Kerr Fans Record 15 as Bucks Defeat Breakers 7-3
Danny Kerr etched his name into Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League history Wednesday night, striking out a league-record 15 batters as the Shelter Island Bucks defeated the Southampton Breakers 7-3.
The dominant complete-game performance shattered the previous HCBL single-game strikeout record of 14, previously shared by Daniel Etienne (North Fork, 2009), Kyle McGowin (Sag Harbor, 2012), Tyler Badamo (Center Moriches, 2012) and Nicolas Luc (Westhampton, 2021).
Kerr was nearly unhittable throughout the evening, allowing just five hits and one walk while throwing all seven innings. He entered the final inning with 12 strikeouts, already establishing a new Shelter Island franchise single-game record, breaking the previous mark of 11 held jointly by Pat Simone (New Haven, 2012), Diego Sarabia (Bates, 2025) and Dylan Joseph (RIT, 2025).
After Luke Ciminiello (Stony Brook) led off the seventh with a single, Kerr then would historically close the game. He struck out Vic Patel (Wallace CC) for No. 13, then fanned Owen Beatrice (St. John’s) to tie the league record with his 14th strikeout. Facing his final batter, Brody Ruyle (Pomona-Pitzer), Kerr worked the count full before getting him on a swinging strike on a 3-2 pitch, recording his record-breaking 15th strikeout and sending the Bucks’ dugout into celebration.
While Kerr dominated on the mound, Shelter Island provided plenty of offense with a pair of big innings.
The Bucks broke the game open in the third, taking advantage of defensive miscues while scoring five runs. An error at third allowed Cayden Van Dolah (Holy Cross) to reach as Jackson McBride (Bates) scored the game’s first run. David Swift (Bates) followed with an RBI single before Ethan Harris (St. Lawrence) lined an RBI double to left. Jack Pitman (Bentley) added an RBI single, and another Southampton error allowed George Proffitt (St. Lawrence) to bring in the fifth run of the inning for a 5-0 advantage.
Shelter Island extended the lead in the fourth. Swift lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score McBride before another Breakers error allowed Sam Ametrano (Quinnipiac) to cross the plate, making it 7-0.
Southampton finally answered in the bottom of the fourth. Nick Slogik (Rowan College at Gloucester) delivered a two-run double, scoring Alexander Apicella (Stony Brook) and Aidan Colasante (Harvard) to trim the deficit to 7-2.
The Breakers added one more run in the sixth when Colasante came home on a throwing error, but Kerr slammed the door from there.
Shelter Island collected seven hits in the victory. Swift finished 2-for-4 with two RBI, Harris went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI, Pitman drove in a run, and Sam Ametrano scored twice.
The night, however, belonged to Kerr, whose historic outing rewrote the HCBL record book. His 15-strikeout masterpiece not only carried Shelter Island to victory but also established the highest single-game strikeout total in league history.