For the fourth time in franchise history and the second time in three seasons, the South Shore Clippers advanced to the HCBL Championship Series, beating the Southampton Breakers by a score of 13-8 at William Floyd High School.

South Shore brought in the game’s first run in the bottom of the first on a wild pitch that scored Larry Hotaling (Villanova) to lead 1-0. The Breakers would take the lead in the top of the second, getting a pair of runs on an RBI single from Luke Treese (Haverford) and a sacrifice fly by Michael Vilardi (Queens) to lead 2-1.

After that, heavy rain hit William Floyd High School with an hour rain delay before play finally resumed. South Shore would waste no time coming back from the rain delay, scoring four runs in the bottom of the second to take a 5-2 lead.

The Breakers answered in the top of the third when Luke Fisher (NYU) hit an RBI single, cutting the score to 5-3. With two runners on base for Southampton with one out, Alex Apicella (Rowan College at Gloucester) ripped a double that scored a run; however, LF Anthony Armenia (Bridgeport) made a strong relay throw to Hotaling, who threw Derek Diaz (Le Moyne) out at the plate to keep the Clippers in the lead.

Hotaling would step up to bat in the bottom of the fourth with two men on base and hit a three-run home run that gave the Clippers an 8-4 lead. South Shore added another run in the fifth on a wild pitch that scored James Eden (Adelphi) to make the score 9-4.

Apicella would get the Breakers back in the game in the top of the seventh with a two-run single that cut the score to 9-6. South Shore would put the game away, scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh, highlighted by a two-run homer from Ryan Adams (St. John’s) and a run in the eighth to lead 13-6 going into the ninth inning.

Southampton would get two runs in the ninth on a two-run single from Treese, but Sebastian Lippman (Georgia Tech) would get the final out, sending South Shore back to the HCBL Championship Series.

Hotaling finished the day with two hits, three runs scored, two stolen bases, and four RBI in Game 2. Hotaling, who made several standout defensive plays on the day, finished the series with a home run, eight RBI, and four stolen bases.

KJ Lavoie (St. Rose), who pitched in relief for the Clippers after the rain delay, earned the win, going five innings in relief.

South Shore will look to win its third HCBL championship, having won it in 2017 as the Long Island Road Warriors and in 2023 as the South Shore Clippers. The Clippers will await the winner of the North Fork/Sag Harbor Semifinal series in Game 1 on Monday.