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Bucks battle through weekend, tied for first in HCBL

BEVERLEA WALZ PHOTO Eddie Haus has his eye on the ball against Southampton in the Bucks 5-0 win over the Breakers at Fiske Field on the Fourth of July.
BEVERLEA WALZ PHOTO Eddie Haus has his eye on the ball against Southampton in the Bucks 5-0 win over the Breakers at Fiske Field on the Fourth of July.

A pair of final inning fireworks during a doubleheader at Fiske Field on Sunday evening brought a picturesque Fourth of July weekend on Shelter Island to an appropriate close.

The hometown Bucks won on a walkoff single by Ben Prada in the first game against the Southampton Breakers, before surrendering two runs in a critical seventh inning (doubleheaders in the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League are shortened by two innings) en route to a 3-2 loss in the night cap.

The Southampton matchups brought a grueling stretch of four games in three days to a close. The Bucks managed two wins over the weekend, leaving them tied with the Westhampton Aviators atop the HCBL standings with a 17-10 record.

“We have a lot of momentum and energy right now,” said Coach Jamie Quinn after the doubleheader. “It was a great week overall, but you can’t win every game.”

In front of their largest crowd this summer, the Bucks began the weekend with a disappointing 8-1 loss against the Montauk Mustangs. Shelter Island kept the matchup close through seven innings but was undone in the eighth frame when five Mustangs crossed home plate.

The Bucks committed six errors in the game and managed eight hits. Vanderbilt’s Collin Snider, whose Commodores advanced to the College World Series final last month, made his season debut in the contest shortly after arriving on the Island, but was shelled for 3 runs in ⅔ of an inning.

The Bucks rebounded on Saturday morning, cruising to a 5-0 win over the visiting Sag Harbor Whalers. Starting pitcher Anthony Alicki struck out seven over six innings as he recorded his league-best fifth win of the season, while Eddie Haus and Dom Brugnoni led the team offensively. A two-out single by Haus in the first inning drove in two runners, and the Bucks solidified their lead in the fourth with a string of four hits resulting in three runs.

“We’ve had a couple of pitchers give us very high quality starts,” said Coach Quinn, praising both Alicki and the team’s starter on Sunday, Andrew Cohen. “It’s also great to play at home on the Fourth of July with all the pomp and circumstance on the Island.”

The undisputed star of the weekend was Prada. Before nearly suffocating beneath a dog pile following his single against Southampton, the UMass-Lowell shortstop scored his team’s only run on Friday and stole his league-best 19th base against Sag Harbor. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Prada ripped a base hit to left field and watched as teammate R.J. Going trotted home from third.

“He threw me a fastball and then a curveball and I didn’t want to get behind on the count, so I just sat on the next fastball,” Prada said following the game. “Someone tackled me, I didn’t know what to expect. It was a great feeling.”

The Bucks faced an early 3-0 deficit in the second inning, but were able to cut the Breakers’ lead to one after Going doubled. With the game tied in the sixth inning, Shelter Island had the bases loaded, but failed to score, before Prada came to his team’s rescue in the final frame.

The first win over Southampton was the Bucks’ first walk-off of the HCBL season and briefly elevated Shelter Island into sole possession of first place, with the Aviators idle.

Sacrifice flies from Dom Brugnoni and Tim Fallon scored Shelter Island’s runs in the second game of the doubleheader, as the team struggled to record six hits in seven innings. Cohen pitched five scoreless innings before allowing one run in the sixth, and was pulled after conceding two more in the final inning.

Leadoff batter Ryan Ramiz of Seton Hall propelled Southampton with three hits, scoring one run and driving in the game’s winning run with a single to centerfield.

Shelter Island nearly walked off for a second consecutive game, since they had two runners in scoring position with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Jonathan Moroney fouled off three pitches before striking out and Brugnoni popped out to left field to end the game.

“Today we just didn’t hit enough,” Coach Quinn said. “That was a game we should have won. That game will stand out at the end of the year as one we should have put away.”

The Bucks return to action on Tuesday against North Fork, with a home doubleheader against Westhampton on Friday.