Category: Daily Fog

With rain washing out four-fifths of the Cape League schedule last night, only the Harwich-Falmouth game got in.

Harwich probably didn’t mind that no one else was playing.

The chase pack has been hot on the Mariners’ heels all week, and going into last night’s action, three teams were tied atop the East. Harwich beat Falmouth 7-5, though, to move back into sole possession of first.

Harwich did every bit of its damage in a seven-run fourth inning, which Falmouth came into with a 4-0 lead. Brian Ragira (Stanford) hit his sixth home run and drove in three, while Sam Dove (Georgia Tech) hit his third homer. Brett Austin (NC State) and A.J. Reed (Kentucky) each drove in runs as well.

On the mound, Eric Skoglund (Central Florida) got the win with 1.2 innings of relief. C.K. Irby (Samford) followed him out of the bullpen and allowed just one hit in three scoreless innings. Vladimir Camacho (Franklin Pierce) pitched a scoreless ninth for the save.

What to Watch

Sean Manaea was scheduled to start yesterday for Hyannis, so I imagine he’ll get the ball today as the Harbor Hawks host Falmouth at 7 p.m.

The whole Right Field Fog crew is on the Cape this week so we took in the Chatham-Wareham game last night. RFF commenter Orville from Orleans was also on hand, and we chatted about this crazy summer of Cape League Baseball.

Then we saw it. A lot of it.

Four home runs and three hours, forty-three minutes later, Wareham outlasted Chatham 10-6. In this summer of offense, even the light-hitting Anglers have gotten in on the act plenty of times. But on this night, Wareham had a little more.

Chatham led 6-5 into the seventh, and reliever Tate Parrish (North Carolina) was doing his best to hold the league. He struck out the first two batters he faced in the fifth and worked a one-two-three sixth. But in the seventh, the Gatemen got to him. A single and an error put two on with two outs. Parrish jumped ahead of Daniel Palka (Georgia Tech) 0-2 in a lefty-lefty match-up. But Palka went with the next pitch and poked into left field. Two runners scored to give Wareham the lead.

Then in the ninth, with Konner Wade (Arizona) warming up and probably not needing any cushion, Wareham added to its lead. Kyle Schwarber (Indiana) smacked a two-run homer just over the fence — and the out-stretched glove of a leaping Adam Engel (Louisville) in center. One batter later, Palka absolutely smashed a solo home run to right-center field that landed at the top of the Veterans Field hill. It was the eighth home run for Palka, who’s not tied for the league lead.

Wareham was on its way. Chatham did put two on with two out in the bottom of the ninth, but Wade got out of the jam with a groundout to seal the victory.

Elsewhere

The other slugfest was in Harwich, where Y-D beat the Mariners 16-10 in another game that took, oddly enough, exactly 3 hours, 43 minutes. The win — and an Orleans victory — created a three-way tie for first place in the East between Y-D, Harwich and Orleans. The Red Sox had 18 hits and scored double-digit runs for the ninth time this season. Zak Blair (Mercyhurst) went 4-for-4 and took over the league lead in hitting at .402. Robert Pehl (Washington) went 3-for-6 with six RBI and he jumped to the top of the RBI leaderboard with 28. Tanner Mathis (Ole Miss) and Carlos Asuaje (Nova Southeastern) also had three hits, while Sam Travis (Indiana) drove in two runs. Eric Jagielo (Notre Dame) hit his eighth home run for Harwich, and Phillip Ervin (Samford) drove in two. Harwich has lost five straight while Y-D has won five in a row.

Orleans beat Cotuit 4-2 to do its part in creating the first-place tie. Conrad Gregor (Vanderbilt) went 2-for-4 with his sixth home run, while Max Rossiter (Arizona State) and Dominic Ficociello (Arkansas) had two hits and an RBI each. On the mound, Jimmy Reed (Maryland) had the tough task of cooling off the hot Cotuit offense but did it to perfection, striking out six and allowing just a run on three hits in seven innings. The Kettleers scored a run in the ninth, but Kyle Crockett (Virginia) stranded runners at second and third for his third save.

