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The Tar Heel Ace

gallenThe University of North Carolina churns out some of the best pitchers in college baseball, year after year. And many of them summer in Chatham, from Andrew Miller to Alex White to Matt Harvey.

It’s been a few years, but the Anglers may have found another one.

Tar Heel righty Zac Gallen made his third start of the summer Friday night and delivered his best performance yet. The rising junior struck out eight and allowed just two hits in six shutout innings. Both hits were in the first inning, and he cruised from there. He did all of this against East Division leader Orleans and its fearsome lineup. The Firebirds are second in the league in runs scored, and they lead in extra-base hits.

Gallen had no trouble. After giving up the two singles in the first, he struck out Tres Barrera (Texas) and got Willie Abreu (Miami) to ground out. Later, he walked two in the fourth inning but then struck out the side, part of a stretch in which he fanned five in a row. Even the third time through the order, the Firebirds went quietly, as Gallen worked a quiet sixth.

The Chatham offense made Gallen’s big performance count by touching up Orleans standout Kyle Serrano (Tennessee) for two runs in the first inning and tacking on two more in the sixth against the Firebirds bullpen. Trenton Brooks (Nevada), Cory Raley (Texas Tech), Aaron Barnett (Pepperdine) and Zack Short (Sacred Heart) each knocked in a run to lead the balanced attack.

Orleans scored two runs in the eighth, but Aaron McGarity (Virginia Tech) cooled off the rally, going the final 1.1 innings for the save.

Chatham moved one game over .500 at 11-10 and is in second place behind Orleans in the East. One of their standout starters, T.J. Zeuch (Pittsburgh) was just released from the roster after reaching his summer innings limit, but the Anglers have quickly found another ace. Gallen hasn’t allowed an earned run in three starts. The Anglers lost the last time he was on the mound, but he went five shutout innings against Hyannis, the other division leader. Gallen is now third in the league in strikeouts, with 23 in just 15 innings.

Gallen is coming off a spring season in which he had a 2.79 ERA with 74 strikeouts in the UNC weekend rotation.

Like the other Tar Heels that came before, he’s giving Chatham some of the best pitching in the league.
 

Hyannis 6, Y-D 2

In a rare feat this summer, the Harbor Hawks didn’t have a stolen base. They lead the league the league with 40 but found another way in beating Y-D. Blake Tiberi (Louisville) gave Hyannis the 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first with a two-run double. He added a two-run single in the seventh, giving him four RBI on the night. Jacob Noll (Florida Gulf Coast) added a hit and an RBI, as did David Martinelli (Dallas Baptist). Errol Robinson (Ole Miss) scored two runs and is now tied for the league lead in runs scored with 15. Mike King (Boston College), who began the summer on a temp contract but has since been signed, was solid in four innings of work, giving up one run. Kevin Roy (Columbia) was credited with the win in relief. Dakota Hudson (Mississippi State), who had pitched as a starter in his last two outings, came out of the pen and surrendered just one run in 3.1 innings. Hyannis moved to 13-8 and has a two-game lead on Wareham for the top spot in the West. The Harbor hawks have won three straight.
 

Brewster 8, Harwich 1

The Whitecaps won their second straight and pushed their record over .500 at 10-9. After getting shut-out by Hyannis two games ago, the Whitecaps have delivered 28 hits in their last two games. Colin Lyman (Louisville) led the charge Friday, going 3-for-4 and scoring two runs. Toby Handley (Stony Brook) added two hits and two RBI. Jack Meggs (Washington) went 3-for-4, as did Chandler Avant (Alabama). Brewster now leads the league in team batting average. Four pitchers made the big lead stand up, limiting Harwich to five hits. Nick Highberger (Creighton) was credited with the win.
 

Wareham 7, Bourne 4

The Gatemen won their third straight and remained two games back of Hyannis for first place in the West. Andrew Calica (UC Santa Barbara), the hero of Wednesday’s one-hit win, had a huge night, going 4-for-5 with four RBI. He’s now hitting .524 in seven games since joining the team. Nick Cieri (Maryland) added three hits and two RBI. Starter Evan Hill (Michigan) gave up one run in 4.2 innings. Ryan Olson (Cal Poly Pomona) grabbed his second save. Max McDowell (UConn) homered for Bourne and Jacob Robson (Mississippi State) stretched his hitting streak to seven games.
 

Cotuit 8, Falmouth 1

The Kettleers broke a 1-1 tie with five runs in the sixth inning and grabbed a win over Falmouth, pulling even with the Commodores in the West standings, in the process. Jonathan King (Georgia Tech) struck out six and gave up one run in five innings of work before four relievers closed the door. Michael Paez (Coastal Carolina), Matt Albanese (Bryant) and Brody Weiss (UCLA) led the offense with two RBI apiece. Kort Peterson (UCLA) had two hits and scored two runs. Both teams are now 7-13.
 

What to Watch

The Hyannis-Y-D match-up at Red Wilson Field looks like a good one. Devin Smeltzer (Florida Gulf Coast) makes his second start since his no-hitter against Y-D’s Ricky Thomas (Fresno State), who’s 3-0 with a 1.01 ERA.
 

