Second time’s a charm

Nick Deeg, Hyannis, Cape Cod Baseball League

Nick Deeg‘s first Cape Cod Baseball League outing with Hyannis was almost exactly one year ago. The Central Michigan rising junior faced Cotuit and gave up four runs in seven innings.

In a nice bit of symmetry that perfectly reflects the kind of summer Deeg is poised for this year, his first start of 2015 came Wednesday, against Cotuit. This time, the big lefty went eight shutout innings in a 5-0 win for the Harbor Hawks.

It could be a sign of things to come.

Deeg was solid in his first summer on the Cape, putting up a 3.89 ERA while pitching mostly as a starter. It was a season much like his first with Central Michigan, in which he 5-4 with a 4.08 ERA. This past spring, he took the leap with the Chippewas, going 8-5 with a 3.11 ERA, and appears primed for a leap with the Harbor Hawks, too.

Last year, he didn’t strike out more than five batters in any outing. Last night, he struck out eight. Deeg didn’t allow a hit in the first three innings and ended up giving up just two – both singles – in his seven innings of work. HIs performance was probably the best start of the young Cape League season.

Deeg was backed by home runs from Colby Bortles (Ole Miss) and Jake Rogers (Tulane). Corey Bird (Marshall) and Errol Robinson (Ole Miss) added RBI. The Harbor Hawks have put up 21 hits in their first two games, best in the league.

The win moves the Harbor Hawks to 2-0. And Deeg’s performance means they may have found an ace.

Brewster 6, Orleans 4

The Whitecaps won their season opener last year then lost their next game by a 10-0 score. The start’s been better this year, as Brewster is 2-0 and leads the league in runs scored so far. Robbie Tenerowicz (California) went 2-for-4 with a home run to lead the attack Wednesday while Ryan Peurifoy (Georgia Tech) had two RBI. Hunter Martin (Tennessee) started on the hill and went five solid innings before a good effort by the Whitecap bullpen. Pat Ruotolo (Connecticut), who had three saves for Brewster last summer, struck out two in a scoreless ninth for his first of this summer. Orleans got a home run from Kyle Lewis, a late addition to their roster who had an absolutely enormous spring for Mercer, hitting .367 with 17 homers and 19 doubles on his way to Southern Conference Player of the Year honors. He’s a rising junior.

Chatham 3, Bourne 2

Chatham is also 2-0 thanks to a narrow win over the Braves. The Anglers scored an unearned run in the top of the ninth to break a 2-2 tie then got a scoreless bottom half from C.J. Burdick (San Diego). Jim McDade (Millersville) had the win in relief. Zack Short (Sacred Heart) and Aaron Barnett (Pepperdine) had two hits and an RBI each, while ACC Player of the Year Will Craig (Wake Forest) had his first two Cape League hits after an 0-for-3 on opening night. Bourne, which fell to 0-2, got five shutout innings from Andrew Ravel (Kent State).

Wareham 10, Falmouth 1

Duke’s Bailey Clark faced just three over the minimum in a strong start and the Gatemen pounded their way to a 10-1 win over Falmouth. Tanner Kirk (Wichita State) went 3-for-5 with two runs scored at the top of the lineup. Mandy Alvarez (Eastern Kentucky) had two RBI. The Gatemen moved to 1-1 while Falmouth fell to 0-2.

Harwich 4, Y-D 2

The defending champs are 0-2 after a 4-2 loss to Harwich Wednesday. The Mariners picked up a pair of RBI from Johnny Adams (Boston College) and Drew Ellis (The Citadel) chipped in an RBI single. Geoff Bramblett (Alabama) gave up one run and struck out six in six innings of work. Luke Scherzer (Virginia Tech) picked up the save. Stephen Wrenn (Georgia) homered for the Red Sox.

What to Watch

It’s a (very) early battle for first place in the East as Chatham visits Brewster for a 5 p.m. game at Stony Brook Field. Gabe Friese, a solid starter with Kennesaw State this year, is slated to start for the Anglers. Brandon Gold, a standout for Georgia Tech, is the projected starter for the Whitecaps.

June 10, 2015June 10, 2015

Hello, Old Friend

Adam Whitt, Cotuit Kettleers, Cape Cod Baseball League

The players who pop up on Cape League rosters early in the season often have great stories. As teams scramble to fill gaps left by College World Series runs and Team USA invites, the fill-ins step up. They’re small-school guys looking for a chance, or kids from New England schools who were waiting by the phone. They’re young guys who might not have had a shot otherwise.

But of all those archetypes, my favorite might be the old friend.

The Cotuit Kettleers probably feel the same way.

You will not find Adam Whitt’s name on the Cotuit web site roster, but there he was on opening night, striking out all four batters he faced and getting a save in a 3-1 win. In other words, doing exactly what he did last year.

Whitt, a former walk-on at Nevada who found his niche as a side-arming closer, was the Swiss Army Knife of pitchers last summer. Sometimes he had long outings, sometimes he closed. Whatever he did, he was terrific, leading the league in ERA at 1.00 and appearances with 19. He shared the league’s top relief pitcher award with Y-D flamethrower Phil Bickford.

