East Hampton Clinches Bye in Shoreline Tournament

It was the final regular season game for East Hampton and though the Bellringers had clinched a berth in the Shoreline and Class S tournaments, there was much riding on the outcome.

Specifically, East Hampton wanted to nail down second place in the Shoreline and the first-round bye that goes with it in the conference tournament. A two seed could also be had in the Class S tourney, though the rankings won’t be official until all regular season games are completed.

So, the Bellringers turned to pitchers Al Iannone or Adam Michaud to start as they have done most of the season, right?

Wrong.

East Hampton showed off its pitching depth again on Wednesday, turning to Austin Shumbo. The righthander had been used strictly as a reliever this season, but if you thought he would struggle in his first start, you’d be wrong again.

Shumbo pitched six shut-out innings, allowing three hits, walking three and striking out five in a 6-0 victory over Valley Regional in East Hampton.

“Going into it I knew it was going to be a big game because if we won it would have clinched a two seed for the Shoreline playoffs which means we would got a first-round bye,” Shumbo said. “That kind of stayed on my mind through the whole game you could tell as soon as we got there we wanted it more. Between the adrenaline that was going on in my own body and from the guys around me on the team, I knew going out there I had to pitch a good game and luckily I did.”

Said coach Scott Wosleger: “He really gave us what we needed. He was the right guy in the right spot. He was a senior with experience and it didn’t matter he hadn’t thrown in a while. We had supreme confidence in him.

“Shumbo gave us everything. He was fantastic.”

East Hampton (15-5) scored three times in the first inning on a single by Austin Wosleger, a double by Marvin Gorgas (2-for-3), a single by Al iannone and a double by Spencer Daly (2-for-3).

The Bellringers added three more in the third for a 6-0 lead.

Gorgas had a one-out walk, Iannone singled and Daley had an RBI single. With two out, up stepped Shumbo, who had been struggling a bit with the bat of late and had been moved out of the lead-off spot.

“I could really care less where I bat,” Shumbo said. “I actually prefer not to hit in the one spot anymore. I’ve been struggling recently at the plate and it was another pressure being lifted off my shoulders of not having to get things started right away, I guess you could say.”

Minus that pressure, Shumbo got his second hit of the game, a big two-run double to help send East Hampton on the way to its fourth win in a row.

“I’m really hoping its going to spark something at this point,” Shumbo said. “It’s probably the best way I could imagine to start the postseason.”

With perhaps having to play both Shoreline tournament games on Saturday, having the kind of pitching depth East Hampton has shown is an advantage. As it is, Shumbo and Ben Fortin have given the two primary starters plenty of rest heading into the postseason by pitching 13 of 14 innings over the last two days.

“We’ve had guys step up out of nowhere,” Shumbo said. “Even as far as the last game goes, Ben being in the same shoes I am, not really starting all year, not pitching too much, and coming out and throwing a complete game and getting a big hit himself, that just goes to show we got guys that are ready to come in and fill the hole whenever we need them.”

Gorgas pitched the seventh inning, retiring the side in order.

East Hampton will play a Shoreline tournament semifinal game on Saturday at 11 a.m. at home.

"I feel good about the bye,” Wosleger said. “I feel good about being home Saturday morning and we’ll take it one inning at a time like we normally do.”