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No Homers, No Problem

T.J. Nichting had the go-ahead RBI single in Thursday's win.
T.J. Nichting had the go-ahead RBI single in Thursday’s win.

 
On a night when their best hitter was swinging for the fences in Omaha, the Orleans Firebirds scored just one run in the first seven innings of Thursday’s game with Harwich.

But as has been the case all summer, no matter who the Firebirds are without, they’re pretty good. First-place Orleans scored four runs in the eighth to beat Harwich 5-2 at Eldredge Park.

Kyle Lewis – who could make a case to be the league MVP front-runner so far – was competing in the TD Ameritrade College Home Run Derby. Lewis hit four home runs and couldn’t get out of the first round. (Chatham’s Will Craig had the best showing among Cape Leaguers, finishing as the runner-up to champ Jeff Campbell of North Dakota).

Without Lewis, Orleans was held to four hits through seven innings. Harwich starter Williams Durruthy (Florida International) went four strong innings. Harwich scored two in the fourth and led most of the way.

But in the eighth, a single by Alex Call (Ball State), plus two walks and an error, brought in the tying run. T.J. Nichting (Charlotte) plated the go-ahead run with a single, and the Firebirds tacked on a pair of insurance runs.

Kit Scheetz (Virginia Tech) came out of the bullpen for the ninth and struck out the side to put the finishing touch on the comeback win. Parker Bean (Liberty) was credited with the victory.

The Firebirds are now 14-5 and have scored the most runs in the league while allowing the fewest.

 

Hyannis 5, Falmouth 1

Nick Deeg (Central Michigan) took over the league lead in strikeouts with another dominant start as first-place Hyannis eased past Falmouth. Deeg allowed just one hit and one unearned run in six innings of work while striking out six. The lefty now has a 0.32 ERA with 27 strikeouts – and just three walks – in 28 innings pitched. Marc Skinner (Troy) and Thomas Burrows (Alabama) followed Deeg to the hill and finished off the win. Ryne Birk (Texas A&M) had a three-run homer to lead the Hyannis attack, while Blake Tiberi (Louisville) had two hits. With Wareham idle, Hyannis moved back ahead by two games in the West standings.
 

Bourne 5, Y-D 3

Bourne rallied from a 3-2 deficit to beat the Red Sox at Red Wilson Field. The Braves touched up Y-D starter Shane Bieber (UC Santa Barbara) for eight hits and three earned runs in six innings. Bieber had tossed seven shutout innings in his last start. Josh Rogers (Louisville) gave up three runs in five innings for the Braves. Austin Conway (Indiana State) got the win in relief. Vince Fernandez (UC Riverside) and Reid Humphreys (Mississippi State) both homered for Bourne. Nick Solak (Louisville) added two hits and two RBI, raising his average to .356, good for second in the league. Y-D got a home run from Stephen Wrenn (Georgia).
 

Brewster 6, Chatham 3

Brewster got the best of Chatham ace T.J. Zeuch (Pittsburgh), who hadn’t allowed an earned run all summer, touching him up for three runs in four innings. The Whitecaps added three more against the Chatham bullpen, finishing with 14 hits. Robbie Tenerowicz (California) went 2-for-5 with a home run – his third – and three RBI. Nick Senzel (Tennessee) went 3-for-4 and scored two runs. The top four hitters in Brewster’s order – Colin Lyman (Louisville), Jack Meggs (Washington), Senzel and Tenerowicz – combined to go 9-for-19 with six runs scored. Brewster’s Hansen Butler (North Carolina) got the win with 2.2 scoreless innings of relief. Brewster evened its record at 9-9 and is just two points behind Chatham, who dropped to 10-10.
 

What to Watch

The Cape League kicks off the holiday weekend with the first of two days of home-and-home rivalry tilts. Orleans and Chatham will begin their set at Veterans Field tonight. Kyle Serrano (Tennessee) gets the ball for Orleans as he goes for his league-best fourth win. Zac Gallen (North Carolina), a budding ace for the Tar Heels who went five scoreless with eight strikeouts in his last Anglers start, goes for Chatham.
 

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All it Takes is One

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Last Friday, Wareham beat Cotuit by a run with two runs in the top of the ninth inning. The go-ahead run scored on a passed ball. Wednesday, Wareham won by a run again, and this one might have been even more frustrating for the Kettleers.

A solo home run by Andrew Calica (UC Santa Barbara) in the sixth inning was the game’s only run – and Wareham’s only hit. Four Gatemen pitchers combined on a shutout as the Gatemen won 1-0.

Wareham improved to 10-9 and is one game back of Hyannis for first place in the West. Cotuit dropped to 6-13.

The Gatemen were 0-5 in one-run games before the 4-3 victory over Cotuit Friday. Their luck turned around in that game and apparently didn’t run out, either. Cotuit’s Jon Woodcock (Virginia Tech) obviously took a no-hitter into the sixth Wednesday, but the one hit sent him to the hardest of hard-luck losses.

