Southold, playing in front of a home crowd, got their first victory of the playoffs Wednesday afternoon in walk-off fashion, bringing them within one win of the the Class C county championship.
Trailing 4-2 in the sixth inning, the First Settlers (19-2) were running out of outs. Pierson/Bridgehampton (14-7) had strung together a few important hits early on against Southold’s Alex Poliwoda and were in position to take game one of the three game series.
Shayne Johnson and Liam Walker reached base in the bottom of the sixth before Pat McFarland delivered a double to tie the game at 4-4.
The game went to extra innings but it may have ended early if it wasn’t for Johnson’s catch in the top of the 7th inning.
“The leadoff batter hit an absolute shot,” head coach Mike Carver said.
The ball was hit deep to center field and Johnson, with his great agility, barely caught up to the ball and dove, hitting the ground with the ball wedged in his glove.
“It was the best catch I’ve ever seen in high school baseball,” Carver said. “It really saved the game.”
In the 8th inning, Walker came up with Greg Gehring on second base and he knocked the ball up the middle for a single and sent the Whalers home packing.
Walker, who’s a senior playing his first season for the baseball team, has been the most consistent hitter in the lineup, Carver said. He batted seventh or eighth in the lineup most of the season but Carver decided to bat him third on Wednesday.
“He’s hitting over .500 for the season,” Carver said. “I guess putting him in the three spot really paid off.”
“It was huge to get that win,” Carver continued. “Great way to start the playoffs.”
SoutholdLOCAL photos by Emil Breitenbach, Jr.
