Hamptons Collegiate Baseball

With a sweep of Southampton and a little help from Sag Harbor, the North Fork Ospreys captured the Kaiser Division regular season title on Thursday night at packed Cochran Park.

In completing a suspended game with the Breakers, North Fork got a lift from Rocco Gondek (Sacred Heart), whose two-run homer in the 12th broke a 3-3 tie. In the second game, Gondek homered again, and Mike Gastelum (St. Mary’s) socked a two-run single late for a 5-4 win. Southampton trailed by four runs until scratching a run in the seventh and then plating two more in the ninth on a home run by Billy Boockford (Notre Dame).

The win, paired with Westhampton’s 5-0 loss to the Whalers, gave the Ospreys home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. North Fork opens up the playoffs against Riverhead and ace Nick Tropeano (Stony Brook) on Saturday night at Cochran Park at 7 p.m. Should the Ospreys prevail, they'll host the winner of the Southampton/Westhampton semifinal on Sunday for a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. Whichever team survives the best-of-three division championship series will host the ACBL title game thanks to the Kaiser Division's 11-0 All-Star Game on July 12 at St. John's University.