In 2011, two familiar foes met in the Hamptons championship series – Westhampton and North Fork – and they didn't disappoint.
Westhampton didn't capture the No. 1 seed in the playoffs until the 11th hour on the final day of the regular season. The Aviators needed help from Riverhead and got it when the Tomcats stormed back to beat Southampton. That set up semifinals that pitted Westhampton against Sag Harbor, and Southampton against North Fork.
Westhampton and North Fork prevailed in the one-game semis, setting up a rematch of the 2009 title series, which Westhampton took in three games. The Aviators captured game one at home, 6-2, and then had to hang on in game two. Ray Ortega (Manhattan) belted a solo homer to break a 3-all tie in the seventh inning, and Brandon Kuter (George Mason), who set the HCB single-season saves record, slammed the door in the ninth, working around a leadoff single and holding his breath when a long fly ball by Ryan Brockett (New Haven) went foul.
Westhampton knocked off Lehigh Valley in the ACBL semifinals behind a strong start from right-hander Blake Bagley (Texas State), but it was unable to hoist its second league title in three seasons, falling to Staten Island in the title game.
Perhaps no player in Hamptons history had a year like Westhampton's Kevin Heller (Amherst). The rising senior at Amherst socked an HCB record 11 homers, breaking the mark of 10 hit by Riverhead's Peter Greskoff (Brown) in 2009. Heller also led the Aviators in batting average (.319), hits (45), doubles (11) and walks (16), and he was second in the team in steals (16).
On the mound, Chris Phelan (Farmingdale State) was a whale of a midseason pickup for Southampton, going 4-0 with a 0.68 earned run average. It included three complete games, including a 10-inning, 82-pitch gem at Sag Harbor.
Brockett won the division batting title with a .356 average, just edging the Tomcats' Frank Schwindel (St. John's).
