Victory On Monday Clinches First Ever Class A Postseason Berth For Southampton Baseball

The Southampton baseball team is heading to the Suffolk County Class A playoffs after a 2-0 victory at home over Babylon on Monday. It’s the first time the Mariners have qualified for the postseason as a Class A team after being a Class B team the past several years.

Southampton scored its two runs in the fourth inning of Monday’s game off a fielder’s choice from Johnny Navan. Jem Sisco let those two runs hold up, striking out eight and scattering four walks in a one-hit, complete-game shutout. The Mariners improved to 10-3 in League VIII and remained in a tie with Mattituck, which defeated Mercy, 5-1, on Monday.

Southampton salvaged its three-game series against Mattituck last week with a 6-1 victory in the finale on Thursday, April 20. Chad Pike allowed three hits and struck out seven in the complete game. Devon O’Brien led the offense, going 4 for 4 with a two-run home run and a two-run double. He drove in five of Southampton’s six runs. Sisco went 2 for 4 with three runs scored.

Southampton was shut out the first two games of the series. It lost the first game, 10-0, on April 17. The Mariners were only able to get one hit which came on the very first pitch of the game.

In game two on April 19, Southampton was a bit unlucky, taking a 3-0 loss in extra innings. Navan appeared to have hit a home run in the second inning, but, the home plate umpire called it a ground-rule double after he thought he saw the ball bounce over the fence. That wound up being the only hit for the Mariners and Navan was stranded on base.

Southampton head coach Scott Johnson said the ball was clearly over the fence by about six or eight feet and that his team should have won the game, 1-0. But he noted it’s a tough call to make.

“The home plate umpire makes the call in that instance because the umpire in the field is making sure the runner touches first base,” he explained. “So the play is 350 to 360 feet away. It’s tough to get out and see that.”

In the top of the eighth, Mattituck had a baserunner on third and attempted a suicide squeeze. The batter missed the pitch and the baserunner was caught in a pickle. The Mariners threw the ball into left field during the run-down, allowing the Mattituck baserunner to score the go-ahead run. The Tuckers tacked on two more runs to make up the final score.

Southampton and Mattituck have one more game scheduled against one another on Wednesday, May 10, in Southampton at 4:30 p.m. There are a handful of games to be played between now and then, but it could be the deciding game for the league title. The Mariners still have to get through a tough Babylon team this week. Game two of the series was Wednesday, with game three in Southampton on Thursday, April 27, at 4:30 p.m.

Softball

It’s been a tough go of late for the Southampton softball team. The team hasn’t won a game since Virginia McGovern stepped down as head coach on April 4, a string of seven games. The most recent was a 5-2 loss at home to Bayport/Blue Point on Monday, which officially put the Lady Mariners out of contention for the playoffs.

Southampton (2-10 League IX) also lost, 4-3, at cross-town rival Hampton Bays on Thursday, April 20, and suffered a 12-0 loss at home on April 19. The Lady Mariners didn’t go down without a fight in the loss at Hampton Bays. They came back to tie the game, 3-3, with two runs in the top of the sixth inning, but the Lady Baymen regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Taylor Pike reached base in the top of the seventh for the Lady Mariners but she couldn’t get the past first.

The Lady Mariners played at Rocky Point on Wednesday and are scheduled to play at Amityville on Thursday, April 27, at 4:30 p.m.