By getting ahead in the count, Etienne, who entered the game with a sub-2.00 earned run average, was able to freeze some batters with his changeup. He had eight strikeouts. He pounded the strike zone, throwing 60 of his 99 pitches for strikes while allowing one earned run and two walks.

"Today I just wanted to go out there and throw strikes," he explained. "That's pretty much it."

Etienne might have the perfect personality for a pitcher. He doesn't seem to get rattled easily either -- a great quality for a pitcher to have.

"It's tough," said Ospreys manager Shawn Epidendio. "You're the guy that everyone's looking at when you're out there on that little island. He does a great job of staying composed."

The Ospreys, who sat atop the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League's Kaiser Division with an 8-4 record, put up two runs in both the third and sixth innings, and held on as Josh Smith notched the save in a two-run ninth.

Etienne received some help from his friends. The Ospreys not only played errorless defense, but made some sparkling plays in the field at times. None of them stands out more than a superb diving catch center fielder Dan Cepin made for the third out in the eighth. With a runner on first base, Cepin might have saved a run with his backhanded snatch of a drive E.J. Smith sent close to the center-field fence.

"I was kind of determined to get it," Cepin said. "I got a bad read. The sun was definitely a factor off the bat. Once I saw it was up in the air, I knew it was going pretty far back. I probably could have gotten to it faster, and maybe the dive [wouldn't have been] necessary."

Earlier, Ospreys third baseman Tony Lepore made a smooth bare-handed snag of a bouncer before throwing Billy Boockford out at first base in the second.

Defense came to the rescue again in the ninth. The Breakers, who took their sixth loss in 10 games, had made it a one-run game that inning, courtesy of Boockford's run-scoring single and Mike Olszyk's sacrifice fly. With two out and a runner on second, shortstop Adam Clear did well to get to Logan Welch's grounder in the hole and fired to first, ending the game.

The Ospreys had taken a 2-0 lead after Clear delivered a sacrifice fly and Lepore scored from second base on a fielding error. They doubled that lead three innings later. Cepin led off with a double and Jamie Leibowitz, who had two doubles in the game, walked. One out later, Cepin was caught leaning too far off second base and bolted for third base as pitcher Jon Hughes charged toward him. But an errant throw enabled Cepin to score and moved Liebowitz to third. Shortly after, Mike DiBiase singled Liebowitz home.

All in all, it was an impressive showing by the Ospreys.

"When you play the game hard, the game will reward you in the end," Epidendio said. "These guys come out every day wanting to learn and get better, and they're being rewarded."

Similarly, every time the Ospreys send Etienne out onto the mound, they are rewarded.

"He's done a great job for us," Cepin said. "Every single time he has gone on the mound he has given us a quality start, and that's what we need. It's giving us a chance to win."

That's what an ace does.

•

The starting time for the Ospreys' game on Saturday against Sag Harbor at Jean W. Cochran Field has been changed to 4 p.m.

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