Heading into 2014 the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League season saw a few changes. After the departure of the Center Moriches Battlecats following the 2013 season, the HCBL would make their mark on the end of Long Island with the arrival of the expansion Montauk Mustangs. The Mustangs in their first season were led by GM Robert Aspenleiter while the managerial reigns were handed to University of Tampa assistant coach Jason Szafarski. The Mustangs instantly became a huge draw upon their arrival, attracting big crowds to home games at Montauk Public School. Another new field joined the HCBL in 2014 as the Riverhead Tomcats moved into their new home in Calverton at Sgt. Jonathan Keller Field.
The HCBL's 2014 pennant race was filled with drama going into the final day of the regular season. All four playoff teams (North Fork, Sag Harbor, Shelter Island and Southampton) were tied going into play on the final day at 21-18. The Southampton Breakers and Sag Harbor Whalers would end up at the end of the day being tied for the best regular season record at 22-18. Southampton by virtue of winning the regular season series of Sag Harbor claimed the #1 seed, capping off an eight-game winning streak for the Breakers at the end of the regular season. Shelter Island and North Fork were tied at 21-19 for the remaining two playoff seeds, Shelter Island ended up with the #3 seed winning their tiebreaker with North Fork who in turn got the #4 seed.
The semi-final rounds in the playoffs saw two consecutive two-game sweeps. In the #1 vs. #4 semi-final, Southampton took Game 1 over North Fork behind the pitching of Mark Wilson (St. Peters) who tossed a complete game allowing just one run on seven hits in a 7-1 Breakers win. Mitchell McGeein (Eastern Michigan) led the Southampton hitting in Game 1 with a three-run double in the third inning, an RBI double in the fifth and a solo homerun in the seventh, finishing the day 3-for-4 with 5 RBI. McGeein would continue his efficiency at the plate in Game 2 going 3-for-5 with a homerun and three RBI as Southampton swept the series defeating the Ospreys 6-4.
In the #2-#3 semi-final, Shelter Island responded to a two-run Sag Harbor first inning to score 11 unanswered runs taking Game 1 on the road 11-2. Jimmy Jack (Loyola Marymount), Troy Scocca (Fairfield) and Brian Kraft (Grand Canyon) all homered for the Bucks in the Game 1 victory. In Game 2 at Shelter Island with the Bucks trailing Sag Harbor 4-0, Scocca hit a three-run homerun in the bottom of the sixth to cut the deficit to 4-3. In the seventh inning, Shelter Island took the lead for good on RBI's from Kyle Bartleman (Columbia) and Will Savage (Columbia). Jackson Bubala (Dartmouth) got the last six outs as the Bucks advanced to their first HCBL Championship Series.
The 2014 HCBL Championship Series opened with a classic pitcher's duel between Shelter Island's Max Watt (Lynn) and Southampton's Tim Ingram (SUNY Old Westbury). A three-run Breakers third inning rally would be all the run support Ingram needed as he tossed a complete game shutout allowing just four hits in a 3-0 win. Watt despite the loss, tossed eleven strikeouts for the Bucks while walking just one batter.
Southampton jumped to an early lead in Game 2 on a three-run homerun by Kyle Smith (Vanderbilt), the Breakers added two runs in the fourth on a Donovan May (Villanova) double to lead 5-0. The Bucks however would not go quietly, rallying for four runs in the fifth and then tying the game in the eighth on an RBI fielder's choice from Steven Pinales (Sullivan County CC). In the bottom of the ninth, the Bucks had the bases loaded and one out but the Breakers would get out of the jam to send the game to extra innings. In the top of the tenth, McGeein gave the Breakers the lead hitting a solo homerun off Bubala who did not allow a single earned run all season. The Breakers added another run in the inning and that was all Southampton needed as Nick Liegi (Binghamton) shut the door in the bottom half of the tenth to give Southampton their second HCBL title in three years. McGeein for his spectacular hitting in the postseason was named the Championship Series MVP.
The 2014 HCBL MVP award went to Riverhead's Mike Donadio (St. John's) who led the league in hitting with a batting average of .378 while being ranked in the Top 5 in hits (2nd; 48), OBP (2nd; .460), runs (5th; 27) and RBI (4th; 25). Donadio would also be named the HCBL's #1 prospect by Perfect Game USA.
Southampton's Ingram took Pitcher of the Year honors, Ingram in seven starts in 2014 went 6-0 leading the league in wins with a 3.40 ERA in 42 1/3 innings.
Some noteable standouts in 2014 included North Fork's Casey Baker (Stony Brook) who led the HCBL in hits with 50 on the season, Southampton's Marquise Gill (Eastern Michigan) who set a new single-season record stealing 39 bases for the HCBL Champions. On the pitching front Sag Harbor's Alex Person (Southern New Hampshire) led the league in ERA at 1.31 despite a 2-4 record in nine games pitched, while the Westhampton Aviators had outstanding starting pitching from the likes of Cody McPartland (Dowling) who ranked second in ERA (1.65) and Greg Weissert (Fordham) who led the HCBL in strikeouts fanning 56 batters.
The 2014 MLB Draft saw 19 HCBL alumni get selected. Taken in the first ten rounds were Mac James (6th Round/Shelter Island '13), Kodi Kresky (8th Round/North Fork '11), JB Kole (8th Round/Southampton '12) and Chris Pike (9th Round/Southampton '11).
At the 2nd annual HCBL All-Star Game in Peconic, the North HCBL All-Stars triumphed over the South for the second straight year winning 7-2. Austin Miller (Butler) of North Fork was given MVP honors reaching base in all three plate appearances with a hit and an RBI.
