By Tucker Terranova/Axcess Baseball

It had been 13 summers since the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League (HCBL) and Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League (ACBL) last faced off in an All-Star Game. It was well worth the wait.

In front of hundreds of fans at the Sag Harbor Whalers’ beautiful home field, Mashashimuet Park, the HCBL All-Stars held off the ACBL, winning 8-5 after Everett Gerber (Bucknell) stranded the tying run aboard in the ninth inning with a strikeout.

Though the game was an exhibition, the competitive energy was clear in both dugouts as both teams wanted to win for their league.

“There was a ton of great competition out there today,” said Collin Quintano (Villanova), who was named All-Star Game MVP. “A ton of great arms — just an awesome game.”

The Hamptons bats set the tone early, taking a 1-0 lead in the first. Luke Treese (Haverford) worked a six-pitch walk, and last year’s MVP, Nick Pratt (UMBC), singled him to third. Quintano then lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center field to open the scoring.

With a run of support, Diego Sarabia (Bates) threw another scoreless frame in the second. HCBL rewarded their starter’s effort in the bottom half when Billy Fluharty (Bucknell) dribbled an infield single along the third base line, making it 2-0.

The HCBL’s early clutch pitching continued in the third as Andrew Houghton (Cornell) worked around the middle of the ACBL lineup, ending the inning with a chopped grounder to third.

The ACBL bats responded in the fourth to even the score. Dom LaFroscia (St. Joseph’s-Long Island) drove a sacrifice fly to center to cut the lead in half, and Colin Brosnan (Barry) won a seven-pitch, two-out battle with a single through the 5-6 hole to tie the game.

After Brian Espinal (Pace) threw a scoreless fifth for the HCBL, his offense took the lead back. Pratt reached on an infield single and advanced to second on the throw, bringing up Quintano with a chance to deliver again.

The HCBL RBI leader with 32 on the season did what he knows best and delivered a ground-rule double to right-center field, putting the HCBL up 3-2 and collecting his second RBI of the afternoon.

“I’ve been up at the plate with a lot of confidence,” Quintano said of his historic 2025 season. “My head coach, Rob Cafiero, has been helping me out a ton, and his tips have been helping me see the ball better.”

Quintano later came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Alex Apicella (Rowan Gloucester), and Tim Ford (Fordham) singled home Mikey Brunetti, extending the lead to 5-2 heading to the sixth.

The HCBL added another run in the seventh. James Fagnant (Richmond) chopped a grounder to short that was mishandled, pushing the lead to 6-2.

It looked as if the Hamptons would cruise, but the ACBL rallied in the eighth.

With runners on the corners and one out, Tristan Govea (Felician) hit a chopper to first, bringing in a run. Another scored on a wild pitch before Kyle Brindisi (Holy Family) lined a single to shallow center, inches in front of the diving Dylan Kennedy-Fujah’s (St. John’s) glove, trimming the deficit to 6-5.

The drama didn’t end there. In the ninth, Max Casazza (Kean) reached on a single and advanced to third after a pickoff attempt sailed past first base, putting the tying run 90 feet away.

HCBL’s Gerber faced the challenge. After freezing Matthew Ryan (Adelphi) with a fastball for the second out, Garber walked Kyle Scheurer (Lynn) and worked the count full against Anthony DePetro (Pace) before locking up the win with a back-door breaking ball.

“That was huge from Everett,” Quintano said. “Seeing him pitch like that was great, and it gave everyone around him confidence that he could get the job done.”

The HCBL added two insurance runs in the bottom of the ninth on a throwing error and wild pitch to cap the scoring.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ALL-STAR GAME BOXSCORE

CLICK HERE TO WATCH TUCKER TERRANOVA'S POSTGAME INTERVIEW WITH COLLIN QUINTANO FOR AXCESS BASEBALL