Hyannis has had some of the best starting pitching performances of the season, and David Garner (Michigan State) put himself near the top of the list last night. Garner, who’s pitched out of the bullpen and in the rotation, turned in by far his best outing. He struck out nine and allowed just an unearned run on three hits in eight innings of work as the Harbor Hawks beat Falmouth 5-1. Garner retired the last 12 batters he faced. And he had support. Brett Michael Doran (Stanford) had two hits and an RBI, as did Taylor Zeutenhorst (Iowa). Mitchell Garver (New Mexico) and Jeff Schalk (UAB) also had an RBI each. Hyannis has now gone 10-8 since its 0-9 start.

Bourne rallied from a 2-0 first-inning deficit and walked off in the 10th for a 3-2 victory over Brewster. Bourne starter Jaron Long (Ohio State) gave up the two in the first but dominated from there, allowing just two more hits in the next six innings. The Braves managed to chip away against Brewster star Tom Windle (Minnesota), getting two runs off him to tie the game. Then in the 10th, with two men on, Mason Robbins (Southern Miss) hit a ground-rule double to score Colin Moran (North Carolina) with the game-winning run. John Farrell (William & Mary) got the win after pitching a scoreless top of the 10th.

What to Watch

League-wide off-day today. Looking ahead to Wednesday, Sean Manaea (Indiana State) is scheduled to pitch for Hyannis in a 7 p.m. home game against Wareham.

The Harwich Mariners hit their 42nd home run of the season last night. It came off the bat of Brian Ragira (Stanford) and it meant that Harwich has now surpassed the benchmark total of the 2007 Y-D Red Sox, whose 41 home runs were the most in a long time before the Mariners came along.

But I don’t think there was much of a celebration. Brewster won 10-5 to hand the Mariners their fourth straight loss. Y-D, Chatham and Orleans are now all tied for second, just one game back of the Mariners.

It’s kind of symbolic — for all the power, Harwich is not invincible. I think they have the most talented lineup in the league and they may well win the Cape League championship, but they can be beaten.

The other angle from last night is that the Mariners can really be beaten by Brewster. The Whitecaps have now beaten Harwich four times this season in four tries.

While the Whitecaps aren’t in that group of three that’s right behind Harwich, they’re not far back, three games at this point.

Last night, they pounded out 13 hits, led by two Spencer Navin (Vanderbilt) home runs. Ryon Healy (Oregon) added two hits and three RBI, while Jason Monda (Washington) knocked in a run. Dylan Davis (Oregon State) had a rough start on the mound, giving up five runs in three innings, but the bullpen was in control from there, pitching six shutout innings. Evan Rutter (Rice) got the win with three strong innings, and James Leckenby (Washington State) finished it off with four strikeouts in two scoreless innings.

Elsewhere

Chatham stayed hot with a 3-1 victory over Falmouth, its fourth in a row. The Anglers broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth when Tom Bourdon (Boston College) doubled to move Alex Calbick (Maine) to third. Calbick scored on a wild pitch before Alex Chittenden (Louisville) hit an RBI single for the two-run lead. Jake Joyce (Virginia Tech) then picked up the save with a scoreless ninth. Aaron Brown (Pepperdine) got the win in relief. Bourdon had two hits to lead the offense. For Falmouth, Ben Wetzler (Oregon State) turned in a strong start, striking out six in five scoreless innings before Chatham got to the Commodore bullpen.

Y-D also won for the fourth time in a row, beating Wareham 8-2. Sam Travis (Indiana) hit his third home run, while Tanner Mathis (Ole Miss) and Zak Blair (Mercyhurst) had three hits each. Mason Katz (LSU) and Carlos Asuaje (Nova Southeastern) had two hits and an RBI apiece. On the mound, Alex Gonzalez (Oral Roberts) turned in his best performance, allowing a run in five innings while striking out six.

Bourne snapped Cotuit’s seven-game winning streak with an 11-3 victory. The Braves scored six runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back. Mason Robbins (Southern Miss) went 3-for-4 with his fourth home run and three RBI, while John Murphy (Sacred Heart) and Jack Reinheimer (East Carolina) also had three hits. Chase McDonald (East Carolina) went 2-for-3 with two RBI, and Joe Jackson (The Citadel) also drove in two. Chad Green (Louisville) got the win with five solid innings and Timothy Giel (Columbia) didn’t allow a hit on his way to a three-inning save.

