Ian Rivera leads Hauppauge baseball on mound and at plate
Hauppauge relief pitcher Ian Rivera delivers to the plate during a Suffolk League V baseball game against host Half Hollow Hills West on Monday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Ian Rivera was never supposed to take the mound Monday.
The senior righthander and the Eagles’ second starter was set to pitch Wednesday. But as Hauppauge’s seven-run lead dwindled to three in the bottom of the fourth inning, its plans changed.
Rivera entered with runners on first and third with one out in the fourth, allowing one inherited run to score but escaping further trouble. He pitched the final 3 2/3 innings, striking out four and surrendering one earned run, to earn the win as Hauppauge held on for an 8-6 road victory over Half Hollow Hills West in a Suffolk League V baseball game.
“He’s a competitor,” Hauppauge coach Josh Gutes said. “He can throw multiple pitches for strikes. This was supposed to be a day off for him. He was just going to run around and play centerfield. So to come in that spot – we didn’t even talk about it, him throwing. So to come in not ready and to do the job he did was just unbelievable.”
Said Rivera: “Getting put in rapid fire, it’s tough to get ready. I mean, not all pitches were working. I really had to stick with my fastball that first inning. It’s tough. You just got to fight through. Just pound the zone.”
Rivera also went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for Hauppauge (4-3). Freshman second baseman Nick Lombardi went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored, and senior catcher Michael Oliveto went 1-for-3 with a double, two walks and two runs scored.
“I think [Rivera] did a great job,” Oliveto said. “Competed and did what we needed him to do and more.”
Oliveto laced a double on the game’s first pitch, and Hauppauge plated four runs in a first inning that was punctuated by a two-run double by Rivera. The Eagles stretched their lead to 6-0 in the second inning after RBIs by Tucker Brown and Kyle Magill. Oliveto’s third-inning RBI groundout extended Hauppauge’s edge to 7-0.
Hills West (6-1) chipped away with three runs in a third inning that featured a double by Alex Casey and singles by Ethan Saintjean and Mike Massa. Casey and Saintjean each had RBI singles in the fourth to cut it to 7-5.
Lombardi had an RBI walk in the fifth inning and Hills West’s Christian Rivera had an RBI double in the sixth to bring the score to its final margin.
Hauppauge, the reigning Long Island Class AA champion, has won four straight after getting swept by East Hampton to open the season.
“Very new team, but we feel like a family,” Rivera said. “I love the vibe we have going on with the team.”
Said Oliveto: “The chemistry is just on the next level. It’s just fun.”
Raising awareness
Hauppauge wore non-traditional black uniforms Monday with rainbow font reading “Autism Acceptance” for National Autism Acceptance Month. It will wear them for the remainder of April.
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.