Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s series
by Anthony DiCocco
East Islip LHP Lucas Patton fires a complete game 2-hit shutout against East Hampton to capture the Suffolk Class AA Championship! 🏆
They will face Garden City in the Long Island Championship on Thursday at Farmingdale State College pic.twitter.com/ch6RRKlVVK
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 31, 2025
In 2025, the East Hampton Bonackers went from missing the postseason in 2024 to going 18-6 while being Suffolk County championship runners-up. Now head coach Vincent Alversa will try to get his team over the hump.
For head coach Vincent Alversa, a championship win over East Islip last season would have been the icing on the cake for a near-perfect campaign.
“Last year was great for us; it was a big step forward,” Alversa said in an interview with Axcess Baseball. “Going into the season, I knew we had something pretty good. We had a little bit of ups and downs with some injuries here and there … but it almost couldn’t have gone any better.”
East Hampton will look a bit different this spring. The team graduated nine seniors coming into this season, including major impact players such as C Carter Dickinson (Castleton), SS Hudson Meyer (SUNY Oswego), CF/RHP Tyler Hansen (Clark) and RHP Justin Prince.
“A good majority of [our seniors] all had a part in everything we did,” Alversa said. “We’ve got some spots to fill this year.”
Alversa will be welcoming back a smaller senior class this season, but his upperclassmen will have a big role for the Bonackers. In the pitching department, East Hampton returns Finn O’Rourke and Trevor Meehan to sustain a formidable duo atop the rotation.
Meehan was a force on the bump last season, striking out 44 batters across 34 ⅓ innings pitched to earn five victories. The southpaw’s strong junior campaign put him on the collegiate radar, as he has already committed to the University of Bridgeport for next fall.
Over 26 ⅔ innings pitched, O’Rourke — a Saint Peter’s commit — punched out 40 hitters while matching Meehan’s win total. The right-hander also performed well in the clutch throughout the Bonackers’ postseason run.
“[Meehan and O’Rourke] were outstanding on the mound for us last year,” Alversa said. “Finn was unbelievable in the playoffs and Trevor threw back-to-back no-hitters for us. We’re pretty solid there.”
To round out the rotation, Alversa cited junior RHPs Jackson Carney and Tiger Brew as a pair of names he could see emerging to grab a hold of the No. 3 starter spot or be the first man out of the bullpen.
East Hampton 7, Eastport-South Manor 3 (F/9)
East Hampton advances to the Suffolk AA Finals against East Islip on Saturday pic.twitter.com/kDoP4fuMXi
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 28, 2025
“My guess is that Carney and Brew will be our two breakout guys this year,” Alversa said. “I think they’ll both have decent years and I just have a good feeling about them.”
All-County Senior 3B Mason Miles will also be back to anchor East Hampton’s lineup. Like O’Rourke, Miles will continue his baseball career at the Division I level after committing to Bucknell. Last year, he produced a 1.321 on-base plus slugging and slashed .450 with three homers and 24 runs batted in.
“Mason will just continue to do what he does,” Alversa said. “He might even spend a little time on the mound. As long as we’re hitting around Mason, we should hopefully get a big season out of him.”
Top 1: East Hampton wasted no time – they hit 2 homers in the first inning (Mason Miles and Victor Eddie Aguero) to take a 3-0 lead as the rain begins to come down pic.twitter.com/DJ5wry59w8
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 23, 2025
After manning second base last season, senior Livs Kuplins will slide over to shortstop for the 2026 campaign. Despite having big shoes to fill following Meyer’s strong tenure with East Hampton, Alversa said that he is “very confident” in Kuplins’ ability there.
On the right side of the infield, a plethora of names, such as Cole Assogna, will compete to take over Kuplins’ vacated position at second, However, first base is a bit of a clearer picture. Meehan will see time there when he is not pitching, as will Brew. If needed, Miles can move across the diamond as well.
Senior Victor Aguero — a Felician commit — is set to be a staple in the outfield and key contact bat for the Bonackers once again. Much like second base, the rest of the outfield is up in the air. One name to keep an eye on for one of the spots is Carney, who can play the outfield and middle infield in addition to taking the rubber.
“[Aguero] will definitely be out there,” Alversa said. “Then hopefully it’s just a matter of one of these incoming seniors who didn’t get much playing time … getting a crack at the corners and maybe even center.”
With Dickinson now playing at the collegiate level, Alversa’s biggest challenge will come in finding his new catcher and he is casting a wide net to do so. Senior Jacen Sheades, sophomore Elias Wojtusiak and eighth grader Ryan Balnis are all in the mix to see time behind the plate.
Although it graduated some important pieces in their lineup, Alversa feels that the Bonackers can pick up right where they left off due to their front-of-the-line pitching staff.
“We just need to do the little things that we did last year,” Alversa said. “We’re going to heavily lean on our pitching, which I think is our strong point. As long as we pitch well, we’ll be in every game and that’ll allow guys like Victor and Mason to do their thing.”
East Hampton’s pursuit of claiming its first Suffolk County championship since 1995 will launch on March 27 with a road matchup against Hauppauge.