The junior built on his Cape League success by saving 14 games for the Wolf Pack this spring. He’s likely to get drafted, though it didn’t happen on the event’s first two days, through 10 rounds. A third day is on tap today.

But in the meantime, Whitt is a Kettleer again. Cotuit scored two runs in the seventh last night to break a 1-1 tie with Harwich. One inning later, Whitt was in to slam the door, getting four swinging strikeouts for his fifth career Cape League save.

The win went to Jack Anderson (Penn State), who also tossed 1.1 scoreless innings. Will Haynie’s (Alabama) two-run homer was the difference on the scoreboard.

For an old friend, it was a nice welcome back.

Hyannis 5, Falmouth 3

There was free baseball – or more free baseball than usual – in Falmouth, where visiting Hyannis won 5-3 in 11 innings. Kentucky stand-out JaVon Shelby opened his Cape League career by going 3-for-5 and scoring the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th. He doubled and headed home on a sacrifice fly by Colby Bortles (Ole Miss). Returning Hawk Arden Pabst (Georgia Tech) – who didn’t have an extra-base hit in 28 games last summer – followed with an RBI double. Nolan Blackwood (Memphis), on for the final 3.2 innings, then slammed the door after getting the lead, picking up where he left off after saving 14 games with the Tigers. Pabst finished 3-for-5, while Nicholas Pappas (College of Charleston) had two RBI. Boomer White (Texas A&M) had three hits in his return to Falmouth.

Orleans 1, Bourne 0

Four Firebird pitchers combined on a one-hit shutout and the offense did just a little more damage as Orleans topped Bourne 1-0. Mitchell Jordan, who led Stetson with a 3.58 ERA this spring, started and went five innings with five strikeouts. Corbin Burnes (St. Mary’s), Kit Scheetz (Virginia Tech) and Sean Watkins (Loyola Marymount) then teamed up for four hitless innings. Jeremy Martinez (USC) had an RBI double in the seventh for all the offense Orleans needed. Bourne pitchers scattered seven hits. Babe Thomas (Winthrop) had the only hit for the Braves.

Chatham 5, Y-D 1

The Anglers got a strong start from potential ace T.J. Zeuch (Pittsburgh) and steadily pulled away from Y-D for a 5-1 win over the defending champs. Zeuch, a 6-foot-7 righty who struck out 90 this season, went 5.2 innings and allowed just an unearned run while striking out two. Three relievers finished the job without allowing a hit. Nate Mondou (Wake Forest) led the offense with three hits, while Trenton Brooks (Nevada) had two RBI. Aaron Knapp (California), the brother of former Angler Andrew Knapp, also knocked in a run.

Brewster 5, Wareham 4

The Gatemen rallied from a 4-0 deficit to tie the game in the sixth but saw Brewster break the deadlock in the next inning for the 5-4 win. Nick Senzel (Tennessee) knocked in the go-ahead run with a triple, part of a 2-for-4 night. Brandon Gold (Georgia Tech) added three hits and three RBI for the early league lead in both categories. College teammate Zac Ryan (Georgia Tech) earned the win with 3.2 scoreless innings of relief. Starter Anthony Arias (Fresno State) had an odd – but good – line, striking out 10 and not allowing a hit in 5.1 innings. Four walks and an error behind him accounted for the four runs and two earned runs he was charged with. For Wareham, Anthony Kay (Connecticut) returned off a huge season with the Huskies and gave up three runs in three innings.

What to Watch

Hyannis and Cotuit get their rivalry series off to an early start with a match-up at Lowell Field tonight. Returning Harbor Hawk Nick Deeg (Central Michigan) – a 6-foot-5 lefty – gets the ball for Hyannis.

August 16, 2014August 16, 2014

Champs

Y-D players get the championship trophy.

Matt Eureste fouled off pitch after pitch. Six of them, all with two strikes, pop-ups and choppers, one that hit so hard off his foot, he had to take a minute to walk it off. He did whatever he could to stay alive.

Phil Bickford wouldn’t budge. He kept pumping strikes, his velocity maybe down a tick, but his competitive streak still running hot. He wouldn’t throw a ball and he wouldn’t give him a pitch to hit. He struck Eureste out swinging on the ninth pitch of the at-bat.

For the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox and the Falmouth Commodores, it was that kind of series.

Falmouth did all it could. You thought, just as you did when Eureste kept battling the league’s top prospect, that the Commodores would be the ones to slow the Red Sox down.

Y-D never blinked.

The Red Sox swept the Cape Cod Baseball League championship series two games to none with a 10-4 victory on Friday afternoon at Red Wilson Field. The championship capped a remarkable season – and playoff run – for the Red Sox, who were 5-11 two weeks into the season before catching fire, sustaining it, and riding some of the best playoff pitching the league has seen in years to the top prize.

Many thought this was finally Falmouth’s year, maybe because they wanted it to be. The #WinItForTrundy movement has been embraced by two sets of Commodore teams now and – this year especially – by plenty of fans.

