Southold (14-2 League IX) came out for a backyard baseball game at Greenport High School Monday afternoon against many of their friends and walked home 11-2 winners.
Greenport (4-12 League IX) never stood a chance as the Settlers tacked on run after run, including a 6-run fourth inning where errors got the better of the Porters.
In the top of the fifth inning a spectator came by the Greenport bench and asked a player what the score was. He answered, “I don’t know, 5 or 6-nothing, I think.” They glanced over to the coach to verify and after looking at the book, he said, “Actually, it’s 10-0.”
It didn’t seem like many runs were scored because there weren’t many hits. There was usually a walk, stolen base and an error before a Settler got a hit.
“That’s what good teams do,” Settlers head coach Mike Carver said. “They just find ways to win.”
Coming into the game, however, Carver didn’t want to take the Porters lightly. They actually beat second-place Pierson/Bridgehampton earlier in the season.
The lone highlight for the Porters was a two-run shot by Keegan Syron off of Alex Poliwoda that cleared the left field fence by a few feet. That was the only blemish on Poliwoda’s line who earned his seventh win of the season, going six innings and striking out eight.
Southold’s Sean Moran put together a great game, going 2-2 with four RBIs and four stolen bases.
In Carver’s fifteenth season as varsity coach, he’s never had such a complete team.
“We flat out hit one through nine,” Carver said. “I have five solid arms and we play defense.”
The last time Southold made a serious playoff push was in 2003 when they lost in the Class C Southeast Regional to Dobbs Ferry after being crowned Suffolk County and Long Island champions.
Asked whether this team could make it farther, Carver said, “As long as we stay focused, we’ll be back there for sure.”
Southold will travel to Smithtown Christian Wednesday.
SoutholdLOCAL photos by Courtney Blasl.
