Bucks Roll Past Riverhead at Cochran Park

The Shelter Island Bucks erased an early deficit with a relentless offensive attack, scoring 14 runs on 15 hits to defeat the Riverhead Tomcats 14-8 Sunday afternoon in an HCBL matchup at Cochran Park.

Riverhead appeared to seize momentum early after falling behind in the opening inning. Shelter Island grabbed a 1-0 lead when David Swift (Bates) lined an RBI single to score Sam Ametrano (Quinnipiac), but the Tomcats answered immediately with one swing of the bat. Kevin Schnupp (UMass Amherst) crushed a grand slam in the bottom of the first that gave the Tomcats a 4-1 lead.

The Bucks quickly swung the game back in their favor in the third inning. Sam Bradford (UMass Dartmouth) blasted a game-tying three-run home run before Ben Prince (Maine) produced an RBI groundout to give Shelter Island a 5-4 advantage.

Shelter Island broke the game open with a four-run fifth inning. Pearson Dodds (St. Lawrence) delivered an RBI single, Jackson McBride (Bates) followed with an RBI base hit, McBride later stole home during a double steal with Sam Ametrano swiping second, and Bradford capped the inning with an RBI double to extend the lead to 9-4.

An inning later, Prince added another RBI single to make it 10-4 before Riverhead answered with a pair of runs on an RBI single from Sam Leonard (Hofstra) and a run-scoring groundout by Jagger Adamo (LIU) to trim the deficit to 10-6.

The Bucks put the game out of reach in the eighth. Prince stole home during another double steal with Sam Ametrano taking second, and Miguel Reich (Dickinson) followed with a towering three-run homer to right to give the Bucks a commanding 14-6 lead.

Riverhead mounted one final push in the bottom of the eighth as Zach DeMilt (Adelphi) ripped a two-run triple to score Dylan Kennedy-Fujah and Sam Leonard, but the Tomcats could get no closer.

Bradford powered the Shelter Island offense, finishing with a three-run homer, an RBI double and four RBI for the day. Reich added a three-run homer of his own, while Swift collected multiple hits and drove in a run. Prince drove in two runs and scored once, McBride added an RBI single and also stole home, and Dodds chipped in an RBI hit.

Dean Ennis (Utica) earned the victory, working 5.1 innings while allowing six runs on six hits and striking out five to get his second win of the season. Xavier Hall (Emerson) pitched 2.2 innings in relief before Danny Kerr closed out the ninth.

Shelter Island drew an eye-popping 14 walks in the contest which was one shy of the franchise single-game record of 15 set against the Westhampton Aviators back in the 2023 season.

The Bucks return home to Shelter Island on Tuesday to face the Westhampton Aviators at Fiske Field while the Tomcats are back in Calverton to meet the North Fork Ospreys.