But it wasn’t just that. Falmouth looked like the best team in the league when it swept through the first two rounds of the playoffs, and its veteran team seemed poised for its finishing touch.

It never happened. In those moments that decide baseball games – where you blink or you don’t – the Red Sox simply stared right on through time and again. And when given an inch, they took a mile.

Thursday, they fought to beat a pitcher who struck them out 12 times, scoring all their runs with two outs. Their own pitcher dominated a powerful lineup. Friday, the Red Sox fell behind 2-0 and 4-2, but they answered the first deficit and loudly demolished the second.

The first sign that Y-D would own the big moments came in the fourth inning. Falmouth had just gone ahead 2-0, busting a crack into what was shaping up as another pitcher’s duel. Armed with the lead, Commodore starter Kevin McCanna was well on his way to an eight or nine-pitch scoreless inning. He had two outs and an 0-2 count on Josh Lester.

Lester fouled a pitch off, then took a ball, then fouled another pitch off. Then he inside-outed a soft line drive into left field.

Four batters later – with the help of a pair of Falmouth errors – the game was tied. Marcus Mastrobuoni’s infield hit scored one run, and the other came home after an ensuing error on the throw.

Falmouth went ahead again in the sixth on an RBI double by Boomer White and an RBI single by Austin Afenir. This time, Y-D didn’t let McCanna even sniff a one-two-three inning. Rob Fonseca lined the first pitch of the bottom of the sixth into left for a base hit.

The push was on again, and as was the case throughout the series, it was hard to stop. Lester walked. Brennon Lund – into the starting lineup for the first time since Monday – knocked his third hit of the game to load the bases. Joey Armstrong delivered a sacrifice fly and Mastrobuoni came through again with a base hit to tie the game. Michael Donadio drew a bases-loaded walk to give Y-D the lead.

As soon as the runner touched home, Bickford started stirring in the Y-D bullpen. Falmouth had done some good things and yet here they were, in the one spot they didn’t want to be in – trailing, with Bickford warming.

And then it got worse. Jordan Tarsovich smashed a bases-clearing double to deep right-center. Suddenly, Y-D led 8-4.

Sure enough, Bickford headed to the mound. He’d been dominant in the playoffs and now he had an even bigger cushion to work with. He gave up an uncharacteristic four hits, but no Commodore got past second.

Y-D added two runs in the eighth on a Donadio home run and an RBI single by Nico Giarratano.

In the ninth, Falmouth had a runner on first with one out and league MVP Kevin Newman at the plate. It was maybe a chance for Falmouth to own a moment, to swing things in the other direction. But Newman grounded a 1-0 pitch to third base, where Tarsovich started a game-ending 5-4-3 double play.

The Red Sox went wild, and deservedly so. Mastrobuoni and Walker Buehler were named Co-Playoff MVPs.

It’s their first title since 2007 and their fourth this century, more than any other team.

Their three previous championship clubs were dominant, part of the YDynasty. One of those teams won 31 games in the regular season.

This team will not go into the annals for a season like that, but they share an ending and an impressive route to it. Whether they were getting dominant pitching or chipping away at dominant pitching or playing fantastic defense, they were consistently putting the pressure on. They did it with a group that clearly had a lot of chemistry. They lost a few guys – their regular-season RBI leader is in the minor leagues now – but they mixed in some reinforcements and kept a core together. They knew their starting pitchers were a weapon, and they rode them. They shined in all the big moments.

And they never blinked.

August 15, 2014August 15, 2014

Zeroes

Y-D players celebrate in a game earlier this postseason. They're one win away from the title. — Y-D players celebrate in a game earlier this postseason. They’re one win away from the title.

Matt Hall (Missouri State) delivered one of the better Cape League championship series pitching performances you’ll ever see for the Falmouth Commodores last night, striking out 12 in 6.2 innings.

And he lost.

That tells you all you need to know about how good the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox were.

Walker Buehler (Vanderbilt) tossed eight shutout innings and the offense steadily chipped away against Hall, scoring all its runs with two outs, as the Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in the championship series with a 5-0 victory at Guv Fuller Field.

The shutout is Y-D’s fourth in seven postseason games and it was the first championship series shutout since 2010, when the Red Sox themselves were held scoreless twice by Cotuit.

The Buehler-Hall match-up shaped up as a special one. Buehler was stellar in limited duty for the Red Sox, after helping Vanderbilt to the national championship. Hall was a mainstay all summer for Falmouth, tying for the league lead in strikeouts.

Pregame impressions were confirmed quickly – very quickly – when the first two innings took about 15 minutes. It was one of those games where you consistently found yourself looking at the innings box on the scoreboard and saying, “Already?”

Hall seemed a little better than Buehler in the early going, facing the minimum through three and stranding a runner on second in the fourth. He strike out the side in the fifth, but he also fell behind. Josh Lester (Missouri) was hit by a pitch to start the inning. After two strikeouts by Hall, Marcus Mastrobuoni (St. John’s) doubled to deep left field, plating Lester for the 1-0 lead.