Calica, the No. 9 hitter in the order, came up with two outs in the sixth and smacked a 2-1 pitch for his first home run of the summer. Calica, who hit .329 for UC Santa Barbara, only had one home run this spring, too. He’s now hitting .438 in six games on the Cape.

Woodcock didn’t allow anything else – his season ERA is now 1.50 – and Mitch Stallings (Duke) tossed two hitless innings. But Wareham’s pitchers remained in control.

Matt Krook (Oregon) started and went two innings. He walked four and struck out two but didn’t give up a run or a hit. Blake Fox (Rice) followed with 4.2 innings, Ian Hamilton (Washington State) tossed two-thirds of an inning and Shea Spitzbarth (Molloy) went the final 1.2 without surrendering a hit.

Cotuit threatened with a little luck of its own when Will Haynie (Alabama) led off the ninth by reaching on a dropped third strike. He made it to second on a bunt and third on a groundout, but Spitzbarth stranded him there. Kort Peterson (UCLA) lined out to end the inning.

The Kettleers finished with four hits but none went for extra bases. Wareham’s one hit did a little more damage.
 

Harwich 6, Bourne 2

Harwich scored four runs in the fifth to break away for a 6-2 win over Bourne. Johnny Adams (Boston College) and Connor Justus (Georgia Tech) went 2-for-3 with three RBI for the Mariners. Adam Pate (North Carolina) went 2-for-3 and now has 10 hits in eight games since Harwich picked him up after he was released by Orleans. Pate has three straight two-hit games and ranks third in the league with a .356 batting average. Pate’s UNC teammate Hunter Williams struck out seven in four innings and Ross Vance (West Virginia) got the win in relief after Harwich’s big inning. Joe DiBenedetto (Seton Hall) went three scoreless innings for his first save. Harwich did much of its damage at the plate against Bourne starter Nick Jensen-Clagg (Kent State), who hadn’t allowed a hit in his first two starts. He gave up six Wednesday, walked five and was charged with three earned runs.
 

Y-D 9, Chatham 2

The Red Sox built an early lead then pulled away with a six-run seventh inning in a win over Chatham. It was Y-D’s second win this week over Chatham, and the Red Sox sit just one game back of the second-place Anglers in the East standings. Donnie Walton (Oklahoma State) led the Y-D offense with three hits, a home run and two RBI. It was the fourth three-hit game of the summer for Walton, who’s batting .318. The homer was his first. Stephen Wrenn (Georgia) added two hits while Gio Brusa (Washington) – a 2014 CCBL All-Star – shook off his slow start to 2015 with a two-hit night. Barnstable native Will Toffey (Vanderbilt) made his Cape League debut and drew three walks. On the mound for Y-D, Brett Adcock (Michigan) walked five but surrendered only one run in five innings. Chatham got home runs from Luke Persico (UCLA) and Todd Czinege (Villanova).
 

Falmouth at Hyannis, PPD; Brewster at Orleans, PPD

 

What to Watch

Four games on tap today, including what should be a good pitching match-up at Red Wilson Field. Josh Rogers (Louisville), who was drafted in the 11th round this year but is planning to return to school, goes for Bourne against Y-D’s Shane Bieber (UC Santa Barbara), who went 7.2 shutout innings last time out. Also on the hill tonight is Chatham’s T.J. Zeuch (Pittsburgh), who will go against Brewster at Veterans Field. Zeuch has not allowed an earned run in his three starts.
 

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Big Bats

Will Haynie hit his third and fourth home runs of the year to lead Cotuit past Y-D 11-1.
Will Haynie hit his third and fourth home runs of the year to lead Cotuit past Y-D 11-1.

 
In 84 Cape League games prior to Tuesday night’s slate, teams had hit double digits in runs only five times. Tuesday, it happened twice.

Perhaps the bats – always behind at the start of a Cape summer – are catching up.

Bourne beat Falmouth 12-3 with a 15-hit, six extra-base-hit attack, while Cotuit broke out for its best offensive day of the season in an 11-1 victory over Y-D.

(Chatham and Orleans also had big nights, scoring nine and eight runs, respectively, while Hyannis went and ruined the league-wide storyline with a 1-0 victory over Brewster.)

For Bourne, the offense was steady in the early going, with single runs in the first, second and third innings, and four in the fourth. For good measure, the Braves scored five in the top of the ninth to hammer it home.

Camden Duzenack (Dallas Baptist) went 3-for-5 with a home run, three runs scored and two RBI. Six other players drove in runs, with Ryan Boldt (Nebraska) and Jacob Robson (Mississippi State) bringing home two each. Florida standout Pete Alonso, playing his second game in a Braves uniform, went 3-for-5 with a double and scored a run. C.J. Chatham (Florida Atlantic) had a triple. Every player in the starting lineup had at least one hit.

The 12 runs were a season-high for the Braves, who raised their team batting average by a whopping .10 points, from .229 up to .239.

