Baseball: Ospreys fall in Game 3 as Aviators advance to finals

The North Fork Ospreys’ season came to an end Wednesday with a 6-3 loss in Game 3 of the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League semifinals against the Westhampton Aviators. 

After taking Game 1, the Ospreys dropped the next two games of the series.

Westhampton advances to play the regular season champion Shelter Island Bucks in the best-of-three championship round starting Friday.

The Ospreys let a 3-0 lead slip away against the Aviators Wednesday. North Fork jumped ahead in the third inning when right fielder Nick Heath hit a bases-clearing double.

It turned out to be the only runs of the game for the Ospreys.

Westhampton chipped away with two runs in the fourth and a run in the sixth to tie the game. A three-run seventh inning gave the Aviators the lead for good.

The Aviators’ bottom of the order did most of the damage against the Ospreys. Matthew Spruill went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs, AJ Montoya was 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs, Jack Massa went for 1-for-3 with an RBI and Tyler Piccolo went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Cody McPartland, a Sound Beach native who plays for Dowling College, threw seven shutout innings in relief to earn the win for the Aviators. He relieved starter Will White, who exited after allowing four straight hits to start the third inning.

Anthony Catinella started for the Ospreys and gave up 11 hits and three runs over 5 2/3 innings.

The championship series between Westhampton and Shelter Island begins at 4 p.m. Friday at Shelter Island. Game 2 of the series is 3 p.m. Saturday at Aviator Field. A Game 3, if necessary, would be back on Shelter Island Sunday.

[Caption: North Fork Osprey outfielder Nick Heath, pictured in Game 2, hit a bases-clearing double Wednesday against Westhampton]