Hall came back with two K’s in a scoreless sixth, but Lester doubled with one out in the seventh. After Hall struck out T.J. Wharton (Catawba), the Red Sox delivered more two-out magic, by the skin of their teeth. Hall and the rest of the Commodores thought he had a strikeout of Joey Armstrong (UNLV) when he dropped in a 2-2 curveball that must have been a little low. On the next pitch, Armstrong smacked an RBI double to make it 2-0.

Mastrobuoni followed with a single and Armstrong beat the throw home. After Hall departed to a rousing ovation, A.J. Simcox (Tennessee) reached on a ground ball that got past third, allowing Mastrobuoni to score.

It was a hard-to-swallow inning for Hall and the Commodores, who had nearly escaped with the score still 1-0.

But it may not have mattered anyway.

Buehler was on cruise control. He gave up three hits in eight innings and walked only one. If not for three hit batsmen, Falmouth would have scarcely had runners on base.

Buehler’s best work came as the lead grew. After his team’s three-run seventh inning, he gave up a leadoff double to Jake Madsen (Ohio) in the bottom half. He got Shaun Chase (Oregon) on the first pitch, then struck out Conor Costello (Oklahoma State) and Matt Eureste (San Jacinto) without throwing a ball to either of them.

In the eighth, Falmouth sent its middle of the order to the plate. Buehler got Steven Duggar (Clemson) to ground out then struck out Kevin Newman (Arizona) and Conner Hale (LSU) looking. That’s batting champion Kevin Newman and league RBI leader Conner Hale. And they were frozen.

With that, Buehler departed, giving way to William Strode (Florida State). With one more insurance run courtesy of a homer by Mastrobuoni – who had a single, a double, a homer and three RBI – Strode cruised through the ninth. He worked around a two-out walk to finish off the victory.

The teams will now get set for game two, slated for 4 p.m. today in Yarmouth. It should be another terrific pitching match-up with Kevin Duchene (Illinois) going for Y-D and Kevin McCanna (Rice) trying to keep Falmouth alive. Duchene struck out 12 in 7.1 innings of one-hit ball in his previous playoff start, Y-D’s game three win over Orleans. McCanna, a two-year Commodore, allowed one run in eight innings in a playoff start against Hyannis.

Notes

How about the bottom of Y-D’s lineup? Mastrobuoni – the eighth place batter -was the hitting star of the night with the single, the double and the homer, and two of those came against Hall. Armstrong, batting seventh, had two hits and an RBI and ninth-place hitter Simcox had a hit and an RBI.

Walker Buehler’s performance is about as good as it gets in a Cape League championship series game. The last one I remember that was this good was in 2010, when Matt Andriese tossed a complete-game shutout for Cotuit.

Buehler now has a 0.00 ERA in 15.1 postseason innings. Obviously, it’s a remarkable stat, and it holds up historically as well. Going back to 2000 – the oldest archives on the Cape League’s web site – you can find plenty of 0.00 playoff ERAs but not a single one that was earned over that many innings. Buehler has been fantastic.

Y-D didn’t need to use Phil Bickford Thursday night, and that’s bad news for Falmouth. If Duchene gets Friday’s game to the seventh with his team in the lead and Bickford takes the mound, I would not be optimistic if I were a Commodore fan.

Shout-out to Mrs. Right Field Fog an outstanding scorekeeping performance. She brought her A game for the playoffs.

Great crowd of almost 3,000 in Falmouth last night. I would bet on an even higher number jamming into the bandbox at Red Wilson Field today. Get there early.

August 13, 2014August 13, 2014

Clutch Sox

Phil Bickford struck out six in 2.2 innings to close out Y-D's win on Tuesday. — Phil Bickford struck out six in 2.2 innings to close out Y-D’s win on Tuesday.

There is some debate in sports whether “clutch” is a real, quantifiable thing.

Wherever you stand on the issue, the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox have given one side of the argument some ammunition in the 2014 Cape Cod Baseball League playoffs. In the process, they’ve given Cape League fans a pair of classics.

The Red Sox have pitched very well in the post-season. And when they’ve had to pitch well, they’ve pitched beyond well.

Last night, Justin Jacome (UC Santa Barbara) and Phil Bickford (Cal State Fullerton) combined on a shutout as Y-D edged Harwich 2-0 in game three of the East finals to clinch a spot in the Cape League championship.

The Red Sox have now played two decisive third games this postseason and have won them by 1-0 and 2-0 scores. The fact that they’re decisive games is one thing. Then their opponents have upped the ante by pitching gems themselves, and Y-D hasn’t blinked.

Clutch.

Last night, Jacome squared off with Harwich’s Zack Erwin (Clemson). They were both brilliant, but Y-D scratched a run across in the second inning on a two-out chopper from Marcus Mastrobuoni (Cal State Stanislaus) that the Mariners couldn’t handle. Josh Lester (Missouri) scored.

Jacome gave up a double to Sal Annunziata (Seton Hall) to start the bottom of the second, as it looked like the Mariners would have a quick answer, but Jacome got out of trouble. From there, he allowed just one more hit, a two-out single in the fifth.