The outburst was plenty for Keegan Akin (Western Michigan), who tossed five shutout innings. Doug Norman, who had a strong spring in LSU’s bullpen, made his first Braves appearance and picked up the save. Bourne improved to 8-8-1.

Over at Lowell Park, Cotuit was up to similar tricks, although they were a bit more condensed. After getting shut-out for five innings, the Kettleers scored five runs in the sixth inning and six runs in the eighth to blow past Y-D.

Will Haynie (Alabama) was the star of the show with two home runs, a three-run shot in the sixth and a two-run homer in the eighth. Haynie, though he’s only batting .179, is now tied for the league lead in homers with four.

Gene Cone (South Carolina) also homered and drove in two, while Jackson Klein (Stanford) had two hits and two RBI.

Daniel Brown (Mississippi State) gave up one run in five innings on the hill, and Matthew Milburn (Wofford) went the last four innings for the win. He struck out six.

The win was the second straight for Cotuit, who is now 6-12.
 

Chatham 9, Wareham 2

The Gatemen had won three in a row, but Chatham broke open a close game with five runs in the sixth inning on its way to the 9-2 win. Aaron Knapp (California) and Will Craig (Wake Forest) each had two RBI for the Anglers. Trenton Brooks (Nevada), Cory Raley (Texas Tech) and Kyle Adams (Richmond) added two hits each. Jesse Adams (Boston College) allowed one run in five innings of work for the win. Wareham got a home run from Jarett Rindfleisch (Ball State). Chatham improved to 10-8, which is the third-best record in the league. Wareham is 9-9.
 

Orleans 8, Harwich 5

Orleans also had a big inning – a five-run fourth – to pull away from Harwich in an 8-5 victory. The Firebirds racked up 16 hits, led by three each from Austin Miller (Loyola Marymount) and T.J. Nichting (Charlotte). Kyle Lewis (Mercer) had two hits and two RBI for his third consecutive two-hit game. The emerging star is second in the league in hitting with a .368 mark and is tied for the league lead in home runs and RBI. In addition to the big night at the plate, Orleans got another strong outing from Mitchell Jordan (Stetson), who struck out eight in six innings of two-hit ball. The only run he allowed was unearned, keeping his season ERA at 0.00. Jordan is 3-0 and leads the league in strikeouts with 25.
 

Hyannis 1, Brewster 0

The lone exception on the offensive night was in Hyannis, where the Harbor Hawks and Whitecaps were scoreless for eight innings before a walk-off in the ninth. Nicholas Pappas (College of Charleston) plated the winning run with a two-out single in the ninth, scoring Austin Hays (Jacksonville). Before those heroics, two Hyannis pitchers and four Whitecaps were engaged in quite the duel. Vance Tatum (Mississippi State) scattered five hits in five scoreless innings for Hyannis, before Andrew Civale (Northeastern) struck out five in four scoreless frames. Alex Schick (California) gave up just two hits in six innings for Brewster.
 

What to Watch

No games today. When things pick back up Wednesday, Wareham might be a good place to be. Matt Krook (Oregon), the former first-round pick who’s working his way back from Tommy John Surgery, is slated to start for the Gatemen against Cotuit’s Jon Woodcock (Virginia Tech), who is 2-0 with a 1.25 ERA.
 

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Top of the Heap

Ronnie Dawson had two hits as Orleans topped Hyannis in a battle of first-place teams.
Ronnie Dawson had two hits as Orleans topped Hyannis in a battle of first-place teams.

 
The Cape League season is about three weeks old, and in a rare feat for a league that’s always full of parity, the same two teams have been in first place in their divisions for most of that time. Hyannis has had at least a share of first since the first day of the season and has been alone at the top of the West division since day five. Orleans missed out on first in the East for a few days while Chatham and Brewster raced out, but the Firebirds have run away from the pack ever since a doubleheader sweep on the sixth day of the season.

And these two can barely get a leg up on each other. Hyannis won the first meeting between the two, while Orleans returned the favor Sunday with a 5-3 victory at Eldredge Park. The Firebirds have the best record in the league at 12-5, and Hyannis is next at 10-8.

Errol Robinson (Ole Miss) smacked the fifth pitch of Sunday’s game over the fence for a home run, staking Hyannis to the early lead, but Orleans scored five runs in the second inning – four of which were unearned – and never looked back.

The Firebirds had lost two of three, but the big inning set them up to break through. Kyle Cedotal (SE Louisiana) settled in after the leadoff home run and allowed just two more hits in six innings of work. Hyannis scored twice against the Orleans bullpen, but Sean Watkins (Loyola Marymount) and Jason Harper (Southern Connecticut) held off any further comeback attempts, with Harper notching his second save.

Five different Firebirds drove in a run to lead the attack. Ronnie Dawson (Ohio State) pushed his hitting streak to four with a two-hit, one RBI night. Trey York (East Tennessee State), who had a huge spring but was off to a slow start on the Cape, went 1-for-2 with an RBI.

