By Tucker Terranova/Axcess Baseball

In a game where the top of the Westhampton Aviators’ lineup combined for seven hits, the most memorable knock of the afternoon came from the nine-hitter. 

With a chance to walk off an action-packed finale to the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League (HCBL) first half, Jakob Chavez (Paradise Valley CC) flared a single to left field, scoring Grant Kennedy (Richmond) and giving the Aviators an 8-7 win over the Sag Harbor Whalers.

“I hit a ball hard last at-bat, so I was feeling good,” Chavez said after the game. “I was expecting a fastball there and got my pitch.” 

With the win, the Aviators finish the first half on a three-game winning streak, a much-needed boost after a rocky start to their campaign. 

Anthony Butkevicius (Salem St.) got the ball for Westhampton and immediately ran into trouble, issuing a hit-by-pitch and a walk to the top of Sag Harbor’s order. After rebounding to hold the Whalers scoreless in the first, Butkevicius’ offense rewarded him with some early run support. HCBL All-Star selection Mikey Brunetti (Bradley) and Andrew Grenert (Pima CC) opened the frame with consecutive singles. Tim Ford (Fordham) followed with a walk, and Grant Dalton (Lackawanna) plated Brunetti with a chopper to first. 

Butkevicius responded to his new lead, settling in with a scoreless 1-2-3 second inning. 

However, the Whalers’ offense broke through in the third, plating five runs to take the lead. 

After loading the bases with no outs, Tyler Sirchia (Dartmouth) skied a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Mario Cubello (St. John Fisher) to even the score. Kieran Shea (St. John’s) followed by plating fellow Johnnie Dylan Kennedy-Fujah with a laced RBI single to center, giving the Whalers the lead. Ethan Righter (Hamilton) kept the scoring going, plating a run on a grounder to short, and two more crossed as Kennedy-Fujah and Matteo Cubello (St. Anselm) scored on walks. 

The Aviator bats didn’t take long to respond. Ford followed consecutive hits from Brunetti and Grenert by launching a two-RBI double into left-center field. He came around to score on a groundout, cutting the deficit to 5-4. 

“They started off the game great and kept that same energy throughout,” Chavez said of the trio of Brunetti, Grenert, and Ford. 

Westhampton loaded the bases with two outs, looking to even the score, but Will Darrell (Vassar) made sure that wouldn’t happen, inducing a groundout to preserve Sag Harbor’s lead. 

Westhampton found itself in an identical spot in the bottom of the fourth as Brunetti, Grenert, and Ford loaded the bases with three consecutive singles. After Brody Sprinkle (Azusa Pacific) drew a walk to even the score, Dalton gave the Aviators the lead with a sacrifice fly to center — his third RBI of the contest. 

Dylan Johnson (St. John’s) came on with the task of holding onto the Aviators’ advantage and did just that. After escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fourth, Johnson worked a clean fifth and sixth in quality relief work. 

Ford provided Johnson with some extra insurance in the sixth, launching a solo homer to dead center and extending Westhampton’s lead to 7-5. 

“We had good swings all day, and Tim’s home run was big for us,” said Chavez. 

With emotions running high and Sag Harbor down to its final strike, Kennedy-Fujah roped a run-scoring single back up the middle, cutting the lead to 7-6. Once again down to their final strike, Matteo Cubello played hero, lining an RBI double into right-center field to tie it up. 

Mounting a rally of their own, Westhampton got Kennedy to third before Chavez’s flared single sent the Aviator faithful home happy. 

Westhampton improves to 10-16, sitting sixth in the standings, while Sag Harbor falls to 10-11-4, good for fourth place. 

There’s still plenty of time for the Aviators to make a playoff push — something Chavez has full faith in. 

“If we throw strikes and play clean defense, we can beat anybody.” 

The two teams will kick off their second-half schedules with a rematch at the Bridgehampton School this Sunday, with first pitch slated for 2 p.m.