Jacome went 6.1 innings, allowing three hits, striking out six and walking none.

He left with his team clinging to the 1-0 lead but gave the ball to the very capable hands of Bickford, the former first-round pick. Bickford finished off a scoreless seventh and struck out two in a perfect eighth. His team added an insurance run in the ninth on a Brennon Lund (BYU) sacrifice fly, but Bickford didn’t need it.

Facing the middle of one of the best batting orders in the league, Bickford gave up a leadoff single to C.J. Hinojosa (Texas).

And then he was masterful.

Bickford struck out Ian Happ (Cincinnati) – one of the league’s top hitters – on three pitches. Then he struck out Anthony Hermelyn (Virginia Tech) on three pitches. Harwich’s last chance was Annunziata, who owned the double in the second. Bickford needed four pitches this time, but he struck Annunziata out, too, sending Y-D into the championship with a flourish.

For the second straight year, a team is into the finals after needing three games to win each of its first two playoff series. Last year, that team was Cotuit and the Kettleers went on to the title.

Y-D will match up with Falmouth, who is 4-0 in the playoffs.

The championship series is scheduled to begin tonight, but heavy rain is in the forecast, so Thursday might be more likely.

Whenever it starts, it’s going to be a good one.

August 12, 2014August 12, 2014

Better Late Than Never

Falmouth players celebrate during their series with Cotuit.

Falmouth’s Conner Hale went 0-for-11 in a playoff series loss to Cotuit last summer. It was the abrupt end of a great summer in Falmouth.

For Hale and his 2014 teammates, what a difference a year makes.

Hale went 4-for-5 with four RBI and the Commodores continued to play great baseball as they finished off a sweep of Cotuit to punch their ticket to the Cape Cod Baseball League championship series. The Commodores are now 4-0 in the playoffs and will get a day of rest while they await the winner of the East finals between Yarmouth-Dennis and Harwich.

This season, Falmouth may not be the loud, must-see-at-batting-practice offensive juggernaut that it was last year – when Hale, the 2014 league RBI leader, batted eighth – but quietly, Falmouth led the league in hitting, ranked third in team ERA and matched last season’s win total. And players like Hale, back in the fold, are tearing it up.

Going back to the end of the regular season, Falmouth has won six games in a row and eight of nine. Yesterday, there was a little less starting pitching but more bullpen dominance and plenty more offense.

Making only his second start of the summer, Matt Hollenbeck (Georgetown) held his own, allowing two runs in four innings. The bullpen, which had needed to pitch only five innings in the team’s first three playoff games, picked up the slack. Travis Stout (Jacksonville State), Ryan Moseley (Texas Tech), Kevin Mooney (Maryland) and Garrett Cleavinger (Oregon) combined on five scoreless innings. That’s now 10 scoreless innings for the Falmouth ‘pen in the postseason.

The offense did the rest. Trailing 2-1, Falmouth scored two runs in the fifth and two in the seventh then blew the doors off with a seven-run eighth inning.

Hale’s big day led the charge, as he knocked in the go-ahead run in the fifth, another run in the seventh and two in the eight-inning burst. Hale is now hitting .375 with seven RBI in the playoffs.

Steven Duggar (Clemson) added three hits and two RBI, while Matt Eureste (San Jacinto) and Cameron O’Brien (West Virginia) had two hits and an RBI apiece. League MVP Kevin Newman (Arizona) went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Every player in the Falmouth lineup had at least one hit.

Kyle Holder (San Diego) homered for the Kettleers but that was all the offense they would get. The loss marked the official end of Cotuit’s title defense, but just making it this far was an impressive feat for a team that had its ups and downs.

With a measure of revenge over the Kettleers, Falmouth moves into the finals for the first time since 2011. Falmouth has not won the Cape League championship since 1980, the longest drought in the league.

Harwich 9, Y-D 2

After a 7-2 loss to Y-D on Sunday, Harwich answered in resounding fashion with a 9-2 victory on Monday, forcing a decisive game three today. The Mariners greeted Y-D starter Gregory Ostner (Binghamton), who had made only one appearance this summer, with four runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back, adding five runs off the Y-D bullpen. C.J. Hinojosa (Texas) and Matt Gonzalez (Georgia Tech) both homered, while Brendon Sanger (Florida Atlantic) and Anthony Hermelyn (Virginia Tech) knocked in a run apiece. James Mulry (Northeastern) – almost the opposite of Ostner as one of the league leaders in innings pitched – gave up one earned in four innings before Ronnie Glenn (Penn) finished with a bang. Glenn pitched five scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing just four hits, thwarting any hopes of a Y-D comeback.

What to Watch

Y-D at Harwich, 7 p.m.

Y-D’s probable starter is Justin Jacome (UC Santa Barbara), so I wouldn’t expect another four-run first inning from Harwich. Jacome hasn’t given up more than two earned runs in any start this year. Harwich’s starter is TBA.

August 11, 2014August 11, 2014

The Beat Goes On

Michael Murray went seven strong innings for Y-D in Sunday's win. — Michael Murray went seven strong innings for Y-D in Sunday’s win.

