Bucks putting it all together in weekend wins

A miraculous diving catch by right fielder Mark Flynn and a pair of timely doubles propelled the Bucks to a 5-2 win over the Riverhead Tomcats on Saturday night, while a 4-run eighth inning led to a come from behind victory against Montauk on Sunday.

Shelter Island’s record improved to 13-8 on the season after the weekend, leaving the Bucks 1.5 games out of first place. They’ve won six out of their last seven games, and appear to be hitting their stride just as the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League reaches its halfway point.

The Bucks opened a stretch of four games in as many days with a 7-1 victory over the visiting North Fork Ospreys on Thursday before dropping an away contest at Southampton. They rebounded over the weekend with the win over Riverhead on Saturday, quickly followed by a 4-1 win over Montauk. Newcomer Jonathan Moroney of Texas A&M, who arrived late due to collegiate playoff duties, batted .438 on the week and sent home the winning run on Sunday.

The Bucks cruised to an easy win over the Ospreys on Thursday after scoring 7 runs in the first three turns at bat. Pitcher Zack Bahm of Columbia was nearly perfect over seven innings, surrendering just three hits and yielding no runs.

All nine Bucks starters hit safely in the game, and second baseman Chris Hess continued his outstanding offensive production. After nearly popping out to right field — the ball grazed a tree branch and was ruled out of bounds — Hess doubled to center on the next pitch, giving the Bucks an early 3-0 lead. He has 21 RBIs on the season, leading the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League by seven.

“My guys have been getting into scoring position, and I’ve been able to hit them home,” said Hess. “It’s nice when a guy is on third and you’re able to get the job done.”

Outfielder R.J. Going also performed well against North Fork, recording a double and triple, while the Bucks bullpen surrendered only one run after relieving Bahm. The offensive production would not carry over into Friday evening, however, when the Bucks struggled yet again against the Southampton Breakers en route to a 6-3 loss.

The Islanders dropped to 1-3 on the season against the last-place Breakers, who have managed only four wins in 18 tries against the other Hamptons League teams.

“It’s unlucky. It seems like whenever we go there we play flat for whatever reason,” said Bucks Coach Jamie Quinn. “We didn’t play well [on Friday], we had two bad innings that really set us back.”

Southampton rushed out to an early 5-0 lead, and survived a comeback attempt mounted by the Bucks in the ninth.

Yet another strong early inning propelled Shelter Island to their 12th win of the season, the 5-2 victory over the Riverhead Tomcats. Moroney was the catalyst of the offense in this matchup with three hits, while Jack Machonis’s single in the second opened a frame in which four Bucks crossed home plate. “We got a quality start and pitched well early,” noted Coach Quinn after the game. ”We got the bats going in that big inning and our hitting is becoming contagious.”

Starting pitcher Anthony Alicki threw 6 ⅔ innings while allowing three hits and 1 run. He leads the HCBL with four wins on the season, and his 2.05 ERA is a team-high.

Flynn’s catch came with two outs in the seventh, after Alicki had been replaced and the Tomcats had the tying run in the batter’s box. Mitchel Lacey lined a ball to right center, but Flynn’s glove put the game out of reach with an incredibly well-timed highlight that saved two runs — one Riverhead player had already crossed home and another was rounding third as the ball came to rest in Flynn’s mitt.

The Tomcats seemed poised to chip away at Shelter Island’s lead in the eighth, but were stifled by reliever Tyler Brandon. With a runner in scoring position, Zagaja harmlessly lined out to first baseman Tim Fallon for the final out of the inning. The Bucks’ Merritt Huber notched his second save of the season, retiring Riverhead’s three batters in the ninth with only four pitches.

Shelter Island returns to action on Tuesday, where they will battle with league leading Westhampton for the third time. The teams have split the two prior matchups, both decided by one run, and first place berth could potentially be on the line.

Although the Bucks do not play at home until Friday evening, local fans will be treated to an eight home games during the week following July 3rd.