HCBL July 1, 2026 Recaps
North Fork 4, Westhampton 2
The North Fork Ospreys rallied late to defeat the Westhampton Aviators, 4-2, on Wednesday at the Longwood YSA in Yaphank.
North Fork struck first in the opening inning, taking advantage of a Westhampton miscue as Max Dushney (Bates) scored an unearned run to give the Ospreys an early 1-0 lead.
The game remained a pitcher’s duel until the bottom of the fifth, when the Aviators finally broke through. With the bases loaded, Ryan Adams (Brookdale CC) drew an RBI walk to tie the game at 1-1, and moments later Luke Rizzi (American International) was hit by a pitch with the bases still loaded, forcing home Riley Reimund (St. Lawrence) and giving Westhampton its first lead of the night at 2-1.
The Aviators’ advantage was short-lived, however, as the Ospreys responded in the top of the sixth inning. Manny Carreras (Pace) delivered the biggest hit of the game, lining a two-run single that scored Nick Porrello (Manhattanville) while Rocco Cimino (Pace) raced home on an error by the right fielder to put North Fork back in front, 3-2. Later in the inning, Demetrios Bardatsos (Rider) added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Carreras and extending the lead to 4-2.
North Fork’s pitching staff made the lead stand up. Starter Isaac Aguirre (Ponoma-Pitzer) battled through 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out four despite issuing four walks and hitting three batters. Joe Williams (Bates) earned the victory, improving to 2-2 after recording four crucial outs in relief, and Luis Florian (Felician) closed out the seventh inning to secure his first save of the season.
Shelter Island 14, Southampton 9
The Shelter Island Bucks overcame an early four-run deficit with a 12-run outburst over the middle innings to defeat the Southampton Breakers, 14-9, on Wednesday night.
Southampton came out swinging in the top of the first inning, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. Nick Slogik (Rowan College at Gloucester) delivered the big hit of the inning, lining a two-run single to left field that scored Michael Caron (Assumption) and Liam Daly (Holy Cross). The Breakers then added two more runs on consecutive wild pitches, allowing Slogik and Zach Khozozian (Harvard) to score.
Shelter Island answered immediately in the bottom of the first. David Swift (Bates) continued his torrid start to the season with a two-run single to left field, driving in Sam Ametrano (Quinnipiac) and JD Stemhagen (Dickinson) to cut the deficit in half at 4-2.
The Breakers added another run in the second inning when Daly stole third and eventually scored on an error by the catcher, extending the lead to 5-2.
Southampton pushed the advantage to 6-2 in the third on a solo home run by Brody Ruyle (Pomona-Pitzer), but the Bucks again responded. Swift stole home later in the inning after Sam Bradford (UMass Dartmouth) swiped second, and Miguel Reich (Dickinson) followed with an RBI groundout to trim the lead to 6-4.
The Breakers appeared to regain control in the fourth inning. Caron blasted a solo home run, and Brendan Gardner (Holy Cross) added an RBI double to right-center field, giving Southampton an 8-4 advantage.
Then came the decisive bottom of the fourth, when Shelter Island erupted for eight runs. Cayden Van Dolah (Holy Cross) drew a bases-loaded walk, Swift followed with another RBI walk, and Bradford drove in a run on a fielder’s choice to cut the deficit to 8-7. Connor McGill (Point Loma Nazarene) then delivered the go-ahead blow with a two-run single to center field, scoring Bradford and Van Dolah to put the Bucks ahead 9-8. Moments later, Jack Pitman (Bentley) broke the game open with a three-run triple to right-center field, bringing home Ethan Harris (St. Lawrence), McGill, and Reich to cap the inning and give Shelter Island a commanding 12-8 lead.
The Bucks added to their lead in the fifth when Van Dolah launched a solo home run and another run scored on a Southampton error, extending the advantage to 14-8.
Southampton scored its final run in the sixth inning when Sean Sailer stole second and Khozozian stole home, but the comeback effort ended there as Shelter Island secured the 14-9 victory.
Noah Heath (Rider) earned the win for the Bucks, improving to 2-1, while striking out four. Xavier Hall (Emerson) closed out the final three innings to earn his second save of the season, allowing just one run on two hits.
David Swift paced the Shelter Island offense with three RBIs, while Jack Pitman’s three-run triple highlighted the decisive fourth inning rally. The Bucks collected 10 hits and drew seven walks in the victory, overcoming an early 8-4 deficit to earn one of their most dramatic wins of the season.
Sag Harbor 6, Riverhead 3
The Sag Harbor Whalers jumped out to an early lead and received a dominant performance from their pitching staff to defeat the Riverhead Tomcats, 6-3.
Sag Harbor struck first in the opening inning when Ethan Righter (Hamilton) came around to score on a Riverhead error in center field to give the Whalers a 1-0 lead.
The Whalers added to their advantage in the second inning with a three-run outburst. Logan O’Connor (Crown) delivered the biggest blow of the frame, launching a two-run home run to score Aidan Callahan (Emerson) and extend the lead to 3-0. Later in the inning, Ethan Righter tripled home Lincoln Oelschlager (Pomona-Pitzer) to make it 4-0 Sag Harbor.
Riverhead answered in the bottom of the second when Sam Leonard (Hofstra) grounded out to second base, allowing Jagger Adamo (Bryant) to score and cut the deficit to 4-1.
The Tomcats continued to chip away in the third inning. Matt Hesselbirg (Mercy) lifted a sacrifice fly to center field that brought home Zach DeMilt (Adelphi), and later in the inning Matthew Ryan (Adelphi) drew a bases-loaded walk that forced in Richie Heyder (Farmingdale State), trimming the Sag Harbor lead to 4-3.
That would be as close as Riverhead would get, however, as the Whalers’ bullpen took control of the game. After Lincoln Oelschlager worked through the first three innings, Finley Holmes (Palm Beach Atlantic) tossed two scoreless frames, and Derek Desmarais (Tufts) slammed the door with two perfect innings of relief.
Sag Harbor added valuable insurance runs in the seventh inning when Milo Suarez (Dartmouth) lined a two-run double to push the lead to 6-3.
Oelschlager earned the victory in his first decision of the season, allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits over three innings while striking out four. Holmes bridged the middle innings with two scoreless frames and four strikeouts, and Desmarais recorded his second save of the season by striking out three over the final two innings.