The 2014 Cape League playoffs have been defined by starting pitching, and the beat went on as the division finals got underway Sunday evening.

In Harwich, Y-D’s Michael Murray (Florida Gulf Coast) allowed two runs in seven innings as the Red Sox knocked off top-seeded Harwich 7-2. And in Falmouth, Alex Young (TCU) gave the Commodores a series lead with eight innings of one-run ball in a 3-1 victory over Cotuit.

Y-D starting pitchers have now gone at least seven innings and allowed no more than two runs in the Red Sox’ four playoff games. It’s amazing that they lost a game in that stretch, but it was only because Justin Jacome (UC Santa Barbara) was out-dueled by CCBL outstanding pitcher honoree Kolton Mahoney in game one of the East semis. After that, Walker Buehler (Vanderbilt) and Kevin Duchene (Illinois) both went seven-plus shutout innings.

On Sunday, Murray gave up a first-inning run on a Sal Annunziata (Seton Hall) sacrifice fly, ending the shutout streak but not Y-D’s chances. He retired 11 in a row before a Kenny Towns (Virginia) double led to a run in the fifth, but he righted the ship for two more scoreless frames. Dimitri Kourtis (Mercer) relieved him and gave up just one hit in two scoreless innings.

Harwich pitching had been pretty good in its own right in a series sweep of Brewster, but Y-D scored three runs in the third inning and four in the fourth to take control.

Andrew Stevenson (LSU) started it all with one swing of the bat. He smacked a three-run homer in the third to put Y-D in front for good. Stevenson, A.J. Simcox (Tennessee) and Michael Donadio (St. John’s) added RBI in a four-run fourth inning, and that was all Y-D needed.

Mrs. Right Field Fog and I were on hand in Harwich, relegated to the edge of the woods thanks to a huge crowd. The Y-D faithful was out in full force and had a lot to cheer about it. That team is having some fun, too, and is clearly riding some momentum. Harwich will need a big effort today to stay alive.

Over in the West, Falmouth scored all its run on a Matt Eureste (San Jacinto) home run in the second inning and had no trouble making the lead stand up.

Young might have been in the running for CCBL Outstanding Pitcher honors if his Horned Frogs hadn’t made it to Omaha, and he pitched like it Sunday. He gave up one run on four hits and struck out eight in eight innings. Young, whose first CCBL start was on July 5, has not allowed more than two runs in any outing. He has now struck out 36 and walked four, to go with a 1.41 ERA.

Matt Eckelman (St. Louis) pitched the ninth for the save.

As for the Falmouth offense, Eureste delivered. While Kevin Newman (Arizona) was the league MVP and Conner Hale (LSU) the league RBI leaded, Eureste has been a huge key to success. He finished the regular season hitting .292. Sunday’s home run was all the offense Falmouth needed.

What to Watch

Harwich at Y-D, 4 p.m.
Falmouth at Cotuit, 4 p.m.

Starting pitchers are TBA for three of the four teams, with James Mulry (Northeastern) slotted in for Harwich. It’ll be interesting to see if Y-D can go back to the top of its rotation, or if everyone will need another day.

August 10, 2014August 10, 2014

Another Sox Shutout

Kevin Duchene struck out 12 in Y-D's victory. — Kevin Duchene struck out 12 in Y-D’s victory.

In a series absolutely dominated by starting pitching, the Y-D Red Sox had a pair of aces up their sleeve.

After second-seeded Orleans won the first game of the East semis behind a 13-strikeout shutout from Kolton Mahoney, Y-D starting pitchers Walker Buehler (Vanderbilt) and Kevin Duchene (Illinois) allowed a total of three hits in more than 14 innings of scoreless baseball as the Red Sox rallied to win the series. Duchene struck out 12 last night, and Y-D made a second inning squeeze play stand up in a 1-0 victory.

That’s pretty remarkable stuff. In the entirety of last year’s Cape Cod Baseball League postseason, there were three shutouts. Y-D and Orleans authored three in three games, all by themselves. (Falmouth and Harwich have gotten in on the act, too, bringing the total so far this summer to five shutouts).

Last night’s performance was perhaps the best of all.

Duchene was a big part of Y-D’s late-season surge, a surge marked by tremendous starting pitching. But he also blinked in his last regular-season start, giving up five runs in five innings.

Last night, he allowed a single to David Thompson (Miami) with two outs in the first inning and didn’t give up another hit. He walked only two.

His team gave him the lead in the second. Jordan Tarsovich (VMI) reached on a fielder’s choice and took third on a Joey Armstrong (UNLV) single. Josh Lester (Missouri), one of the team’s top RBI men who you’d expect to swing away, put down a perfect squeeze bunt to score Tarsovich.

Armed with the lead, Duchene struck out the side in the bottom of the second inning before getting into a little trouble in the third when he loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batsman. But he escaped with a strikeout.

That K was the beginning as Duchene retired the next 14 batters he faced, seven of them via the strikeout.

