Aviators Advance to Semifinal Round with 7-5 Wild Card Win over Riverhead
The third-seeded Westhampton Aviators built an early lead, withstood a furious sixth-inning rally by the visiting sixth-seeded Riverhead Tomcats, and closed out a 7-5 victory in the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League Wild Card game Friday evening at Veterans Memorial Park in Calverton.
With the win, the Aviators advance to Saturday’s HCBL semifinal, where they will face the second-seeded Shelter Island Bucks at Fiske Field.
Riverhead struck first in the opening inning without the benefit of a hit. Matt Hesselbirg (Mercy) stole third and scored when Bryan McCleary (Adelphi), who stole second on the play, advanced to third on a Westhampton error, allowing Hesselbirg to score, giving the Tomcats a 1-0 lead.
Westhampton answered immediately. Garrett Mathias (Bucknell) tied the game with a sacrifice fly that scored Antonio Belgrove (Salem St.) before Riley Reimund (St. Lawrence) followed with an RBI infield single to plate Nick Koch (Merrimack) to give the Aviators a 2-1 advantage.
Jesse Kostulias (New Haven) was in command on the mound early, but Westhampton’s defense came up with a game-changing play in the second inning. After Riverhead loaded the bases with nobody out, Kevin Schnupp (UMass Amherst) lined a ball back to the mound that Kostulias caught before doubling Richie Heyder (Farmingdale St.) off first base to erase the threat. The inning-ending double play preserved the Aviators’ one-run lead and shifted the momentum.
The Aviators added to their lead in the third when Mathias collected his second sacrifice fly of the game, scoring Brett Connolly (High Point) for a 3-1 cushion.
Connolly then delivered again in the fourth, ripping an RBI double to right field that brought home Belgrove to extend the lead to 4-1.
Riverhead cut into the deficit in the fifth when Matthew Ryan (Adelphi) singled home Jack Byrne (Fairfield), making it 4-2.
The Aviators answered right back in the bottom half. Ryan Adams (Brookdale CC) lifted a sacrifice fly to score Mathias before Oliver Kwan (Wesleyan) lined an RBI single to left, plating Riley Reimund (St. Lawrence) and stretching Westhampton’s lead to 6-2.
Riverhead mounted its biggest threat in the sixth. Bases-loaded walks and consecutive RBI singles by Byrne and Hesselbirg trimmed the deficit to 6-5 with the bases still loaded and one out.
But once again, the Aviators’ defense delivered.
Ryan lined a ball directly to third baseman Christian Cox (Framingham St.), who made a diving catch and doubled Zach DeMilt (Adelphi) off second base to end the inning with a clutch unassisted double play, keeping Westhampton in front by one run.
The Aviators picked up a valuable insurance run in the seventh when Kwan singled to left, scoring Cox for a 7-5 advantage.
Gabriel Pena (American) took over after Lincoln Waterman (Nichols) faced trouble in the sixth and was outstanding in relief. Pena tossed four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out four to earn the save. He punctuated the victory by retiring the Tomcats in order in the ninth inning to send Westhampton into the semifinal.
Although Kostulias struck out eight over 4 2/3 innings while allowing just one earned run, he fell one out shy of the required five innings to qualify for the victory. Instead, Lincoln Waterman was credited with the win after recording the final out of the fifth inning before Pena closed the door.
Westhampton pounded out 14 hits in the victory. Oliver Kwan led the offense with three hits and two RBI, while Brett Connolly collected three hits, including an RBI double, and scored twice. Riley Reimund added three hits and an RBI, Antonio Belgrove scored twice, and Garrett Mathias drove in two runs with a pair of sacrifice flies.
Riverhead finished with eight hits. Hesselbirg drove in two runs and scored twice, while Jack Byrne had an RBI single and scored twice. Matthew Ryan added an RBI single, and Zach DeMilt drew a bases-loaded walk to force in another run during the sixth-inning rally.
Despite threatening throughout the night and drawing 10 walks, the Tomcats were undone by the two critical double plays and couldn’t complete the comeback as their season came to an end.
Westhampton now turns its attention to Saturday’s semifinal matchup against Shelter Island with a berth in the HCBL Championship Game on the line.