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Shelter Island Bucks lose to Westhampton, but go into break in first

BEVERLEA WALZ PHOTO The Bucks have lots to celebrate, entering the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League's All-Star break in first place.
BEVERLEA WALZ PHOTO The Bucks have lots to celebrate, entering the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League’s All-Star break in first place.

The Shelter Island Bucks lead in the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League slipped to just one game after falling to the Westhampton Aviators on Monday night at Fiske Field.

After three wins over the weekend, the Island boys came out flat against second-place Westhampton. Starting pitcher Kevin Tise, who had allowed two runs in his past five outings, conceded four runs in the first two innings. Shelter Island scored three runs late, but they struggled to string together consecutive hits and fell by a final score of 8-3.

All four runs that Tise gave up came with two outs. An error by third baseman Ryan Sabo allowed two Westhampton players to cross home plate in the first, while Tise was credited with the two runs conceded in the second inning. The Bucks also struggled uncharacteristically at the plate, with no batter recording multiple hits. Aviator starter Logan Frati was nearly perfect through six innings of work, allowing just two hits before being pulled after giving up a run in the seventh.

Shelter Island scored twice in the eighth inning, and appeared poised to mount a comeback when Chris Hess hit a no-out triple to score teammate Mark Flynn. He scored on a sacrifice, but two consecutive pop-outs got the Aviators out of their jam. Hess’s RBI was his 31st of the season — he leads the HCBL by six in this category — and has already matched last season’s league leader with eight games remaining this year.

The Bucks record now stands at 22-12, and they own a 7.5 game lead over the 5th place Sag Harbor Whalers, meaning that a win on Thursday at Southampton would clinch Shelter Island their second consecutive playoff berth.

Hess and outfielder Eddie Haus, whose .365 batting average is second in the HCBL, lead a contingent of 10 Bucks selected to play in Wednesday’s All-Star Game at Baseball Heaven in Yaphank.

Bucks Head Coach Jamie Quinn will manage the North All-Star team, comprised of his stars and players from Riverhead and North Fork. A home-run derby on Tuesday evening will feature Shelter Island’s Dom Brugnoni, and could also include outfielder Jonathan Moroney, if the Texas A&M star wins an online fan poll.