Photo Credit: Christine Heeren/Artist Lake Media

Bucks pitcher Max Brulport (Stonehill) pitched his best game of the 2022 HCBL season when his team needed it and came away with his sixth win of the season. Shelter Island remained in the postseason chase with a 3-1 win over the Southampton Breakers.

The game was scoreless through the first six innings as the Shelter Island bats managed seven hits off Breakers pitcher Louis Stallone (High Point) but could not put a run across the plate.

Meanwhile, Brulport was matching Stallone with zeroes on the scoreboard. Brulport did not allow a hit from a Southampton batter through the first six innings.

In the top of the seventh for the Bucks, Drew Sotell (George Washington) led off the inning with a single. Conor Kiely (Stonehill) followed with another single putting runners at first and second for Blake Salamon (Northwood).

Salamon took an 0-1 pitch from Stallone for a double which brought in Sotell and Kiely to score, giving the Bucks the lead. Shelter Island would add another run in the seventh on a bases loaded walk to Billy Sullivan (Southern Connecticut State) as Brulport took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh.

Brulport was three outs away from the potential eighth no-hitter in HCBL history. Following a leadoff walk to Esai Santos (Holy Names), Brulport was able to get the first out in the seventh. Sean Flaherty (Hofstra) would break up the no-hit bid for Brulport with a double. It would be Brulport’s only hit allowed in the game.

AJ Hansen (Villanova) got one run for the Breakers on an RBI groundout that scored Santos but that would be all the offense for Southampton as Brulport pitched his second complete game of the season.

Shelter Island (14-18-3, 31 points) is one point behind fifth-place North Fork (14-16-3, 32 points) for the final playoff spot in the HCBL.

Both teams play the Riverhead Tomcats on the final day of the regular season on Saturday. Southampton faces the Tomcats at 2:00 PM which will be followed by Shelter Island playing Riverhead at around 4:30 PM. Both games will be played at Sgt. Jonathan Keller Field in Calverton.