12-0 victory. pic.twitter.com/zJrj4Jk878 — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 1, 2023 In the ECYB Stars and Stripes tournament, MB Thunder Select left no doubt in a dominant victory over South Shore Elite at Eisenhower Park. The Thunder in the 1st inning continued to pass the baton to the next batter as they sent 12 batters to the plate in the opening frame. Nick Rugen, Daniel LaForest, Johnny Puglissi all contributed all picked up 1 RBI in the inning. Max Goodman, and Sean Barodin joined in with 2RBIs each with Barodin hitting a double to score 2 and Goodman had a chance to get 2 at bats during the 7-run rally, both times hitting singles. Sean Barod...
GAME RECAP: Benson’s Walk-Off in Game 1, Forcillina’s Steller Relief Work in Game 2, Gives Sag Harbor a Double Header Sweep Over North Fork
by Andrew Barbieri Wyatt Benson (Orange Coast College) walks it off for the Whalers! They take game 1 over North Fork 3-2. Game 2 will start at 4:25. pic.twitter.com/z1MQLQFoHa — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 28, 2023 After a successful 2-day break for the HCBL, in which the league sent some of their best players and went 2-0 in contests down at the NACSB Prospect Games in Virginia, the Sag Harbor Whalers continued where they left off on Sunday by sweeping the North Fork Ospreys in two 7-inning games on Wednesday by the scores of 3-2 and 5-3. Game one began with a couple of southpaws getting starts on the mound for both sides. Max Hart, the big 6-foot 8-inch Williams College lefty got the start for the Whalers and the Ospreys sent Matt Guido, of Lycoming College to the bump. ...
Westhampton Aviators Begin Their HCBL Season With a Win on Opening Day
by Andrew Barbieri Waldier Perez is our Muddy Locker Player of the Game. He went 3-4 with a homer in the Aviators’ 12-2 victory. pic.twitter.com/SpBBdUm0iQ — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 17, 2023 At Aviator Field on opening day, the Westhampton Aviators used big 1st and 3rd innings to run rule the Southampton Breakers 12-2. Michael DiForte was given the start today and his offense wasted no time to give him run support. After DiForte sent down the top of the Breakers’ lineup Nick Ungania, Johnny Catuosco, and Ty Gilligan in order. The next time he went out to the mound he had a 3-run cushion. That cushion stemming from the bottom of the 1st as the Aviators got to Southampton’s starter Louis Stallone early. Luke Mistone who was batting 2nd, walked, advanced on a wild pitch, and...
