The Mustangs Are Riding Capra's, Vani's Hot Bats

Riding the hot bats of their catcher, Phil Capra, and their first baseman, Rob Vani, the Montauk Mustangs evened the count in Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League's championship series, defeating the top-seeded Westhampton Aviators 7-4 on Wednesday at the Montauk School. The deciding game is Friday at 4 p.m. at the Westhampton Beach Elementary School. 

The Aviators had won the first game, played the day before at Westhampton Beach, 5-2 behind the strong performance of their 6-foot-9-inch starter, Seamus Brazill, who led the league's pitchers during the regular season with a 0.97 earned run average.

Capra, who was moved by Mitchell Feller into the four hole after the former cleanup hitter (and all-star game M.V.P.), Nick Fanneron, suffered a broken wrist at the end of the season, broke the ice Wednesday with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning. And, after the visitors had taken a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth, the stocky, bearded Wagner College catcher hit another two-run homer in the bottom half to wrest the lead back.

Soon after Capra's homer, Bryce Packard drove in what was to prove to be the game-winner with a sacrifice fly that plated Eric Hassell, who had singled, moved up to second on a base hit by Ryan Markey, and on to third via Tyler Galazin's sacrifice bunt.

Zach Barnes, the Mustangs' starter, came out after six strong innings, during which he'd given up three runs (two of them unearned), four hits, and one walk.

In the fifth, Trey Silvers, the Aviators' designated hitter, touched Barnes for a home run over the not-so-monsterish "Mustangs"-emblazoned red monster in left center field.

Feller used Ryan Smith (who notched three strikeouts after walking Silvers and hitting Jack Massa with a pitch to lead off the seventh), Bryce Packard (who pitched out of bases-loaded situation he inherited from Smith in the eighth), and Jamie Galazin (who pitched the ninth) to finish up.

"Everybody's been stepping up," the coach said afterward. "Phil had been hitting fifth or sixth before Nick got hurt, Zach was a closer, not a starter, and Jamie, our center fielder, is an outfielder, not a pitcher by trade."

Rob Vani, the Mustangs' hard-hitting first baseman, who precedes Capra in the lineup, hit a two-run home run of his own, a towering shot over the right field fence, in the home team's seventh for a 7-3 lead.

Going into Friday's game, Capra was hitting .588 with three home runs and 12 runs batted in for the playoffs (he drove in 23 in the regular season), and Vani, also with three homers, was batting .529.