It’s doubtful that East Hampton High’s baseball team is still flying under the radar, having swept its season-opening series with Hauppauge, the defending Long Island AA champion, an impressive feat in which Bonac’s pitchers were stingy and its hitters were productive.
East Hampton capped the three-game sweep with a 3-1 win here on Sunday afternoon in a game that had been twice-postponed because of the damp, dreary weather.
Trevor Meehan, “my lefty bull,” in the words of the Bonackers’ coach, Vinny Alversa, went all the way on the mound, striking out 12 during the seven innings of play.
The first two innings were scoreless, though East Hampton stranded runners at first and second base in the first.
After Meehan struck out the side in the top of the third, Livs Kuplins, who batted ninth in the home team’s lineup, singled up the middle. Tyler Hansen then flied out to center field, but Hudson Meyer, after Kuplins had stolen second, doubled him home with a drive to the foot of the fence in center. One out later, Carter Dickinson, the senior catcher, drove in Meyer from third, treating Bonac to a 2-0 lead. Meehan grounded out second-to-first to end the inning.
The visitors got one back in their half, thanks to a two-out home run over the right-field fence by Hauppauge’s highly touted catcher, Michael Oliveto. The cleanup hitter, Roman Dixon, then doubled to center, but Meehan retired Nick Lombardi, and the side, on a popup that Dickinson gathered in a little ways up the first-base line. Those two hits, by the way, were the only ones Meehan was to give up that afternoon.
Hauppauge brought in Nick Poulos, a sidearmer, to relieve the starter, Tucker Brown, in the bottom of the fourth, during which the Bonackers went down one-two-three, though Hudson Beckmann, the second hitter to face Poulos, was robbed of a double, or more, by a flat-out, diving catch of his hard line drive by the Eagles’ center fielder, Kyle Magill.
Meehan gave up his first walk to the visitors’ sixth hitter, Ian Rivera, to lead off the top of the fifth, after which Matt Oliveto lined out to Meyer at short, Daniel Egbert struck out, and, with James Migliore up, Rivera was thrown out by Dickinson as he tried to get back to first.
East Hampton upped its lead to 3-1 in its half. After Kuplins lined out to the outfield, Hansen singled to right and advanced to second on Meyer’s 5-3 groundout. Mason Miles then beat out a nubber up the third-base line, sending Hansen to third, after which Dickinson’s drive up the middle plated Bonac’s third run. Meehan made the third out, flying out deep to center.
With two outs and a runner on second in the top of the sixth, and with Michael Oliveto due up, Alversa had him intentionally walked, after which Meehan struck out Hauppauge’s number-four hitter, Dixon.
Dixon pitched for the visitors in the bottom of the sixth, retiring Victoreddy Aguero and Beckmann on fly balls to begin it, after which Liam Cashin beat out a grounder to deep short and Kuplins was caught looking at a third strike.
Meehan capped the impressive sweep with two resounding strikeouts in the seventh following a flyout and a walk.
The Bonackers, behind Finn O’Rourke and Hansen, who, as was the case with Meehan, pitched masterfully, won the first two games by scores of 4-1 and 7-2.
O’Rourke threw a two-hitter in game one, played here on March 31, and Hansen gave up four hits in the win at Hauppauge on April 2. Aguero and Cashin’s r.b.i.s in the top of the second treated Bonac to a 2-0 lead. With two gone in the fifth, Dickinson drove in two runs, and, after the home team had pulled to within 4-2, he drove in two more in East Hampton’s sixth.
