Islanders flash power and speed in romp over Greenport

The junior varsity boys baseball team returned strong on Monday after a 10-day spring break to beat Greenport at Fiske Field by a score of 18-9.

Lucas Quigley-Dunning started and held the Porters scoreless in the 1st inning. The visitors kicked into gear in the 2nd after the first run was walked in with the bases loaded. A base-clearing double made the score 4-0.

The Indians returned fire in the bottom of the 2nd, with a Walter Richards single and two stolen bases. Ben Waife hit a sacrifice fly for the RBI, followed by two more runs scored by Wyatt Congdon and Dan Martin, closing the gap by the end of the inning to 4-3.

By the end of the 3rd inning the temperature had started to drop and the Porters had put three runs on the board. It looked like the Indians just weren’t catching fire.

In the bottom of the 4th though, things took a turn. Sebastian-Quigley Dunning walked and then stole second. The umpire called a balk on the pitcher and Sebastian moved to third. It got a little hotter when Henry Binder walked, then went for the steal. But somewhere between first and second base, the umpire called time.

He pointed Binder back to first, but Coach Peter Miedema and Assistant Coach Mike Dunning weren’t having it. After some passionate debate and a consultation with the other umpire, Binder stayed put at second.

It was the spark the team needed. Nico Seddio stepped into the box and crushed one deep to right field for a 3-run homer. The bats stayed hot, with Lucas Quigley-Dunning hitting an RBI single, stealing second, advancing to third and then stealing home. Suddenly the Indians were on top 8-7. Matthew Straus singled, stole second and third, and on a dropped pitch, came home.

The Porters brought in a reliever who walked Congdon. Dan Martin stepped in and hit the second home run of the game. The inning ended 11-7 with the Indians comfortably ahead.

In the top of the 5th, Nick Young took the mound. The Porters stroked a couple of singles and then a big hit putting two more on the board. But the bottom of the inning saw a scoring run for the Indians and the Porters never came back.

A Seddio single was followed by a Binder double, a steal of  third and a steal of home. Seddio was on third when Walter Richards delivered the third home run of the day, about as far into the field as you can get, to send the Porters running. The 5th inning ended at 14-9 Indians.

Three dropped pitches in the bottom of the 6th offered the opportunity for three runs by Martin, Binder and Elijah Davidson, bringing the score to 16-9. With Seddio and Young on base, Lucas Quigley-Dunning hit a dropped pop up to left field loading the bases. A Richards single followed by a Straus sacrifice RBI, and the Indians went into the top of the 7th with a score of 18-9, which is where it stayed.

Today’s game (Tuesday) at Greenport is postponed until Thursday.