Ben Prince Delivers Walk-Off Winner as Bucks Complete Suspended Game Victory Over Ospreys
A game that began Tuesday evening at Fiske Field and was suspended by weather with the score tied finally came to an end Wednesday afternoon at Southampton High School, where Ben Prince (Maine) delivered a walk-off RBI single to lift the Shelter Island Bucks to a dramatic 9-8 victory over the North Fork Ospreys.
The contest featured momentum swings throughout before lightning and rain halted play Tuesday night with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning and the score deadlocked at 8-8.
North Fork grabbed the early lead in the second inning. Demetrios Bardatsos (Rider) drove home Andrew Baay (Middlebury) with an RBI single before Justin Pierre (American International) stole third and scored on a throwing error to make it 2-0.
Shelter Island answered immediately with a five-run bottom half. Pearson Dodds (St. Lawrence) lined a two-run double to tie the game before Prince launched a two-run homer to center field, putting the Bucks ahead 4-2. Jack Pitman (Bentley) capped the inning with an RBI single to extend the lead to 5-2.
The Ospreys chipped away in the third as Tristan Govea (Felician) singled home Rocco Cimino (Pace), but the Bucks added two more runs in the fourth. Sam Ametrano (Quinnipiac) brought home Prince with a sacrifice fly before Pitman collected his second RBI single of the game for a 7-3 advantage.
North Fork stayed within striking distance in the fifth when Max Dushney (Bates) reached on an error that allowed TGovea to score, but Shelter Island answered once again as Prince singled and later advanced to second on an error while Evan Clark (New Haven) rossed the plate to restore a four-run lead at 8-4.
The Ospreys mounted their comeback in the sixth. Cimino drove in Nicolas Martini (Eastern Connecticut St.) with a groundout before Manny Carreras (Pace) blasted a two-run home run to right-center, cutting the deficit to one. Moments later, Baay reached on an error that allowed Bradyn Thompson (Bates) to score the tying run, evening the game at 8-8.
Before the weather suspended play Tuesday night, North Fork had all the momentum.
When play resumed Wednesday at Southampton High School, Matt Guido (Lycoming) returned to the mound for North Fork and retired Pitman on a groundout to end the sixth inning.
Shelter Island turned to Danny Kerr in the top of the seventh, he needed just seven pitches to retire the side in order. Kerr struck out one batter and kept the game tied, setting the stage for the Bucks’ offense.
In the bottom of the seventh, David Swift (Bates)drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Connor McGill (Point Loma Nazarene). With one out, the Ospreys intentionally walked Clark, putting runners at first and second. Sam Bradford (UMass Dartmouth) then lifted a fly ball to right field, allowing Swift to tag and advance to third.
That brought up Ben Prince.
Prince wasted little time, driving an 0-1 pitch into right-center field for the game-winning hit as Swift raced home with the winning run, giving Shelter Island a thrilling 9-8 victory.
Prince finished another outstanding performance by going 2-for-4 with a home run, the walk-off RBI single, and four RBI. Jack Pitman added two hits and two RBI, while Pearson Dodds contributed a two-run double during the decisive second inning.
Ametrano stole a pair of bases in the win for Shelter Island giving him 36 for the season breaking the Bucks’ single-season record for stolen bases previously held by Jake MacKenzie (Fordham) back in the 2018 season.
North Fork collected 10 hits in defeat. Carreras led the comeback effort with a two-run homer, while Bardatsos had two hits and an RBI. Govea and Baay each drove in a run as the Ospreys erased a four-run deficit before coming up just short.
With the victory, Shelter Island improved to 17-15 and will return home later today for the final day of the HCBL regular season with a chance to secure either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the upcoming league playoffs as they play Riverhead. North Fork will remain at Southampton High School following the completion of the suspended game to face the Southampton Breakers in their regularly scheduled season finale.