Featured Story

Bats sizzling, boys stay undefeated

BEVERLEA WALZ PHOTO | Adrian Sulahian goes with the pitch for an opposite field base hit against Southold.
BEVERLEA WALZ PHOTO | Adrian Sulahian goes with the pitch for an opposite field base hit against Southold.

On Friday April 25 at Fiske Field the Shelter Island High School JV baseball team  kept rolling through their undefeated season.

The Blue and Gray completed a sweep of their home and home series with Southold, winning 18-6  here after beating the Settlers the previous day on their home field 8-3.

In the final game of the series multiple players stoked  what’s proving to be a powerhouse offense.  The big hits included a home run by Matt BeltCappellino and two triples by Spencer Gibbs.

The offense continued the power show with a double by Max Moroz and three-hit games by Peter Kropf  and Johnny Sturges.  But the offensive outburst wasn’t done, with Richard Ruscica, Adrian Sulahian  and Charlie Binder each contributing two hits apiece.

With the win Shelter Island was 6-0 heading into a three game set with their cross-ferry rivals to the south, the Sag Harbor Person Whalers.  Sag Harbor has a strong baseball program and tradition. Over the years  the Whalers have been tops in the league and always a handful for Island teams.

Baseball games normally never end in a tie, but at the high school level they occasionally occur.  Shelter Island and Sag Harbor played to a 15-15 tie after 7 innings at Fiske Field on Monday, April 28,  with the umpire calling the game as darkness approached in accordance with league rules.

The game included lots of offense in a back-and-forth battle, with come from behind rallies by both teams.

After the first inning the Blue and Gray held a 2-1 lead,  but in bottom of the third inning was down 4-1 and looking to get back into the game.  Peter Kropf started things off with a single, followed by Ruscica, BeltCappellino and Struges  who all doubled.

The Island boys’ bats were still hot, with Binder and Will Garrison driving in teammates with singles.  The team batted around and the inning ended with Shelter Island up 8-4.

But the Whalers kept chipping away, narrowing the gap in the fourth with the Island on top 9-7.  In the bottom of the fifth the Blue and Gray again jumped out to a good-sized lead when Henry Lang singled and BeltCappellino homered to make it 12-7.  But again, the visitors fought back to cut the lead to 12-11 and then in the top of the seventh regained the lead, 15-12.

Shelter Island’s final at bats in the bottom of the inning, with the game on the line, started with Sag Harbor loading the bases for Shelter Island with three walks.  Spencer Gibbs then hit a long double to drive in two and make the score 15-14.  The Island boys then had two runners thrown out at plate on two very close calls.

With two outs Billy Boeklen stepped to the plate and hit a clutch single to tie the score for the final of 15-15.

A great game by both teams gave the crowd an exciting afternoon.

The next home game will be with Sag Harbor again on Friday, May 2 at 4:30 at Fiske Field.