5 Photos
Jack Halloran (Emory) is congratulated by first base coach and teammate Michael DiForte after a base hit. DREW BUDD
Jack Halloran (Emory) is congratulated by first base coach and teammate Michael DiForte after a base hit. DREW BUDD
North Fork Ospreys manager Jeramiah Arneson checks out his starting pitcher Jake Halloran (Hofstra) after taking a line drive off his pitching arm. Halloran stayed in the game and wound up throwing the first four innings. DREW BUDD
Teo Torrado (Gettysburg) twirled five shut out innings for the Aviators in their wild card game on Sunday, which they won, 7-3, over the North Fork Ospreys. DREW BUDD
Sean Keys (Bucknell) drove in four runs in Sunday's wild card game victory and hit one of two home runs for the Aviators. DREW BUDD
It wasn’t too long ago that Jack Halloran was watching the Westhampton Aviators win the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League Championships.
And now he’s got a chance to be a part of one himself.
On Sunday afternoon, Halloran, a 2021 Westhampton Beach High School graduate, helped lead the Aviators to a 7-3 victory over the North Fork Ospreys in the HCBL wild card game on the same field he played his varsity career on. The victory allowed Westhampton, which finished fourth in the HCBL regular season standings, to continue in the postseason and began a best-of-three semifinal series against the top-seeded South Shore Clippers on Tuesday afternoon. Game two of that series was Wednesday in Westhampton, and if a third game is needed it will be Thursday at the Clippers home field at Bellport High School.
The second-seeded Sag Harbor Whalers are taking on the third-seeded Southampton Breakers in the other semifinal series that also began on Tuesday. The second game was Wednesday in Southampton with the third game, if necessary, at Mashashimuet Park in Sag Harbor on Thursday. All games have a first pitch of 4 p.m.
The winners of the semifinal series will advance to the best-of-three HCBL Championship Series which is expected to begin on Friday and will play throughout the weekend.
Halloran, who plays college ball at Emory University, went 2 for 3 with a walk, a pair of RBIs and a run scored in Sunday’s victory. He’s looking forward to helping the team he grew up watching succeed in the postseason.
“It’s a huge experience because growing up as a kid you look out on the field and they look like MLB stars,” he said. “To be able to play with these guys and realize that they’re really good ballplayers and you’re one of them, too, it’s a dream come true for me.”
Teo Torrado (Gettysburg) started on the mound in a must-win situation for the Aviators and came through with five shut out innings, allowing just one hit and three walks while striking out five. He gave a lot of credit to the hometown kid in Halloran who is tied for the league lead in home runs (5) and leads the league in RBIs (30).
“I mean, hell, he’s a leader,” Torrado said. “I know that because he does it all, really. Absolute joy to have him behind me on the field when I’m pitching. He’s just the man.”
Solo home runs by Tyler Smith (Saint Peters) and Sean Keys (Bucknell) gave the Aviators a 2-0 lead after four innings, then Halloran drove in his first run of the game on a base hit to left field which made it 3-0. Westhampton broke the game open with four runs in the seventh inning, which Halloran was in the middle of. He was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded that forced a run in, then Keys mashed a bases-clearing double to make it a 7-1 ball game. Keys finished with a game-high four RBIs.
Torrado said familiarity with the North Fork lineup from having faced it so many times this season certainly helped him on the mound.
“Fortunately for me, we’ve played them a lot of times, so I could watch their at bats a little bit and got familiar with the top guys in their lineup and their swings and what not,” he explained. “You have to attack. And when you get ahead, they’re going to have some vulnerabilities — which if you can find that, you’re going to exploit it. Got the job done.”
Westhampton has fluctuated in the standings throughout the season, having been at the bottom earlier in the season to first place for a handful of days in the final two weeks. Losing three in a row down the final stretch dropped the Aviators down to fourth place and into the wild card game with North Fork, but they’re confident they can play with anyone in the league.
“I believe that we are the best team in this league,” manager Jason Jacome said. “We should have a good chance at winning this thing if we get out there and hit and pitch.”
Halloran called the team’s short skid at the end of the season an eye-opener, but everyone seems to be on board now going forward and his team has played the Clippers hard all season long.
“They have great pitching, maybe some of the best in the league, but I think our bats have shown that we can compete against anyone,” he said. “As long as we’re on our game and attacking, I think we’ll be able to put up a good fight against them.”
