Kostulias Leads Aviators Combined One-Hitter in Sag Harbor
The Westhampton Aviators put together one of their most complete performances of the season Friday night, with a combined one-hitter led by Jesse Kostulias (New Haven) as the Aviators cruised to a 9-0 victory over the Sag Harbor Whalers.
Kostulias was dominant from the outset, allowing just one hit over five scoreless innings while striking out seven. The only blemish on his outing came in the bottom of the second when Collin Harty (Nichols) lined a single for Sag Harbor’s lone hit of the evening. Kostulias walked three and threw 77 pitches before turning the game over to the bullpen. Ben Feil (SUNY Canton) and Lincoln Waterman (Nichols) combined to finish the one-hit shutout, with the trio striking out seven and allowing just three walks.
Westhampton wasted little time providing run support. In the opening inning, Christian Cox (Framingham St.) reached base on a lead-off single ahead of Nick Koch (Merrimack), who launched a two-run home run to right field to give the Aviators a quick 2-0 lead.
The offense continued rolling in the second. Riley Reimund (St. Lawrence) scored from third when Oliver Kwan (Wesleyan) lined an RBI single to left, stretching the advantage to 3-0.
The Aviators broke the game open in the third despite collecting just one hit. Brady Green (Bucknell) worked a walk as a wild pitch scored a run to make it 4-0. Reimund would later reach on a throwing error, allowing Brett Connolly (High Point) to score an unearned run for a 5-0 lead.
Westhampton added two more runs in the fourth. Cox crossed the plate on another wild pitch before Brady Green (Bucknell) lifted a sacrifice fly to center that brought home Koch, extending the margin to 7-0.
The Aviators capped the scoring in the fifth. Cox delivered an RBI single to right-center, scoring Reimund, and Koch followed with an RBI single through the infield to plate Luke Rizzi (American International) for the final 9-0 score.
Koch led the offense by going 2-for-3 with a home run, four RBI and three runs scored. Connolly reached base repeatedly, scoring twice, while Cox collected two hits, scored three times and drove in a run. Kwan added an RBI single and Green finished with two RBI despite not recording a hit.