Photo Credits: Sophia Wallick

For only the third time in the history of the HCBL Championship Series and for the first time since 2013 the two low seeds in the HCBL playoffs will meet for the league championship as third-seeded Shelter Island plays fourth-seeded Southampton.

Shelter Island comes into the HCBL Championship Series having beaten the North Fork Ospreys in a dramatic Game 2 of their Semifinal series in 13 innings on Friday. Southampton enters into the HCBL Championship Series having gone 8-0-1 in their last nine games including their sweep of Sag Harbor in the Semifinals.

Shelter Island is making their first appearance in the HCBL Championship Series since 2015 when they swept the Westhampton Aviators in two games. This is their third appearance in the HCBL Championship Series having lost their first appearance to Southampton in 2014.

The Bucks come into the HCBL Championship Series with a regular season record of 20-16. The Bucks hit .284 as a team during the regular season with 17 home runs and 216 RBI.

John Gannon (St. Lawrence) was the top run producer for Shelter Island during the regular season hitting .326 with five home runs. Gannon drove in 32 RBI which ranked him second in the HCBL behind triple-crown winner Jack Gold (Pomona-Pitzer) of Sag Harbor.

Josh Endo (Southwestern) provided a lot of offense for the Shelter Island lineup as he batted .324 in the regular season with 26 RBI.

A potent bat in the Shelter Island lineup is outfield JD Stemhagen (Manhattan) who had a .321 batting average with two home runs and 21 RBI in the regular season. Stemhagen was selected as an HCBL All-Star where he had two RBI in the All-Star Game and was an HCBL Player of the Week back in Week 1.

Shelter Island’s starting pitching is a key reason why they are in the HCBL Championship Series. Aiden Urbom (Dakota St.) and Noah Terzo (Lesley) are two pitchers to look out for. Urbom was 4-0 in the regular season for the Bucks with a 2.81 ERA with 27 strikeouts. Terzo was 3-0 with a save for Shelter Island during the regular season in 25.1 innings pitched.

Southampton enters the HCBL Championship Series with a regular season record of 17-17-2 after starting the season with a 1-6 record. The Breakers are making their fourth trip to the HCBL Championship Series having won in all three appearances in 2012, 2014, and 2021. The Breakers would tie the Westhampton Aviators for the most HCBL championships with a fourth. The Breakers are also trying to be the first four seed to win the HCBL Championship Series.

Southampton’s lineup in the regular season was led by Collin Quintano (Villanova) who hit .344 during the season with three home runs and 25 RBI.

A solid bat for Southampton in the bottom of the lineup all year has been Joseph Frazzetta (New Haven). Frazzetta was a .377 hitter with 20 RBI for the Breakers in the regular season. Frazzetta earned HCBL Player of the Week honors back in Week 4.

A late addition in July for Southampton was Cole Maucere (New Haven). Maucere a second-year Breaker having played in the 2023 season appeared in 15 games in July and had some power for Southampton with five home runs and 20 RBI. Maucere had a six-RBI game for the Breakers on July 10th against the Westhampton Aviators.

The Breakers will have some speed on the bases in the Championship Series with Tim Hennig (Binghamton) who has 20 stolen bases in the regular season. Hennig is heading into the series with Shelter Island coming off hitting a three-run home run for the Breakers in Game 2 of their Semifinal series with Sag Harbor.

Southampton pitching is coming off limiting top-seeded Sag Harbor to just one run in 18 innings in the HCBL Semifinals. Kyle Kearns (West Chester) is going to be one Breakers pitcher to keep an eye on having allowed just one hit in his last start against Shelter Island back on July 21st in a 5-0 win.

Anthony Pellagrini (Middlebury) will provide a lot of help for the Southampton Bullpen having not allowed a run in seven of his eight appearances this season including the postseason. In Game 2 of the HCBL Semifinals, Pellagrini did not allow a hit in two innings against the Whalers as the Breakers finished the sweep of Sag Harbor.

Southampton won the regular season series with Shelter Island 5-3 having won the last two games with Shelter Island on July 20th and 21st during the Breakers' current streak of nine games without a loss.

The 2024 HCBL Championship Series starts on Sunday, July 29th at 4 PM at Fiske Field in Shelter Island. Live audio coverage of the HCBL Championship Series can be heard on Meridix.com by clicking the “listen live” link on the top right of the hamptonsbaseball.org front page.