Shelter Island’s Gaspari Goes the Distance Against Riverhead in Two-Hit Shutout
Due to a schedule switch, the Riverhead Tomcats served as the home team on Saturday afternoon at Fiske Field, but it was the Shelter Island Bucks who felt right at home, rolling to a 7-0 victory in Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League action.
Behind a complete-game shutout from Joe Gaspari (Hartford) and a balanced offensive attack, the Bucks improved their position in the tightly contested HCBL standings while handing Riverhead a frustrating defeat.
Shelter Island wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. In the top of the first inning, Cayden Van Dolah (Holy Cross) crossed the plate on a wild pitch to give the Bucks an early 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, David Swift (Bates) lined an RBI single to left field to score Pearson Dodds (St. Lawrence), and Connor McGill (Point Loma Nazarene) followed with an RBI single of his own, bringing home Swift and extending the advantage to 3-0.
The Bucks maintained control throughout the middle innings thanks to Gaspari’s dominant performance on the mound. The right-hander allowed just two hits over seven shutout innings, striking out four while working around five walks and a hit batter to earn his first victory of the season.
Shelter Island added to its lead in the fourth inning. Van Dolah delivered an RBI single to score Tucker DeWolf (Wesleyan), and Dodds followed with a sacrifice fly to left field that plated Sam Ametrano (Quinnipiac), pushing the lead to 5-0.
The Bucks tacked on another run in the sixth when Dodds lifted his second sacrifice fly of the game, scoring Ametrano after a Riverhead error had helped keep the inning alive.
Shelter Island completed the scoring in the seventh inning when Van Dolah singled to center field, driving in George Proffitt (St. Lawrence) to make it 7-0.
Van Dolah paced the Bucks offensively, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Dodds added a pair of sacrifice flies and an RBI, while Swift and McGill each contributed run-scoring singles in the opening inning.
Riverhead starter Jackson Garcia (Suffolk) took the loss after allowing five runs on six hits over four innings. Tyler Lopez (SUNY New Paltz) pitched the final three innings and surrendered two runs, one of them earned.
The Tomcats were held to just two hits on the afternoon by Gaspari, who kept Riverhead off balance throughout the seven-inning contest. Despite drawing five walks, the Tomcats were unable to generate any sustained offense and stranded several scoring opportunities.
Shelter Island continues their “road” trip at Fiske Field when they play the Westhampton Aviators at Fiske Field on Sunday while Riverhead travels to Sag Harbor to play the Whalers.