The South Shore Clippers staged a thrilling late rally to stun the Southampton Breakers, 8-7, on Tuesday evening at William Floyd High School, capping their comeback with a walk-off home run by James Eden (Adelphi) in the bottom of the seventh.

Southampton struck first, plating four runs in the top of the first inning, fueled by a three-run home run off the bat of catcher Brett Walmsley (Delaware), his third of the summer. The Breakers added a run in the second and another in the fourth to take a 6-3 lead, taking advantage of South Shore defensive miscues and an RBI single by Luke Treese (Haverford).

Clippers starter Kevin Brown (Wesleyan) struggled early, allowing five runs (just one earned) in two innings, before giving way to KJ Lavoie (St. Rose), who settled things down with five solid innings of relief, allowing two runs (one earned) and striking out four to earn his first win of the season.

Despite trailing, South Shore stayed within striking distance thanks to power hitting. Larry Hotaling (Villanova) ripped a two-run double in the bottom of the third. The Clippers would get a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth on a double steal that scored Anthony Armenia (Bridgeport) and a sacrifice fly from Jake Acker (Wesleyan).

In the bottom of the seventh, Armenia batted with one out against Southampton reliever Andrew Steinhubel (Nichols) and crushed a solo home run to make it a 7-6 contest. After a walk to Wilkinson, Eden stepped to the plate and delivered the decisive blow, launching a two-run walk-off homer, his first of the summer, over the fence to complete the comeback and send the Clippers bench pouring onto the field in celebration.

Eden finished with two hits, two RBI, and two runs scored, while Armenia reached base three times and drove in a pair, helping the Clippers to a six-hit performance. On the mound, Lavoie’s steady hand over five innings allowed South Shore to rally.

For Southampton, Treese had a three-hit day and swiped a base, while Sean Sweeney (Binghamton) stole three bases and scored twice. Starter Brody Minder (West Chester) was strong through five innings, allowing just one earned run.