HCBL Playoffs Are Set; Pichardo Launches First-Ever HCBL Home Run Hit by Female; Aviator Keys Heads to the Cape

The field for this year’s Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League’s playoffs is set.

The Westhampton Aviators, who earned the top seed after going 21-11-2 during the regular season, will play the Southampton Breakers (16-17-1), who earned the fourth and final seed after sweeping the Shelter Island Bucks in a doubleheader on Saturday. The defending champion Sag Harbor Whalers (19-15) also set up their postseason destiny on Saturday with a sweep of the Aviators, earning themselves the second seed. They will host the South Shore Clippers, who finished 18-14-2 to earn the third seed.

Each semifinal series is a best-of-three format that began on Tuesday at the higher seed’s home location. Game two of each series was Wednesday, and the third games will be played, if necessary, on Thursday. The HCBL Championship Series, which also follows a best-of-three format, will start on Saturday. All games are slated to begin at 4 p.m.

Three of the top four seeds in the playoffs were all about locked up until the final weekend of the regular season, a testament to the parity among the league. The fourth spot was more or less going to be earned either by the Breakers or the Shelter Island Bucks, who were close in on the Breakers’ tail the final week.

Just reaching the postseason was a feat in and of itself for Southampton, after being ravaged by injuries all summer, and it started in game one. Louis Stallone, coming into the season as the team’s ace after a successful run with the team last year, suffered an elbow injury in the first game of the season and never really returned after that, which started a situation that spiraled the team into a bout of some serious injuries. One player suffered a compound fracture of his ankle that required a medevac helicopter. Another pair of position players suffered severe hamstring injuries that ended their seasons short. More players left due to other obligations or opportunities elsewhere. Southampton manager Rob Cafiero said he’s pretty much had a makeshift lineup for several weeks, and, due to that, he’s happy to see the team reach the playoffs, where anything can happen.

Part of the team’s success, Cafiero said, has been from being able to sign local talent along the way. That includes a pair of familiar faces who have played for the Breakers before, in Water Mill resident Chad Pike and Hampton Bays resident Andrew Smith. Another part of the team’s success, Cafiero added, was that, outside of Stallone’s injury, the pitching staff, which came into the season with a lot of talent, has been able to stay intact. John Kwiatkowski, the 6-foot-6-inch lefty out of Manhattan College, is among the league leaders in multiple pitching categories, including wins (4) and ERA (0.78). Jacob Pedersen (Adelphi) leads the league in saves (6) and has only allowed one earned run all season in nearly 16 innings pitched. Steven Hardiman (Bentley) is among the league’s strikeout leaders, while other pitchers like Michael Gatti (New Haven) have been a steady presence taking the ball when they’re expected to.

“It’s almost like we started out the season with one team, and are finishing it with a completely different team. At least, that’s what it feels like,” Cafiero said. “Luckily, our pitching staff stayed healthy, and has held up for us. We’ve had some really good games. We’ve also had some really awful games this season, but I am very happy we were able to sneak into that last playoff spot.”

Pichardo Makes History

Olivia Pichardo became the first female in the history of the HBCL to hit a home run, when she smacked a two-run home run in Westhampton Beach on Saturday. Pichardo turned on a 3-1 pitch, and sent a line drive over the fence in right field, which broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fifth inning of the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday against the Aviators, that they went on to win, 8-6.

Keys Handed Over to Cape

The Westhampton Aviators will be without, arguably, their best player for their playoff run after third baseman Sean Keys (Bucknell) was given his unconditional release by the HCBL after Saturday’s games so he could play with one of the most famed summer college baseball leagues, the Cape Cod League. Keys was having an MVP-type season for the Aviators, batting .367 with 11 home runs and 34 RBI just prior to his release. His 11 homers were just two away from tying the single season home run record of 13 set in 2016 by another Aviator, Aaron Ping (San Francisco). And, for what it’s worth, he was just one homer away from tying the previous high of 12, set in 2012 by Riverhead Tomcat Josh Mason (William & Mary).

HCBL President Sandi Kruel went back and forth on whether she should grant Keys his release or not. At the end of the day, she stood by her mantra of doing what’s right by the player, which could ultimately pay dividends down the road for both Keys and the league. Keys will likely play a full summer in the Cape next year, Kruel said, which will increase his chances of getting drafted, thus adding to the already long list of players who have played in the HCBL and reached the majors.

The HCBL has always sent a handful of players to the Cape, but it’s always been after the conclusion of the entire season. Now, the Cape Cod League ends on August 2, much earlier than its previous end date of August 15, Kruel said, so now is the time it’s looking for players. After a conversation with Todd Pratt, the former Major Leaguer who is now the commissioner of the Sunbelt Baseball League, Kruel knew deep down it was the right thing to do.

“I had to let him go,” Kruel said. “They were touting him, calling his college coach, and rightfully so. Along with Jack Halloran, he’s another one of my favorite players in the league. Those two are special kids. I have very, very high hopes for the both of them. They were a great tag team duo for Westhampton, and both are extremely very special young men. Their parents and their coaches throughout the years have done right by them. They are what you want to see in a baseball player.

“When I told him I would release him, I teared up,” she added. “I’ve had him and Jack for the last two years, and they’re the heart and soul of the Westhampton Aviators. At the end of the day, it was the right thing for him to do and I was at peace with it. Of course, I spoke to his coach, Jason Jacome, who obviously wanted him for his playoff run, but he also said he’s got to go.”

Ethan Guerra (Paris JC) became the all-time single season record holder for RBI for the Aviators last week. His two RBI in Sunday’s regular-season finale gave him 45 RBI on the season. He had broke the previous mark of 41, originally set by Ross Puskarich (San Francisco) in 2016, with a pair in one of the two games played on Saturday.