The Sag Harbor Whalers celebrated the Fourth of July in explosive fashion at Mashashimuet Park, erupting for 16 runs on just 7 hits and shattering a Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League single-game record with 20 walks in a 16-6 rout of the Shelter Island Bucks on Thursday afternoon.

Sag Harbor (now 8-8-3) wasted no time putting pressure on the Shelter Island pitching staff, scoring two runs in the first inning before exploding for eight more in the second, capitalizing on a combination of free passes, hit batters, and timely hits. The Bucks (now 9-10) used four pitchers, but none could find the strike zone consistently, issuing walk after walk as the Whalers pulled away early.

The Whalers’ offense didn’t need much help but got key contributions from several players:

• Dylan Kennedy-Fujah (St. John’s) drove in two runs and stole a base.
   

• Chris Morabito (Bucknell) doubled, singled, and knocked in two runs.
   

• Kieran Shea (St. John’s) drove in three, including a sacrifice fly.
   

• Jaxon Beiswenger (Bucknell) doubled and drove in two.
   

• Derek Desmarais (Tufts) doubled and collected two RBI.
   

Every member of the Whalers lineup either scored a run, drew a walk, or contributed in some way to the offensive outburst. Jared Shear scored three times without recording a hit, walking four times and stealing a base.

On the mound, Nick Carparelli (Rhode Island College) earned his first win of the season, pitching four innings and allowing three runs on five hits. Adam Gross (Raritan Valley CC) pitched the fifth inning while Will Darrell (Vassar) pitched the sixth. The bullpen worked around two hit batters and several errors to close out the mercy-shortened six-inning contest.

The Bucks briefly closed the gap with three runs in the third and another three-run fifth, highlighted by an RBI double from Mikey Rodriguez (Mount St. Mary’s) and an RBI hit-by-pitch to Willie Landman (St. Lawrence) with the bases loaded. But they couldn’t overcome the control issues on the mound.

In all, Whalers hitters walked 20 times, breaking the previous HCBL single-game record for walks in a game by a team. They also stole 10 bases, making the most of every baserunner.

Shelter Island will look to bounce back in its next outing on Saturday against the Ospreys. Sag Harbor hopes this offensive outburst sparks a strong second half of the season when they play the Westhampton Aviators at home on Saturday.