The 5th Annual HCBL Home Run Derby marked the first time the event had been changed to a new venue. 

The North Fork Ospreys’ home field of Cochran Park in Peconic was the setting for the 2019 Derby, the previous four seasons the event along with the HCBL All-Star Game had been at Baseball Heaven in Yaphank.

The 2019 Derby saw a new format from previous seasons. Eight players competed in a qualifying round with six outs as the top two players got the right to advance to the championship final.

Shelter Island’s John Shields (Lipscomb) and North Fork’s Anthony Fontana (Chipola) were the top two players in the qualifying round.

Shields led all competitors in the qualifying round with five home runs while the home crowd favorite Fontana hit three homers.

In the championship final, Fontana started it off and hit four home runs. Shields in his time up following Fontana would connect on his first four swings to tie Fontana.

Shields needed just one home run with all six outs to play with to win the Derby. Using only two outs, Shields would get his fifth home run and claim the 2019 HCBL Home Run Derby Championship.

Shields became the first player in Bucks history to win the Home Run Derby title.

Qualifying Round

5 John Shields (Shelter Island/Lipscomb)

3 Anthony Fontana (North Fork/Chipola)

2 Robbie Holmes (Southampton/Monmouth)

1 Louis Antos (Riverhead/Queens)

1 Andrew Bates (Sag Harbor/South Alabama)

1 Landon Gray (Westhampton/Tennessee)

1 Sean O’Keefe (Westhampton/Western Michigan)

1 Eric Roubal (Long Island/Queens)

Championship Round

5 John Shields (Shelter Island/Lipscomb)

4 Anthony Fontana (North Fork/Chipola)