Hamptons Collegiate Baseball

Westhampton - Even summer ball is often viewed as relief from the daily strain of the spring collegiate season – and rightfully so to a point – one couldn’t have argued that on Monday. The Kaiser Division championship was at stake, and the Westhampton Aviators and North Fork Ospreys, two-fifths of the teams that make up the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball organization, had come too far to let the aches and pains from the arduous path to the decisive third game show on the field.

With a virtuoso performance in the works by Mike Mandarino on the mound, the second-seeded Aviators tried mightily to shake the pesky Ospreys and finally did in the latter innings. Westhampton pushed four runs across in the eighth to let the drama subside, and when Peter Budkevics induced a lineout for the 27th and final out, the Aviator bench poured out onto the field to celebrate a 7-1 victory that secured the 2009 division title.

The teams split a doubleheader in Peconic on Sunday, with North Fork scoring four runs in the eighth – including three on a homer by Adam Clear (San Francisco) – to win the opener 7-6. The Aviators answered with a convincing 9-2 triumph under the lights, pushing the best-of-three series to the distance. With a win Monday, Westhampton advances to the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League title game where it will face the champion from the Wolff Division, which consists of teams from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and upstate New York. Regular season champ Jersey doubled up No. 4 Quakertown 2-1; in the other semifinal on Monday, Lehigh Valley swung its way to an 8-1 victory over three-time defending league champ Kutztown. The Pilots and Catz will square off in a best-of-three series beginning tomorrow.

For the complete story, visit: www.hamptons.com/Sports/Top-Stories/8493/Aviators-Soar-To-Division-Championship-With-Game.html