Whalers Take the Deciding Game in Early Season Series With Shelter Island
The Sag Harbor Whalers claimed the rubber game of their three-game season-opening series against the Shelter Island Bucks on Tuesday night, edging the Whalers 3-2 at Fiske Field on Tuesday,
The game marked the deciding contest of a back-and-forth series that saw Shelter Island win the opener 5-3 on Saturday before Sag Harbor evened things up on Sunday at Mashashimuet Park with a dramatic 10-6 victory in eight innings, capped by a walk-off grand slam from Anthony Sarro (Fairleigh Dickinson).
Sag Harbor struck first on Tuesday. In the top of the first inning, Aaron Vetter (Palm Beach Atlantic) reached base on a single to lead off the game and eventually scored when Aaron Bock (Johns Hopkins) lined an RBI single to right field, giving the Whalers a 1-0 lead.
The score remained unchanged until the fourth inning when Sag Harbor added to its advantage. Nicholas Banner came around to score on an RBI single by Luis Takeshi Salto Miyajima, extending the Whalers’ lead to 2-0.
The Bucks answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning. After putting runners on base, Shelter Island benefited from a costly Sag Harbor error. Jackson McBride (Bates) grounded back to the pitcher, but an error at first base allowed Miguel Reich (Dickinson) to score while Connor McGill (Point Lorna Nazarene) also crossed the plate, tying the game at 2-2.
The decisive run came in the top of the sixth inning. Dominick Mancino (Rhode Island College) reached base on a hit by pitch and later moved into scoring position before Milo Suarez (Dartmouth) lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, bringing Mancino home with what proved to be the game-winning run and giving the Whalers a 3-2 lead.
From there, the Whalers’ pitching took over. Kris Vinski (St. Joseph’s (Brooklyn) turned things over to Ethan Righter (Hamilton) who pitched two scoreless innings of relief keeping the Bucks bats at bay which resulted in Righter’s first save of the 2026 season.
With the win, the Whalers captured the season-opening series two games to one keeping the momentum after Sunday’s thrilling ending at Sag Harbor.
The Bucks continue their homestand on Wednesday against the Southampton Breakers at Fiske Field while the Whalers host the Riverhead Tomcats at Mashashimuet Park. Both games have 5 PM starts on Wednesday.