Ospreys Blank Whalers, Advance to HCBL Semifinal with 6-0 Victory
The fifth-seeded North Fork Ospreys punched their ticket to the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League semifinal Friday night, riding a dominant pitching performance and timely hitting to eliminate the fourth-seeded Sag Harbor Whalers with a 6-0 victory at Mashashimuet Park.
With the win, North Fork advances to Saturday’s HCBL semifinal, where the Ospreys will travel to Southampton High School for a 4 PM showdown against the top-seeded Southampton Breakers.
North Fork wasted little time grabbing control of the winner-take-all contest. After Rocco Cimino (Pace) reached base with a two-out double in the opening inning, Gianni Generoso (SUNY Westchester CC) launched a two-run home run to right field, giving the Ospreys an early 2-0 advantage.
The Ospreys added another run in the second inning when Eli Sitzer (Washington (MO) lifted a sacrifice fly to left to make it 3-0.
North Fork extended the lead in the third. Max Dushney (Bates) and Cimino both crossed the plate on a two-run double from Tristan Govea (Felician) into the right-center field gap, stretching the margin to 5-0 and putting Sag Harbor in an early hole.
That was more than enough support for Logan Pulitano (Post).
The North Fork right-hander turned in a masterful postseason performance, tossing seven scoreless innings while allowing just one hit. Pulitano walked three and struck out six, keeping the Whalers off balance all evening and never allowing a serious scoring threat.
The Ospreys added an insurance run in the seventh when Max Doninger (Saint Peter’s) lined an RBI single to right-center, scoring Sitzer for the game’s final run.
Matt Guido (Lycoming) took over for the final two innings and closed out the shutout, allowing two hits while inducing five ground-ball outs to preserve North Fork’s victory.
North Fork finished with 10 hits, led by Govea, who drove in three runs with his double and sacrifice fly. Generoso’s first-inning homer supplied two RBI, while Doninger added an RBI single. Cimino scored twice, and Dushney, Sitzer and Govea each crossed the plate once.
Sag Harbor’s pitching staff settled in after the early damage. Kris Vinski (St. Joseph’s (Brooklyn) blanked the Ospreys over 3 1/3 innings of relief, while Chase Curran (Lasell), Reno Spagnoli (Hofstra) and Derek Desmarais (Tufts) combined to allow just one run over the final three innings. However, the Whalers’ offense never found an answer against Pulitano and Guido.
Sag Harbor managed only three hits in the game as North Fork pitchers combined to force 14 ground-ball outs and completed the postseason shutout.
Now carrying momentum after consecutive wins to close the regular season and capture the Wild Card, the Ospreys will look to continue their playoff run Saturday afternoon when they visit the regular-season champion Breakers with a berth in the HCBL Championship Game on the line.