After getting the first out in the eighth, with his pitch count at 103, Duchene was lifted for standout closer Phil Bickford (Cal State Fullerton), who picked up where his starter left off. Bickford struck out two and gave up one hit in 1.2 innings. Fittingly, he struck out the last batter he faced to clinch the series win.

Y-D will move on to face top-seeded Harwich in the East finals. The two last met in the finals in 2011, when Harwich won on its way to the Cape League championship.

Here Come the Kettles

The defending champs are on another run.

Cotuit scored early and got some of its best pitching of the season last night as it edged top-seeded Bourne 4-2 for a spot in the West finals.

Last year, the Kettleers got hot in the playoffs, but there was at least some sign that it was coming. They were the third seed but they went 25-18-1 and finished just one point out of a first-place tie between Hyannis and Falmouth.

This year? Try the opposite: 18-25-1. They were 18 points out of first place.

But here they go.

Jake Harper of Division II St. Joseph’s College in Indiana played the familiar role of conquering Cotuit hero who spent most of his summer somewhere else. Harper won the Pitcher of the Year award in the Valley League this summer, and when your season ends after you win an award like that, you’re usually ready to call it a summer. Harper came to the Cape and pitched in one regular season game, then made an appearance out of the bullpen in game one against Bourne.

Last night, he started and allowed just one earned run in 6.1 innings. He didn’t strike out a batter but scattered six hits.

The Kettleers built a lead with one run in the first, two in the second and one in the fourth. Kyle Holder (San Diego) had two RBI, and Cotuit scored three unearned runs thanks to four Bourne errors.

Harper gave way to Austin Sexton (Mississippi State), who walked the first batter he faced. Immediately, Cotuit went to Adam Whitt (Nevada), the Cape League’s most outstanding reliever, and he did the job. Whitt struck out four and didn’t allow a hit in closing out the game with 2.2 scoreless innings. Whitt had gone two innings for the save in Friday’s win and, at this point, may be Cotuit’s single most valuable player.

The loss ended a terrific summer for the Braves, who set a franchise record for wins in the regular season and had a really good, consistent group.

Like so many teams the past two years, they just ran into the streaking Kettleers. Cotuit beat Bourne in the West finals last year.

Cotuit advances to play Falmouth, which is another rematch of last year. Cotuit beat Falmouth in the West semis a year ago.

What to Watch

Y-D at Harwich, 5:30 p.m.
Cotuit at Falmouth, 5:30 p.m.

Pitching has been fantastic so far and there might be more of it tonight. Michael Murray (Florida Gulf Coast) and Robby Kalaf (Florida International) square off in Harwich. Alex Young (TCU), who’s been terrific after a late arrival, will go for Falmouth. Cotuit’s starter is TBA.

August 9, 2014August 9, 2014

Still Alive

Brendan Hendriks is greeted in the dugout after his go-ahead home run Friday.

Higher-seeded teams owned the first games of their opening-round playoff series, and two of them held serve in game two.

We shouldn’t be surprised at the two teams that avoided sweeps. Cotuit and Y-D, winners of five of the last 10 Cape League championships, don’t go down easy.

Cotuit rallied from an early 5-0 deficit to beat top-seeded Bourne 10-7, while Y-D got a dominant performance from Walker Buehler (Vanderbilt) and broke out the bats in a 9-0 shutout of East No. 2 Orleans. Both series will conclude with game threes today.

For Cotuit, it’s been an up-and-down season, dominated by the fact that the Kettleers just don’t have much starting pitching. They have made it work by cobbling things together, and of course, with their backs against the wall yesterday, they made it work by doing it very well. Seven pitchers took the mound, and once Cotuit made its comeback, the final three pitchers combined on five scoreless innings.

The pitching contingent has been led all summer by Adam Whitt (Nevada), who was presented with the league’s outstanding relief pitcher award before Friday’s game. Whitt, unlike most recipients of that award, was not strictly a closer, often pitching two or three innings, whether his team was winning or losing. Yesterday, he went the final two innings, giving up no runs on one hit. Austin Sexton (Mississippi State) and Jackson McClelland (Pepperdine) had scoreless outings before Whitt took the hill.

The comeback made the strong relief work count. Bourne’s Richard Martin Jr. (Florida) led off the game with a home run, and Cotuit trailed 5-0 after three but quickly got back into the game with two runs in the third and one in the fourth. Bourne pulled back away at 7-3, but Cotuit got within 7-6 then scored three in the seventh and one in the eighth to take control.

Logan Taylor (Texas A&M), Jackson Glines (Michigan) and Brendan Hendriks (San Francisco) all homered for the Kettleers, with Hendriks’s two-run blast in the seventh giving them the lead for good. Kyle Holder (San Diego) added three hits.

Martin and Blake Davey (Connecticut) both homered for Bourne, but it wasn’t enough. The Braves had only two hits after the fifth inning.

Over in Yarmouth, the Red Sox cruised past Orleans 9-0 after they were shut-out 3-0 in game one. Buehler, who pitched briefly with Team USA but found his way back to the Cape, allowed just a pair of singles in 7.1 innings. He struck out five and walked only one.

