Shelter Island Bucks bats come alive, routing Montauk and Riverhead
After dropping its Opening Day game at Fiske Field Thursday, the Shelter Island Bucks treated a sizeable home crowd to some offensive fireworks en route to a 9-0 win over the Montauk Mustangs on Saturday evening.
And the Bucks offense continued to click on all cylinders in an 11-4 route against the Riverhead Tomcats Sunday night in Riverhead.
At home Saturday against the Mustangs, Jack Machonis and Chris Hess led the team offensively while starting pitcher Andrew Cohen surrendered just one hit over four scoreless innings.
A pitching duel between Cohen and Mustang ace Dylan Mouzakes was broken in the bottom of the fourth frame when Shelter Island took advantage of a series of defensive miscues to score four runs. Montauk’s offense was unable to mount any sort of comeback before another flurry of runs in the eighth inning pushed the home team’s lead to 9 runs.
“Today our swings finally started coming together,” said Head Coach Jamie Quinn, whose team improved to 3-2 at the conclusion of the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League’s first week.
While Bucks third baseman Ryan Sabo advanced to third base in the second inning, it wasn’t until the fourth that any player crossed home plate. University of Rhode Island sophomore Chris Hess reached first on a hit to left center and would soon score on Dom Brugnoni’s RBI single.
Two Mustang errors immediately proved costly, when an ill-advised pickoff attempt by Montauk’s catcher was quickly followed by a fielding error in the outfield.
“We got some timely hitting when we needed it,” said shortstop Ben Prada. A double off the bat of his UMass-Lowell teammate Tim Fallon would drive in Machonis before a groundout ended Montauk’s defensive woes, at least for the time being.
As the HCBL’s hectic schedule makes off-days a rare occurrence, Coach Quinn held an optional workout at Fiske Field on Friday afternoon, where a new arrival greeted his Bucks teammates for the first time. Cohen, a rising junior at St. Leo University in Florida, arrived on the Island just in time for his start on Saturday.
“I’m a competitor, I’m just glad I was able to help this team win,” Cohen said.
He allowed only a second-inning hit to Montauk’s Matt Payero and fanned six batters. Coach Quinn praised his new star, saying, “He gave us what we wanted. We really needed those zeros he put up early.”
All three Shelter Island pitchers benefited from a stellar defensive performance behind them. Costly errors allowed the North Fork Ospreys to score two runs during Thursday night’s home opener, but no such mistakes were made on Saturday night. Two runners were caught stealing, while an eighth inning double play punctuated an impressive defensive outing for a team that surrendered 14 runs over their last two games.
After scoring one run in the fifth, Shelter Island would again send four players home, this time in the eighth inning. Ryan Sabo was hit in the chest by a pitch to begin a frame in which all nine Bucks came up to bat. The bottom of Shelter Island’s order peppered Montauk with a run of four consecutive base hits before pitcher Matt Buckshaw was pulled.
Prada, who brought his league-leading stolen base total to four on Saturday, praised his team’s offensive efficiency. “We only scored in three innings,” he said. “But in those innings we got nine runs. It’s all about our hitting.”
“Our approach was better today,” echoed Coach Quinn. “We were able to score when we put our runners on base.”
The Bucks return to Fiske Field on Tuesday for a rematch with the Southampton Breakers, who handed Shelter Island their first defeat of the season this past Wednesday. In the mean time, the squad will look to start a winning streak against winless Riverhead on Sunday before enjoying a much needed rest day on Monday.
