Struggling Bucks one game out of playoffs
After getting off to a good start in the 2013 Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League season in June the Shelter Island Bucks continued to struggle in July.
The team’s recent travails were all on display in their most recent game at home Saturday night against the Sag Harbor Whalers. Sag Harbor out-hit and out-pitched the Bucks and won going away by a score of 11-1.
The loss dropped the Bucks’ record to 15-19 and moved them to a game out of the league’s final playoff spot with six games left in the season.
The Whalers struck early in their most recent trip to the Island picking up a run in the top of the first inning. Whalers’ shortstop JJ Franco led off with a single, went to third on a passed ball and scored on an error at first base. The Whalers picked up another run in the third after designated hitter Connor Faust reached on an error at second base and came around to score on a double by first baseman Aaron Smith.
By the top of the fifth, the Whalers had a 2-0 lead before they really came alive. Sag Harbor scored two runs after loading the bases for Franco who picked up an RBI single. Then, in the top of the sixth, they tacked on three more runs to go up 7-0. The Whalers would score two runs each in the top of the eighth and ninth.
The Bucks lone run came in the bottom of the seventh after shortstop Justin Jones hit a double and advanced to third on an error. Jones then scored on a groundout by first baseman Jimmy Jack.
Despite the team once again not hitting, the Bucks’ biggest woe on another scorching night at Fiske Field was pitching. Starter Gavin Stewart was removed due to an injury before retiring a single batter. As a result, the Bucks had to rely on five relief pitchers, including two position players who had to step in and pitch. Lately, the team hasn’t had enough arms because of injuries and overuse.
The loss to the Whalers came just a day after the Bucks suffered another tough loss at home against the North Fork Ospreys. The Islanders had a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth before the Ospreys scored to force extra innings. The Ospreys immediately took advantage of the extras and scored two runs in the top of the tenth to win 5-3.
