Photo Credit: Ron Esposito

By Tucker Terranova/Axcess Baseball

If you’ve been following the 2024 Southampton Breakers, nothing about this season should surprise you anymore. Starting with a dismal 1-6 record through the opening week of HCBL action, it seemed Southampton’s season could quickly spiral downward. However, they never lost confidence in their group, finishing the season on a 10-0-1 tear to secure their spot in the dance.

“We started off a little slow, but we saw it from the first day of practice. We have a very talented team top to bottom. From the lineup to the pitching staff, everybody was willing to work,” Championship Series MVP Ty Gilligan (Dominican) told Axcess Baseball.

Today, Southampton had the chance to write the final chapter of their Cinderella story. Down 2-0 and hitless entering the sixth inning, they found themselves in a spot all too familiar.

However, in typical Breaker fashion, when faced with adversity, they never wavered. Responding with eight unanswered runs, they swept the Shelter Island Bucks with an 8-2 victory, securing their fourth HCBL title in franchise history.

“We knew we had the team to do something special from the start, and we were able to get it done,” Gilligan said.

The top of the Shelter Island lineup came out firing in the first inning, roping two singles to kick off the afternoon. Aidan Paradine (Siena) opened the scoring with a fielder’s choice, followed by a double off the center field wall courtesy of Ryan Leclair (Stonehill), giving the Bucks an early 2-0 lead.

The bats took a backseat after the top of the first, as Michael Vilardi (Queens) and Charlie Aurandt (St. Joseph’s LI) settled in, engaging in a classic pitcher’s duel through the sixth inning.

With the top of the order due to face Aurandt for the third time, Southampton finally broke through in the sixth. Joseph Frazzetta (New Haven) shattered the no-hitter with a double to right field and came around to score on a single from his college teammate, Cole Maucere (New Haven).

In what felt like a turning point of the game, Gilligan came up to bat with two on and two outs and made sure both runners wouldn’t be stranded for long. He launched a double off the right-center field wall, giving Southampton a 3-2 lead through six.

“I wanted to simplify my approach at the plate,” Gilligan said. “I was trying to loosen up my hands and play simpler baseball.”

The Breakers offered reliever William Chu (SUNY Maritime) a safety blanket in the seventh and eighth innings, plating five insurance runs. 

Jaxon Murphy (UC Davis) upped the lead to 5-2 in the seventh with a fielder’s choice, scoring Aidan Barry (Villanova).

Capitalizing on two walks and two errors from Shelter Island, the Breakers put the game out of reach with four runs in the eighth. Collin Quintano (Villanova) kicked off the inning with an RBI double to center. He wasn’t on the basepaths for long, as Gilligan stayed hot and scored him with an RBI single. Luke Fisher’s (William & Mary) grounder to third was misplayed by Leclair, leading to a defensive meltdown that brought across two more runs, making it an 8-2 ballgame.

Anthony Pellagrini (Middlebury) came on in relief for Southampton and retired the side in the ninth, queuing a well-deserved dogpile for the Breakers.

The Breakers with the HCBL championship have now won two titles in four seasons and are now tied with the Westhampton Aviators for the most HCBL titles with four.