Hyannis hit four home runs on its way to a 9-5 victory over Orleans. Brandon Trinkwon (Cal), who’s quietly emerging as an MVP candidate, hit his fifth and raised his batting average to .363. Brett Michael Doran (Stanford), Dominic Jose (Stanford) and Mitchell Garver (New Mexico) had the other homers. Jimmy Hodgskin (Troy) allowed five runs in three innings, but the Hyannis bullpen slammed the door with six scoreless frames. Josh Walker (New Mexico) got the win with 3.2 innings.

What to Watch

Should be a good pitching match-up tonight in Bourne. Ohio State standout Jaron Long goes for the Braves against Brewster’s Tom Windle (Minnesota), who’s been outstanding in his last three starts. Game time is 6 p.m.

Remember when Harwich and Orleans were running away with the East?

So much for that.

While I still think those two are the two best teams, they’ve struggled lately, especially the Firebirds. Meanwhile, Y-D and Chatham have not struggled. The Red Sox beat first-place Harwich 12-7 last night for their third win in a row, while the Anglers topped Hyannis 9-4 for their third win in a row.

Those victories, together with a loss by Orleans, have the top four teams in the East separated by a total of two games.

Y-D scored the biggest blow by out-Harwiching Harwich. The Red Sox hit three home runs on their way to another double-digit run night, their seventh of the season. Carlos Asuaje (Nova Southeastern) went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI, Mason Katz (LSU) went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI and Justin Shafer (Florida) went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Robert Pehl (Washington) added two RBI.

Andrew Thurman (Long Beach State) got the win after allowing five earned in 5.1 innings. Rick Knapp (Central Florida) went 3.2 scoreless innings to derail any hopes of a Harwich comeback.

The loss was the third in a row for the Mariners.

Over in Chatham, the Anglers continued to surge. After beating Falmouth and Harwich the previous two nights, the Anglers added Hyannis to the list. Though they were out-hit 14-10, the Anglers got the big hits. Chad Pinder (Virginia Tech) hit two home runs and drove in four while John Martinez (Michigan State) knocked in two.

On the mound, Thomas Lawrence (Maine) made his second start since joining the rotation and pitched well again, allowing three runs and striking out six in 6.2 innings. Jimmy Litchfield (UC Irvine) struck out four in two innings of relief.

Elsewhere

Break up the Kettleers. Cotuit won for the seventh time in a row, beating Brewster 5-3 thanks to four runs in the eighth inning. The Kettleers are now just one game off the pace of Harwich’s’ league-best record. Mike Ford (Princeton) went 2-for-4 with two RBI to lead the charge, while Patrick Biondi (Michigan), Cael Brockmeyer (Cal State Bakersfield) and Jacob Valdez (San Jose State) drove in one run apiece. Cotuit starter Kyle Finnegan (Texas State) allowed three runs and struck out seven in four innings. Dusty Isaacs (Georgia Tech) got the win with three hitless innings of relief and Dan Slania (Notre Dame) picked up his league-best sixth save. For Brewster, Aaron Judge (Fresno State) hit his third home run, while Sam Moll (Memphis) pitched six shutout innings before Cotuit got to the bullpen.

Falmouth has its work cut out for it in keeping up with the Kettleers, but the Commodores did it last night with an 8-7 victory over Bourne. Falmouth scored five runs in the final two innings to erase a 4-3 deficit then held off a Braves charge in the ninth. Jon McGibbon (Clemson) and Drew Dosch (Youngstown State) homered for the Commodores, who also got three hits from Billy Ferriter (UConn). Sean Hagan (St. John’s) allowed four runs in seven innings and got the win. The Braves scored three runs in the ninth and had the bases loaded with two outs when reliever John Colella (Holy Cross) struck out Trent Gilbert (Arizona) to seal the win.

Dylan Clark (Elon) made his first start for Orleans after dominating as a reliever, but he was greeted rudely by Wareham. The Gatemen scored four runs off him in 4.1 innings and added four runs off the Firebirds bullpen on their way to an 8-4 victory. Mott Hyde (Georgia Tech) went 2-for-4 with a home run and five RBI, while Tyler Horan (Virginia Tech) hit his seventh home run of the year. Ethan Gross (Memphis) went 3-for-3. Colby Suggs (Arkansas) got the win in relief.

