Quick Exit For East Hampton Baseball In Postseason, But Groundwork Has Been Laid For Future Teams

The common saying, “one doesn’t understand the experience until it is visited,” is one that rings true with the East Hampton baseball team.

The Bonackers went into the highly competitive Suffolk County Class A postseason last week with no playoff experience whatsoever, clinching their first spot in 11 years, so they went in tempering expectations a little bit. After all, it was quite the turnaround from a 4-14 record a year ago during the pandemic-shortened season to starting this season sweeping their first three league opponents to start 9-0, finishing with a 10-8 League VI record this spring.

East Hampton lost its two playoff games last week — a 5-1 game at Mount Sinai on May 17, followed by a 3-1 decision at Miller Place on Thursday, May 19 — but none of the Bonackers had their heads down.

“It was just a different feeling,” senior Colin Ruddy said of being in the playoffs after the team’s loss in Miller Place. “None of us had ever experienced it before. Not like we didn’t know what to expect, but it is just a different feeling.

“We fought our hardest. We did what we could and we’re not leaving with any regrets,” he added. “Proud of everyone. Happy we did make the playoffs. That was our one goal this year.”

East Hampton junior Jack Dickinson, who had been battling a strained oblique he suffered a few weeks ago, wound up taking the mound for the Bonackers on Thursday. He pitched himself in and out of trouble all afternoon, and save for the two runs he allowed on a base hit in the second inning, he got himself out of trouble more often than not, particularly with timely strikeouts, which he finished with eight in four and two-third innings.

Nico Horan-Puglia, a sophomore, led East Hampton offensively with a pair of hits and drove in the team’s only run in the third inning to make it one-run game. Ruddy, Siska and freshman Hudson Meyer had the other hits for Bonac.

East Hampton head coach Vinny Alversa really liked the way Dickinson battled on the mound, especially given the fact that he hadn’t pitched in a game in nearly two weeks due to his injury. Dickinson wasn’t thrilled with his performance, but wasn’t necessarily upset about it either.

“I wasn’t super happy with today. I didn’t have my best stuff, but they’re a tough hitting team, I’ll give it to them,” he said. “We battled through, played good defense today, and we hit the ball. Just didn’t capitalize. I could have done better, I could have done worse. I’m just happy I got to throw the last game with everybody.

“Proud of how everyone came out,” he added. “We have a young team this year, definitely, with only having two seniors, and everyone showed maturity. We showed up to games wanting to win, we thought we were going to win. We came up short, obviously, but we worked our asses off all season and it showed. Two tough losses, but we’ll come back better next year.”

And that’s what Thursday’s game wound up being, the final one for Ruddy and his senior classmate Avery Siska. Alversa gave both seniors a ton of credit for being great leaders to what is overall a young team that starts a pair of freshmen and a pair of sophomores. Ruddy and Siska said they’re proud of what they’re leaving behind and they’re certainly going to miss their teammates and everything about the team.

“I’ve been playing baseball since I was, like, 6, and coming up through East Hampton playing middle school, JV, varsity, it means so much,” Siska explained. “I’ve played with most of these guys most of my life and it’s just really awesome in our last season going into the playoffs. We played well this season and I’m not going to leave with any regrets. It’s been such a fun journey and we’re all family and I’m going to miss everyone next year.”

Ruddy, a stud right-handed pitcher, will be playing baseball at George Washington University, a highly touted Division I program, but the five-year varsity player is certainly proud of how long the program has come.

“When I was in eighth grade on varsity, it was a very long reach to make playoffs,” he said. “Every year for the five years I was on we got closer and closer. Just glad that finally our senior year we got to experience playoffs and, as one of them mentioned before, this season was setting the groundwork for the program and what’s to come. I’m proud of everyone, I’m proud of everything we did. Just like they said, no regrets. We did what we could.”

Dickinson will now be looked upon as not only the ace of the pitching staff next year but as a leader, and he’s more than ready for that role.

“These two paved the way,” he said of Ruddy and Siska. “This year was big for everybody, and we got a ton of experience for the younger guys and they’re going to know what this season meant carrying into next, and I’m looking forward to just being a leader and being there for everybody and continue to be a playoff team.”