East Hampton's Fortin Delivers on Senior Day

His last start was April 15, and though there were a few relief appearances since, it had been awhile since Ben Fortin last pitched.

However, this was Senior Day, and being a senior, Fortin got the call. And did the righthander ever deliver.

Fortin not only started, he finished, throwing a complete game to lead East Hampton (15-4) to a 6-3 victory over visiting Stafford on Tuesday.

It was Senior Day the way it ought to be, or as coach Scott Wosleger put it, “If you write a script like this, you hope it is a nice day on Senior Day. You hope your seniors do well. You hope that you get a win. … For a guy like Ben, who does everything the right way ... he’s usually the first guy at practice, he’s never late and all he does is work, work, work. I said to the team, ‘He may be the all-time greatest teammate in this program.’ They love him, comes early, he’s a fun guy with a great sense of humor and he supports the program. I firmly believe good things come your way when you go about your business like that.”

The game wasn’t easy for Fortin, though. He allowed eight hits, three of which were dribblers down the third baseline.

“There was three or four of them,” Wosleger said. “I never saw so many.”

Twice Fortin was in a bases loaded jam, but escaped each time after allowing a run. In the fifth inning, Stafford put runners on first and third with no outs, but the defense turned a big double play, one of two on the day.

“I just know I got my defense behind me and I know they can make plays, so I’m not afraid to pitch the ball where the hitters can make contact,” Fortin said. “I know my defense can make plays and get me out of situations like that.”

That mind-set isn’t lost on his coach.

“He is as mentally tough as they get and he’s really loose and there is not a lot that gets to him,” Wosleger said. “You never saw Ben one time hang his head and that is a big, big thing and I think that is a big thing the younger guys see. I think that kept us in it.”

When Fortin wasn’t performing his high-wire act on the mound, he was helping his cause with the bat.

In the second inning he drove in the team’s first run with a sacrifice fly. Then in the fourth, he hit a long two-out, two-run double to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead.

“It felt real good,” Fortin said. “This whole year I haven’t had a chance to get up to the plate and today I showed I could do something if I’m needed in the postseason. That two-run double helped the team a lot and I feel like if I’m called again, I think I can step up.”

Stafford tied the score in the top of the fifth but in the bottom half of the inning another senior, Al Iannone, had a long two-out double of his own to bring in the go-ahead run. Iannone scored to make it 5-3 when Brian Roberson’s pop up was dropped by the second baseman. Roberson, Iannone and Austin Wosleger all went 2-for-3 in the game.

The Bellringers tacked on an insurance run in the sixth.

Fortin (five strikeouts) saved his best work on the mound for the last two innings, retiring the final six batters he faced for his second win this season.

“It’s something I think he’ll remember and I hope he does remember for a long time because he deserves every ounce of it,” Wosleger said.

East Hampton will play its final regular season game Wednesday against Valley Regional at home.