Bridgehampton falls to Chapel Field Christian in Class D state regional final
Bridgehampton's Scott Vinski connects for a single against Babylon in the Suffolk Class BCD small school finals, Saturday, May 27, 2023 at Eastport Athletic Complex. Credit: George A Faella
Bridgehampton baseball’s first taste of a state playoff game in its second season as a varsity squad after returning from a 43-year hiatus was a tense, low-scoring affair.
In a pitchers’ duel, Leam Powell of Chapel Field Christian (Section IX) threw a one-hit shutout, striking out 16 batters to defeat Bridgehampton, 2-0, in the Class D state regional final at Lorenz Field in Saugerties Saturday.
"He [Powell] was the best pitcher we’ve seen all year,” said Scott Vinski, who threw 77 pitches in a complete game with four strikeouts, allowing three hits and two earned runs. “We played very well today; we just couldn’t get anything against him. His dominance shut us down offensively.”
Bryce Hollo led off the third and fifth innings with triples for Chapel Field (11-3). Hollo scored in the third on a single by Logan Garvey and in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Mike Bonagura.
Shawn Gnyp had the only hit of the game for Bridgehampton in the fifth inning. Up next, Kris Vinski bunted back to the mound and Powell threw to second for the force out. Yudai Morikawa then popped out to first and Hugo Kapon struck out.
Bridgehampton improved its record to 11-11 this season after posting six wins last year. The team defeated Port Jefferson, 4-2, in the Suffolk Class C/D championship to advance to the Class B/C/D championship, where they fell to Babylon, 7-2.
“To go from a team with six wins to a playoff team, it just shows the hard work we’ve been putting in year-round,” Vinski said. “We have a lot of young guys who are solid baseball players with leadership and an upperclassman mindset. I think the program is in great shape after this experience.”
“Their improvement was tremendous this season,” coach Lou Liberatore said. “I couldn’t be happier with the direction we’re going in. These meaningful games and our first taste of a regional have lit a fire under our guys to come back to this spot and get the job done next year.”