Dakota Hudson (Mississippi State) was the hard-luck loser. Only one of the five runs charged to him was earned.

 

Y-D 7, Chatham 2

Soggy weather postponed three games, but Y-D and Chatham managed to get theirs in, with the Red Sox scoring all their runs after the sixth inning in a 7-2 win. The Anglers scored a run in the top of the first and carried the 1-0 lead into the sixth. Parker Dunshee (Wake Forest) gave up just one hit through five innings. But Y-D took the lead on a two-run homer by Ryan Noda (Cincinnati) in the sixth, then pulled away from there. Cole Billingsley (South Alabama) had three hits and two RBI to lead the way. The rally made a winner out of Ricky Thomas (Fresno State), who allowed just the first-inning run in six innings of work.
 

What to Watch

Wareham will carry a three-game winning streak into a home game against Chatham tonight. The Gatemen are only two points back of first-place Hyannis in the West.
 

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Bourne Identity

BOU15_celebrate
 
A good start is great, but as so many Cape League teams have shown – especially since the playoffs expanded – a great finish is even better. And a bad start can be left completely behind.

The Bourne Braves still have a ways to go before they can think about a big finish, but the bad start has certainly been erased. With a big chunk of players still with their college teams when the Cape season began and some hard-luck losses mixed in, Bourne got off to an 0-6-1 start this summer. Once they got off the skid, they stayed and have won seven of their last nine, emerging as one of the league’s hottest teams.

Saturday, the Braves knocked off West-leading Hyannis 3-0. They were facing Devin Smeltzer (Florida Gulf Coast), who was fresh off a no-hitter, and they touched him up for 10 hits. On the other side, Ryan Smoyer (Notre Dame) tossed six shutout innings to get the Braves on their way.

Reid Humphreys (Mississippi State) led the offense with two hits and two RBI. He’s one of only four players in Saturday’s starting lineup that was also in the opening day starting nine. Those four – Humphreys, Camden Duzenack (Dallas Baptist), Ryan Boldt (Nebraska) and Corey Julks (Houston) – have been solid, and the reinforcements have helped do the rest. Guys like Nick Solak (Louisville) and Pete Alonso (Florida) are major additions that make Bourne’s lineup a whole lot better. Solak is hitting .314. Alonso made his debut Saturday and went 1-for-4 with an RBI, after hitting five homers for the Gators this spring.

Smoyer made his third start Saturday and out-dueled Smeltzer. He didn’t strike out a batter but only allowed four hits in his six scoreless innings. Bryan Baker (North Florida) and Austin Conway (Indiana State) closed out the shutout, with Conway grabbing his third save.

Hyannis remains atop the division at 10-7, but Wareham – and now the red-hot Braves – are right on their tail. The Braves’ bad start seems like a long time ago.
 

Falmouth 1, Harwich 0

Bourne’s win was one of three Saturday shutouts. Falmouth’s came on the shoulders of four pitchers, with Jack Finnegan (McLennan CC) getting the win in relief and Stephen Villines (Kansas) notching the save when he struck out the side around a single in the ninth. Adam Oller (Northwestern State) started and went five scoreless. The day’s only offense came in the sixth, when Boomer White (Texas A&M) knocked an RBI single. That made Harwich’s Scott Tully (Notre Dame) a very hard-luck loser. He went eight innings, struck out seven and allowed just the one run. Falmouth improved to 7-10 with the win.
 

Brewster 3, Chatham 0

Brewster had the other shutout, as J.D. Busfield (Loyola Marymount) and three relievers combined to quiet Chatham’s bats. Busfield, who was a terrific closer for Loyola, continued his transition to a Cape rotation with his third start, and his best yet. He went six and allowed only two hits. Anthony Arias (Fresno State), Trent Paddon (Oregon) and Thomas Hackimer (St. John’s) did the rest, with Hackimer recording the save. Chatham starter Daniel Castano (Baylor) gave up only one earned run, but three Chatham errors led to a pair of unearned tallies. Colin Lyman (Louisville) and Nico Giarratano (San Francisco) each had two hits for the Whitecaps.
 

Cotuit 5, Orleans 4

The Kettleers were on a seven-game skid but stopped despite having to match up with East-leading Orleans. The Firebirds rallied from a 4-3 deficit to tie the game in the top of the ninth – setting up more heartbreak for the Kettleers – but this time, Cotuit rallied and pushed the winning run across in the bottom of the ninth on the old walk-off walk by Kort Peterson (UCLA). Brett Stephens (UCLA) and Branden Berry (Cal State Northridge) went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Cotuit offense. Nick Lewis (Baylor) got the win with five strong innings of relief. He struck out five and allowed only the ninth-inning run. Kyle Lewis (Mercer) had two hits and two RBI for Orleans. He now ranks second in the league in hitting, tied for first in home runs and tied for third in RBI.
 

