Breakers Roll Past Ospreys, Advance to HCBL Championship Game
The Southampton Breakers are one win away from another Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League championship.
Top-seeded Southampton broke open a close game with a dominant middle innings surge and defeated the fifth-seeded North Fork Ospreys 15-3 in Saturday’s HCBL semifinal at Southampton High School.
With the victory, the Breakers advance to Sunday’s HCBL Championship Game, where they will look to capture their third HCBL title in the last six seasons. Southampton is also seeking to become the first franchise in league history to win five HCBL championships.
North Fork grabbed the early lead in the opening inning. Max Doninger (Saint Peter’s) came around to score when Gianni Generoso (SUNY Westchester CC) lined an RBI single to right field, giving the Ospreys a 1-0 advantage.
The Breakers answered in the second as Luke Ciminiello (Stony Brook) singled home Aidan Colasante (Harvard) to even the game at 1-1.
Southampton then seized control in the third. After Chase Jones (West Chester) reached base on a hit by pitch and Alexander Apicella (Stony Brook) walked, Colasante crushed a three-run home run to left-center field, giving Southampton a 4-1 lead.
Jones started the Breakers rally in the fourth with an RBI single before Apicella followed with an RBI single of his own. Zach Khozozian (Harvard) then delivered the biggest blow of the afternoon, launching a three-run home run to left field to cap a five-run inning and extend Southampton’s lead to 9-1.
The Breakers continued to pile on in the fifth. Michael Caron (Assumption) singled home Ciminiello before Jones added a sacrifice fly and Nick Slogik (Rowan College at Gloucester) ripped an RBI double, pushing the advantage to 12-1.
Southampton added two more runs in the sixth in unconventional fashion. During a strikeout of Ciminiello, Colasante stole second while Khozozian sprinted home on the double steal. Moments later, Sean Sailer (Villanova) singled to right to score Colasante and make it 14-1.
Khozozian capped his outstanding afternoon with an RBI double in the seventh, plating Chase Jones for Southampton’s 15th run.
North Fork managed two late runs, getting an RBI groundout from Bradyn Thompson (Bates) in the eighth before Manny Carreras (Pace) scored on a first-base error in the ninth to account for the 15-3 final.
Luke Raho (West Chester) turned in another strong postseason performance for Southampton, earning the victory after allowing just one run on six hits over 6 1/3 innings. The right-hander struck out seven and walked only one. Daniel McDonnell (Roger Williams) worked the next 1 2/3 innings, and Evan Gentile (Hartford) recorded the final two outs to complete the win.
Southampton pounded out 15 hits in the victory. Colasante led the offense with a three-run homer, while Khozozian finished with a three-run homer, an RBI double and four RBI. Chase Jones drove in two runs and scored three times, Ciminiello collected two hits and an RBI, Sailer added an RBI single, Slogik doubled home a run, Apicella contributed an RBI single, and Caron also drove in a run.
North Fork totaled nine hits in defeat. Generoso drove in the Ospreys’ first run with an RBI single, while Thompson added an RBI groundout. Doninger scored the opening run, and Manny Carreras crossed the plate twice, including the game’s final run in the ninth.
Southampton will face the second-seeded Shelter Island Bucks in Sunday’s HCBL Championship Game at 4 PM.