Y-D’s starting rotation, even with the loss of Cody Poteet, still looks like it could be the best in the playoffs. Justin Jacome was the hard-luck loser against Orleans ace Kolton Mahoney, but Buehler got the Red Sox back on track. Drake Owenby (Tennessee) retired all five batters he faced to finish off the win.

The Y-D offense made sure no one would be a hard-luck loser this time. Jesse Jenner (San Diego) and Michael Donadio (St. John’s) had three hits each to pace a 13-hit attack. Donadio homered. Nico Giarratano (San Francisco) and Timothy Wharton (Catawba) drove in two runs each.

Harwich 5, Brewster 0

Top-seeded Harwich punched its ticket into the East finals with a shutout of Brewster. Michael Boyle (Radford) went six innings with eight strikeouts before Johnathan Frebis (Middle Tennessee State) and Jacob Evans (Oklahoma) finished off the shutout. For much of the game, Harwich needed that kind of effort, with Brewster pitchers limiting the Mariner offense to one run through the first seven innings. But Harwich scored three in the eighth and one in the ninth for a little extra breathing room. Joe McCarthy (Virginia) went 4-for-5 – and is now 7-for-10 in the playoffs – while Ian Happ (Cincinnati) had two hits and two RBI. For Brewster, Cody Ponce (Cal Poly Pomona) allowed one run in three innings and Levi MaVorhis (Kansas State) – who played a lot more outfield than he ever expected in this series – pitched three scoreless frames. The Whitecaps, who made a strong late-season run, were short-handed in the playoffs and didn’t stand much of a chance. Harwich now gets a day off before beginning play in the East finals.

Falmouth 5, Hyannis 1

Falmouth also rode strong pitching to a sweep of Hyannis. Kevin McCanna (Rice) allowed one run in eight innings, needing just 100 pitches to get that far. He struck out six and scattered five hits. The Commodore offense did the rest. Conner Hale (LSU) and Boomer White (TCU) knocked in two runs each while Kevin Newman (Arizona) and Austin Afenir (Oral Roberts) had two hits. Falmouth scored three in the first, meaning it never trailed in the series. Donnie Dewees (North Florida) scored the lone run for Hyannis in the seventh inning. The Harbor Hawks, who overcame a mid-season slump to grab the third seed, had beaten Falmouth three straight times in the regular season, including a 10-0 win on August 1.

What to Watch

Cotuit at Bourne, 6 p.m.
Y-D at Orleans, 7 p.m.

I’ll be interested to see how the pitching match-up turns out in Orleans. The Red Sox have a solid starter going in Kevin Duchene, while Orleans is turning to Kyle Twomey, who’s been very good but has also pitched mostly out of the bullpen. His longest outing is five innings.

August 8, 2014August 8, 2014

Joining the Club

Richard Martin Jr. had a triple as Bourne beat Cotuit in the playoff opener.

Bourne and Cotuit did not play Wednesday, rained out when everybody else took the field. Thursday, they did play, when everybody else was washed out.

But the West rivals didn’t buck the other trend.

Just like all the action on day one of the Cape League playoffs, it the higher-seeded Braves took a 1-0 lead in their series. They rode a good pitching performance and their always steady offense to a 5-3 victory over Cotuit.

Bourne starter Travis Bergen (Kent State) was touched up for 10 hits in five innings, but he consistently worked out of trouble, stranding at least one runner in every inning and eight total. He ended up allowing three runs while striking out four and walking only one. Newcomer Gabe Friese (Kennesaw State) followed with a scoreless sixth before the tandem of John Gorman (Boston College) and Joey Strain (Winthrop) finished the job.

Gorman and Strain represent perhaps the best back end of a bullpen in the playoffs, and if they’re pitching against you, it’s probably not going well. Bourne has won 11 of 13 games Gorman has appeared in and 13 of 15 that Strain has pitched in.

On the offensive side, that steady Braves offense scored exactly five runs for the fourth consecutive game. Mark Laird (LSU) went 3-for-4 while Richard Martin Jr. (Florida) had a triple and two RBI. Blake Allemand (Texas A&M), Brian Serven (Arizona State) and Gavin Collins (Mississippi State) knocked in a run each. Zander Wiel (Vanderbilt) had two hits.

The Kettleers got two hits and an RBI each from Logan Taylor (Texas A&M) and Jackson Glines (Michigan) but it wasn’t enough.

Cotuit and Bourne split their six meetings in the regular season, so don’t count the defending champion Kettleers out yet, but they’ll need to win today to stay alive. Jeff Kinley (Michigan State), who has a 1.40 ERA but has only started two games, will go for Cotuit against Bourne’s Jimmy Herget, who went six shutout innings in his last start.

What to Watch

Harwich at Brewster, 4 p.m.
Bourne at Cotuit, 4 p.m.
Orleans at Y-D, 4 p.m.
Falmouth at Hyannis, 6 p.m.

And maybe the Cape won’t get thunderstorms that roll in exactly at scheduled first pitch time.