Wareham 4, Y-D 2

Wareham won its third in a row, moved one game over .500 and got within two points of first place Hyannis. Evan Hill (Michigan) went five shutout innings for the win and Ryan Olson (Cal Poly Pomona) picked up the save. Nick Cieri (Maryland) went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Andrew Calica (UC Santa Barbara) went 2-for-3 with an RBI. The Gatemen continue to lead the league in runs scored with 78 in 17 games.
 

What to Watch

It’s a battle of division leaders at Eldredge Park when Orleans hosts Hyannis. Kyle Cedotal (SE Louisiana), who had a great spring and has a 0.90 ERA this summer, will start for the Firebirds. Dakota Hudson (Mississippi State), who has struck out seven in each of his starts, goes for Hyannis.
 

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Coasting

Jacob Noll had three hits Friday and leads the league in batting average.
Jacob Noll had three hits Friday and leads the league in batting average.

 
It’s been a quite start to the summer for Florida Gulf Coast players in Hyannis uniforms. Last week, Devin Smeltzer tossed a no-hitter. And last night, Jacob Noll . . . well, he just pretty much did what he’s been doing since the day he arrived at McKeon Park.

The rising junior went 3-for-4 as Hyannis beat Chatham 5-2 Friday night at Veterans Field. It was the 11th game – in his 12 games as a Harbor Hawks – that he’s had at least one hit, and his sixth multi-hit game. Noll leads the league in hitting with a .432 average, RBI with 11, doubles with seven and is tied for the lead in hits with 19. His seven doubles also rank him second in extra-base hits.

Noll’s success has helped Hyannis stay at the top of the West since week one, with the second-best team batting average in the league. Friday’s win moved the Harbor Hawks to 10-6.

Chatham had won three in a row – including a doubleheader sweep over Hyannis – but the Harbor Hawks got their revenge by rallying from a 2-0 deficit with one in the sixth and four in the seventh. JaVon Shelby (Kentucky) had an RBI single to start the comeback, Jake Rogers (Tulane) had an RBI double to tie it, Austin Hays (Jacksonville) knocked an RBI single to plate the go-ahead run and Noll smacked a two-run double to finish things off.

The comeback made a winner out of Marc Skinner (Troy), who tossed 2.2 scoreless innings of relief.

As for Noll, it was another big performance, and it upped his batting average .32 points from the already-pretty-good mark of, you know, .400.

Noll has a track record of hitting and hitting a lot. As a redshirt freshman at Florida Gulf Coast, he batted .367 and was second in the nation in hits – behind former Cape League MVP Max Pentecost. Last summer, he batted .316 in the Northwoods League and checked in at 32nd on the league’s top prospects list. This spring, he was right on target again, hitting .348 and stealing 15 bases for good measure.

And now it’s another league, another big year for Noll.
 

Orleans 6, Falmouth 1

Kyle Serrano (Tennessee) tossed five strong innings and Kyle Lewis (Mercer) homered for the fourth time as Orleans bounced back from a loss to Chatham with a 6-1 victory over the Commodores. Serrano, who two years ago was ranked among the best pitchers in the nation out of high school, continued a solid start to his Cape League career, allowing one run in five innings for his third win in as many tries. He struck out two and allowed three hits. He hasn’t allowed more than three hits in any start yet. The bullpen finished the job in style Friday, with Parker Bean (Liberty) going two hitless frames and Jared Price (Maryland) and Jason Harper (Southern Connecticut) each striking out the side in one inning of work. Lewis went 2-for-3, and his two-run homer in the top of the first inning set Orleans on the path to a win. Lewis is now tied with his Team USA-departed teammate Bobby Dalbec for the league lead in homers. Nick Zammarelli (Elon) added two hits and two RBI for the Firebirds and Reggie Southall (USC) scored three runs. Falmouth starter Bryce Montes de Oca (Missouri), the 6-8 hard-throwing righty, allowed only three hits but walked six.
 

Y-D 5, Harwich 0

Shane Bieber (UC Santa Barbara) came through with one of the league’s best starts this summer as Y-D shut out Harwich for its fourth straight win. Bieber scattered four hits, struck out six and walked only one in 7.2 innings. Bieber was making his second start coming off a terrific year with Santa Barbara, where he teamed with former Y-D standout Justin Jacome. Doug Willey (Franklin Pierce) finished up the shutout. Donnie Walton (Oklahoma State) had a sac fly in the first and a two-run single in the seventh, giving the Red Sox most of their offense. Luke Bonfield (Arkansas) added two hits and an RBI, while Cole Billingsley (South Alabama) had three hits and two runs scored from the top of the lineup. The win streak has put Y-D just one game under .500.
 

Wareham 4, Cotuit 3

The Gatemen scored two in the top of the ninth to win their second straight and send Cotuit to its seventh consecutive loss. The Kettleers led 3-0 after two innings, but Wareham chipped away then broke through in the ninth on a Jay Jabs (Frankin Pierce) sacrifice fly and a passed ball that allowed Connor Beck (TCU) to score the go-ahead run. Shea Spitzbarth (Molloy) shut down Cotuit in the bottom of the ninth to clinch the win. David MacKinnon (Hartford) had two hits and an RBI to lead the Gatemen attack. Michael Paez (Coastal Carolina) went 1-for-3 for Cotuit, resuming an on-base streak that had been snapped at 12 games the night before. Paez leads the league in on-base percentage at .528.
 

