Hamptons Collegiate Baseball is showcasing the league’s biggest sluggers in a special Home Run Derby at Baseball Heaven in Yaphank at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15. The HCBL’s 2015 All-Star Game will follow in the same location at 7:15 p.m.
Each of the league’s seven teams has elected their biggest bat to represent them in the derby, and an eighth hitter will be chosen via fan vote, which closes at midnight tonight, Monday, July 13. “They’re the premier power hitters in the league, so they should put on a good show,” HCBL president Brett Mauser says of Wednesday’s lineup, noting that an additional seven players, one from each team, have been nominated for the fan vote. Mauser says nearly 2,000 votes have already been cast thanks to the power of social media.
He notes that the Shelter Island Bucks’ nominee and Texas A&M player Jonathan Moroney, for example, got a nice boost after Texas A&M Baseball asked their more than 43,000 Twitter followers to vote for him, though North Fork Osprey Ryan Mahoney was leading as of 3 p.m. Monday. Whoever ends up winning the vote, Mauser says, “would be a fine representative of their team and our league.”
Confirmed batters in the Home Run Derby include Billy McLean (Stony Brook) for the Montauk Mustangs, Peter Papcun (Monmouth) for the North Fork Ospreys, Hunter Dolshun (UMBC) for the Riverhead Tomcats, Scott Hagan (Mercy) for the Sag Harbor Whalers, Dominic Brugnoni (Florida Southern) for 2015 league leaders, the Shelter Island Bucks, Rob Moore (St. Peter’s) for HCBL’s 2014 champions, the Southampton Breakers, and Colin Brockhouse (Ball State) for the Westhampton Aviators, who trail the Bucks in second place.
Mauser points out that Ospreys infielder Papcun is leading the league this year with 5 homers, and three-year veteran Breakers outfielder Moore is just two home runs away from tying the HCBL’s all-time career record, currently held by Josh Mason, who racked up 12 home runs for the Tomcats during the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
Fan vote players are Rob Vani (Adelphi) for Montauk, Ryan Mahoney (Fordham) for North Fork, Jack Zagaja (New Haven) for Riverhead, Mason Kukowski (Yale) for Sag Harbor, Jonathan Moroney (Texas A&M) for Shelter Island, Matt DiLeo (Oakland) for Southampton and Logan McRae (College of Charleston) for Westhampton.
The poll is available now at this link, or on the HCBL website, and will be posted on HCBL social media. The deadline to vote is tonight, Monday, July 13 at 11:59 p.m.
Wednesday’s big events will take place at Baseball Heaven, a baseball facility at 350 County Road 101 in Yaphank. Mauser says Baseball Heaven was chosen because it is a “terrific venue” where the teams really enjoy playing. He also adds that the more central location helps expose the HCBL to more fans, and it’s more convenient for major league scouts, who may come out from New York City, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
The Home Run Derby will be followed by a standard pre-game, and then the All-Star Game. Shelter Island’s Jamie Quinn (North) and Westhampton’s Dan Luisi (South) will manage the teams in the 2015 All-Star Game. For rosters and in-depth team and player stats, visit hamptonsbaseball.org.
