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Hamptons League All-Stars Storm Back to Defeat Atlantic League All-Stars

by Trevor Dugan

Some of the best collegiate players in the Northeast met in Sag Harbor Saturday afternoon as the HCBL All-Stars defeated the ACBL All-Stars in their second annual exhibition at Mashashimuet Park. 

The Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League and Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League are each part of the National Association of College Summer Baseball, a group of 12 non-profit developmental leagues sanctioned and partially funded by Major League Baseball.

“The goal of these leagues is to get kids from different colleges, position them at different levels, and see them progress and develop,” said Dean Glasser, an area scout for the Detroit Tigers who doubles as a coach of the North Fork Ospreys. 

“We’re trying to recruit kids from all different levels,” Glasser continued. “DI, DII, DII, you just never know where your next prospects are going to come from.”

Countless players of note have passed through this prestigious pipeline, including Sean Keys, a 2021 Harborfields graduate who recently made his MLB debut with the Toronto Blue Jays. Just three years ago in 2023, Keys was named MVP of the HCBL as a member of the Westhampton Aviators. 

While Saturday’s all-star game was only an exhibition, several MLB scouts were in attendance. Their presence behind home plate, with their radar guns trained ahead, provided all the more reason for the all-stars to play their best baseball. 

Luke Raho of the Southampton Breakers got the start for the HCBL All-Stars. He pitched just one inning, as did eight other HCBL pitchers, but allowed no runs on one hit. 

Following Raho’s scoreless top of the first, his Southampton teammate Nick Slogik got the scoring started with an RBI single in the bottom of the frame. Milo Suarez of the Sag Harbor Whalers then doubled home a run in the bottom of the second to stretch the HCBL’s lead to 2-0 after two. 

After a scoreless third inning the ACBL struck back with three runs in the top of the fourth, scoring their first run on an RBI single by Cillian Morrissey from Pace University. Two more runs would score in the inning on back-to-back E6’s, an inexplicable and costly pair of mistakes that gave ACBL a 3-2 lead. 

Perhaps the game’s most amazing moment came in the bottom of the fifth. A fly ball off the bat of Milo Suarez seemed destined to clear the centerfield fence, but Trent Toole snatched it out of the air just before it went out. The centerfielder went tumbling over the wall as he made the catch and popped right back up, ball in glove, completing a spectacular play. 

Toole continued to impress in the top of the sixth, driving in a run with an RBI single to right field. It could have brought home two runs, but the second runner was cut down at the plate on an excellent throw by HCBL rightfielder JD Stemhagen. Even so, the ACBL led 5-2 midway through the sixth. 

A pair of RBI singles by Nick Koch and Matt Hesselbirg cut the ACBL lead to 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth, but the ACBL answered with three runs in the top of the eighth, scoring on an error and a pair of RBI groundouts to extend their lead to 8-4. 

Matthew Ryan of the Riverhead Tomcats knocked in a run in the bottom of the seventh to cut the deficit to 8-5, but the real damage was done in the bottom of the eighth. The Hamptons’ All-Stars exploded for five runs to take a 10-8 lead into the ninth. 

With two runners on and no outs, Michael Caron of the Southampton Breakers tripled them both home to make it a one run game, before an E6 allowed him to score the tying run. Shockingly, another E6 would allow two more runs to score as well, breaking the tie and giving the HCBL a two-run advantage heading into the final frame.

Luis Florian of the North Fork Ospreys entered to pitch in the ninth for the HCBL All-Stars and needed just six pitches to get the job done, earning the save and capping off a comeback win over the ACBL.

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Caron was named All-Star MVP after finishing 1-2 with two RBI, a triple, and a run scored. He was one of several Southampton Breakers who put forward stellar performances Saturday. Shortstop Hector Francia finished 1-2 with two runs scored and two stolen bases, while the Southampton first baseman Slogik added an RBI single. 

The MVP commented on his experiences after the game with his trophy in hand.

“We spend all year playing against these guys, running into them around town, so it was good to get out here and play with them, get to know them a little more,” Caron said. “There’s nothing better than real, live game competition. I don’t think there’s any better way you can prepare, so this is definitely preparing me for the (college) season.”  

It turned out to be another successful All-Star weekend for the Hamptons League, an organization that has become a true staple of summertime out east. After presenting the MVP award, league commissioner Henry Bramwell spoke about the day’s events. 

“This is a new tradition we started last year with the ACBL to play the All-Star game here on Long Island,” Bramwell explained. “It’s a great opportunity to showcase our talent… We recruit players from all over the country, and they stay with host families in our community while they’re here, so there’s plenty of talent.”

With All-Star weekend all wrapped up, the Hamptons League will return to regularly scheduled games Tuesday, July 14.