Brewster 7, Bourne 2

Brewster’s offense had gone a little quiet in the days since a 16-run outburst against Cotuit, but it was back on track in a six-run fifth inning Friday that powered a 7-2 win over the Braves. Colin Lyman (Louisville) had two hits and two RBI, while Nick Senzel (Tennessee) had a double and two RBI, giving him a league-best eight extra-base hits. The Whitecaps finished with nine hits and now lead the league in team batting average. Jacob Jenkins (Pacific) allowed one run in five innings for the second time this summer and grabbed his first win.
 

What to Watch

Devin Smeltzer will be on the hill for the first time since his no-hitter when Hyannis hosts Bourne. He’ll face a worthy challenger in Notre Dame’s Ryan Smoyer, the top prospect in the Northwoods League last summer. Smoyer has a 4.32 ERA so far this summer.
 

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Knocking on the Door

Parker Dunshee, pictured on the mound earlier this season, didn't pitch Thursday but scored the go-ahead run as a pinch-runner in the 10th.
Parker Dunshee, pictured on the mound earlier this season, didn’t pitch Thursday but scored the go-ahead run as a pinch-runner in the 10th.

 
Coming into Thursday’s game with Chatham, Orleans had won five straight games over its East Division brethren, but most of those wins came against the last-place Y-D Red Sox. In 14 games, the Firebirds had played the Red Sox four times..

Chatham finally got a crack at the Firebirds Thursday – the first meeting of the year between the rivals – and the Anglers served notice that the East may yet put up a fight. The Anglers won a terrific pitchers duel 2-1 in 10 innings for its third straight win, and moved within two points of first-place Orleans in the East standings. The Firebirds are 10-4 while Chatham is now 9-5.

Chatham’s T.J. Zeuch (Pittsburgh) and Orleans’ Eric Lauer (Kent State) were as good as advertised in their part of the duel. Each allowed just one hit in six innings of work, though Chatham did manage an unearned run off Lauer. Zeuch struck out five and kept his season ERA at 0.00. Lauer fanned six, with the only run scoring in the third on an error.

Neither starter factored in the decision, after Chatham’s lead was erased in the seventh when Kyle Lewis (Tennessee) tripled and scored on a groundout by Jeremy Martinez (USC).

After two scoreless innings, Chatham manufactured a run in the top of the 10th. Will Craig (Wake Forest) walked and his college teammate Parker Dunshee (Wake Forest) – a pitcher – pinch-ran for him at first. A sac bunt moved him to second and he tagged up on a fly ball to get to third. He then raced home on a wild pitch with the go-ahead run. Not bad for a pitcher.

Andre Scrubb (High Point) came on for the bottom of the 10th and worked around a two-out walk for his fifth consecutive scoreless outing and his fourth save.

 

Hyannis 2, Cotuit 1

Hyannis bounced back from three straight losses in dramatic fashion, walking off with a 2-1 win over Cotuit to move to 3-0 against the Kettleers this season. The Harbor Hawks led 1-0 from the second inning on and got a dominant start from Nick Deeg (Central Michigan), who struck out six in eight innings and now leads the league in Ks. But Cotuit touched him up for a run in the seventh to tie the game, which set up the Harbor Hawks’ late heroics. In the bottom of the ninth, Ben DeLuzio (Florida) singled on a 1-2 pitch with two outs, and Jacob Noll (Florida Gulf Coast) scampered in from third with the winning run. Thomas Burrows (Alabama) got the win in relief. Noll had two hits, including a single to start the ninth and pushed his league-best batting average to .400. For Cotuit, Jon Woodcock (Virginia Tech) struck out five and allowed just a run in 5.2 innings. Cotuit fell to 4-11 while Hyannis upped its record to 9-6.

 

  • What to Watch

    • Orleans may find itself in another pitchers duel as it visits Falmouth tonight. Kyle Serrano (Tennessee), who struck out eight in five innings in his last start, goes for the Firebirds against Falmouth’s Bryce Montes de Oca (Missouri), who has struck out 13 in 11.1 innings.
     

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    Celebrating for the Cavs

    HAR15_group
     
    University of Virginia players who make their way to Cape Cod often spend their summers with the Harwich Mariners. On the night when the Cavaliers won the national championship in Omaha – with Mariner alumni Joe McCarthy and Kenny Towns in the dog-pile – their brethren in Harwich also picked up a victory. The Mariners beat Brewster 5-3.

    The Mariners actually don’t have a Virginia player on the roster this summer, but over the years, Whitehouse Field has been a frequent destination. Every Cape League team has school connections, and Harwich’s Virginia pipeline has remained strong as the Cavaliers have emerged as a national powerhouse. Some of their best players, like Derek Fisher, Steven Proscia, and Towns, have come through Harwich. Towns hit .250 for the Mariners last summer, while McCarthy finished at .314.

    As those two got set for game three of the championship series in Omaha, Harwich used a four-run second inning to beat Brewster. The Whitecaps out-hit the Mariners 11-5 but didn’t have an extra-base hit and stranded seven runners.

    Connor Justus (Georgia Tech) homered to spark the big second inning and Nick Walker (Old Dominion) had an RBI single. Stevie Berman (Santa Clara) added a sacrifice fly in the eighth as Harwich tacked on an insurance run.

    Harwich starter Geoff Bramblett (Alabama) gave up eight hits but allowed just one run in five innings for the win, his third of the year, which is tied for the league lead. Luke Scherzer (Virginia Tech) picked up his league-best fifth save and kept his ERA at 0.00.

    Robbie Tenerowicz (California) had three hits to lead Brewster and Nick Senzel (Tennessee) drove in two runs.

    The win was the third in a row for Harwich, who moved to 8-5-1. Brewster dropped to 6-8.
     

    Wareham 8, Hyannis 1

    The Harbor Hawks still lead the West – as they have almost since day one – but Wareham still has their number. The Gatemen picked up their third victory in as many tries against Hyannis with an 8-1 victory at McKeon Park. Bailey Clark (Duke) matched the aforementioned Bramblett atop the league leaderboard with his third win, as he went five innings and gave up just a run. The offense did the rest, with six players delivering multi-hit games. Andrew Calica (UC Santa Barbara) went 3-for-4 with two RBI in just his second Cape appearance, while Jay Jabs (Franklin Pierce) went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles. Jarett Rindfleisch (Ball State), who was off to an 0-for-25 start this summer, broke out in a big way, going 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. David MacKinnon (Hartford) had two hits and scored three runs. For Hyannis, Blake Tiberi (Louisville) delivered his fourth consecutive multi-hit game with a 2-for-4 night.
     

    Bourne 5, Cotuit 0

    Continuing to leave its 0-6-1 start in the past, Bourne won for the sixth time in seven games and suddenly finds itself in third place in the West. Josh Rogers (Louisville) struck out six in 5.2 scoreless innings before Gavin Pittore (Wesleyan) and Austin Conway (Indiana State) finished off the shutout. Reid Humphreys (Mississippi State) and Vince Fernandez (UC Riverside) both homered for the Braves – matching the team’s previous season total in one night – to account for four of the five runs. Cotuit managed just four hits in losing its fifth straight.
     

    Y-D 2, Falmouth 0

    The Red Sox won their third straight with a shutout of Falmouth. Brett Adcock (Michigan), who had a very strong spring but had gotten off to a slow start this summer, delivered six scoreless innings and struck out four. Alec Eisenberg (Hofstra) was dominant in relief, striking out six of the nine batters he faced in three perfect innings. Connor Wong (Houston) and Nathan Rodriguez (Arkansas) drove in one run each for all the offense Y-D would need. Luke Bonfield (Arkansas) was on base twice and scored both runs.
     

    What to Watch

    Only two games on the schedule, but the first meeting of the year between rivals Chatham and Orleans has the makings of a good one. T.J. Zeuch (Pittsburgh), a 6-foot-7 righty who hasn’t allowed an earned run in two starts, is slated to go for Chatham against Eric Lauer (Kent State), who has a 1.80 ERA for Orleans.
     

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    Storm Watch

    Tate Blackman and Falmouth shut out Wareham 4-0 Tuesday.
    Tate Blackman and Falmouth shut out Wareham 4-0 Tuesday.

     
    Thunderstorms and rain postponed four of the five Cape League games Tuesday, but Falmouth and Wareham managed to sneak through a late start, an hour-long lightning delay and an early ending to get an official game in. Falmouth won 4-0 in eight innings to move into a tie with Wareham for second place in the West.

    Alex Phillips (San Jacinto) set the Commodores up for the shutout with his second consecutive scoreless outing. He went five innings, struck out five and gave up three hits. Sean Gustin (Holy Cross) pitched the sixth and Andrew Frankenreider (Northern Illinois) went the rest of the way for his third save. Frankenreider hasn’t given up a run all summer, in nine innings over six appearances.

    The Falmouth offense got a home run from Shane Benes (Missouri) plus three hits from Heath Quinn (Samford), who scored two of the four runs. Quinn has seven hits in his last four games. Tristan Gray (Rice) added an RBI.

    Falmouth scored its first two runs off Wareham starter Zac Houston (Mississippi State), who hadn’t surrendered a run in either of his first two outings.

    With Falmouth’s win, both teams have 12 points in the standings, with Falmouth at 6-7 and Wareham 6-8.
     

    What to Watch

    It should be a good mount match-up at McKeon Park in Hyannis, where Nick Deeg (Central Michigan) goes for the Harbor Hawks against Wareham’s Bailey Clark (Duke). Deeg hasn’t allowed an earned run – though five unearned runs came home in his last outing – and has struck out 15 in two starts. Clark has turned in two scoreless starts, going 11 total innings and allowing only five hits.