What to Watch

Chatham will try to stay hot and will send its best pitcher to the mound as it visits Falmouth at 5:30 p.m. Ryan Thompson (Franklin Pierce), who struck out 11 in his last start, will go against Ben Wetzler (Oregon State), who has a 3.48 ERA in two starts.

The Cotuit Kettleers stayed hot last night with a 2-1 victory over Wareham.

And their hot streak is really taking them places.

The win was Cotuit’s sixth in a row and, coupled with a Falmouth loss, it moved them into first place in the West. Cotuit is now 14-10. Exactly one week ago, they were 9-10. The streak had just begun. In the last week, Cotuit has put it all together, pitching and hitting — especially hitting — better than it has all season.

Last night marked the fewest runs Cotuit had scored in the streak and the closest game in the streak, but the Kettleers still found a way.

A run in the second and another in the fourth turned out to be enough as three Cotuit pitchers combined to limit Wareham to a run on eight hits. Ace Kevin Ziomek (Vanderbilt) scattered seven hits and allowed one run while striking out five in 5.2 innings. Brandon Bixler (Florida Gulf Coast) went 1.2 scoreless innings before giving way to Ryan Connolly (Coastal Carolina), who slammed the door early. Connolly, who now leads the league in appearances with 12, came on with two men on in the seventh, got out of the jam and then cruised. He pitched the final 2.2 innings without allowing a hit. He struck out two.

Patrick Biondi (Michigan), the league’s leading hitter, went 2-for-3 with an RBI to lead the offense. He raised his average to .414. Tony Kemp (Vanderbilt) had the other RBI while Mike Ford (Princeton) added two hits.

Wareham’s lone run came on a home run by Daniel Palka (Georgia Tech), his seventh. The Gatemen, who were neck-and-neck with Cotuit in the early part of the season, have headed in the opposite direction, losing five in a row.

Anything you can do . . .

. . . Well not quite better, but pretty close.

After Sean Manaea dominated for Harwich on Thursday, Jeff Hoffman (East Carolina) followed suit last night. The rising sophomore struck out nine and allowed just two hits in seven innings as Hyannis rolled over Brewster 11-0.

Hoffman had solid numbers at ECU this spring. He’s been good on the Cape too but Hyannis had lost each of his first three starts, largely through no fault of his own.

This time Hoffman left no doubt. He walked four but gave up just two singles, both to Ryon Healy (Oregon). He kept everyone else’s bat silent.

And like Manaea the night before, he had plenty of help. Hyannis broke out for double-digit hits again, pounding 16 on their way to the 11-run outburst. Blake Austin (Auburn) hit a home run and drove in four, while Brandon Trinkwon (Cal) went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Trinkwon has had three multi-hit games in a row and is now batting .346.

Dominic Jose (Stanford) and Taylor Zeutenhorst (Iowa) also had three hits while Brett Michael Doran (Stanford) had two RBI.

With the two straight wins — and two straight losses for Bourne — Hyannis is now back in front of the Braves in fourth place by a game.

Elsewhere

Chatham beat a first-place team for the second straight night. After topping then first-place Falmouth on Thursday, the Anglers edged East leader Harwich 4-2 last night. Starter Mike Wagner (San Diego) struck out eight and surrendered two runs in 4.2 innings before the Chatham bullpen took over. Jaime Schultz (High Point), Jake Joyce (Virginia Tech) and Nick Burdi (Louisville) combined to strikeout 10 more batters in the final 4.2 innings, giving the Anglers 18 for the night. John Martinez (Michigan State) led the offense with a home run and two RBI. Alex Calbick (Maine) and Dale Carey (Miami) knocked in the other runs. Brett Austin (NC State) homered for Harwich.

Y-D’s Aaron Blair (Marshall) picked up his league-best fifth win of the season with another quality start, and the Red Sox beat Bourne 7-5. Blair allowed three earned runs — more than he had allowed the whole summer — in six innings but struck out six and left with a lead. Blair now has more wins than any pitcher had all of last season. The offense was led by Sam Travis (Indiana), who went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Mason Katz (LSU) also went 2-for-4 with an RBI while Carlos Asuaje (Nova Southeastern) went 3-for-5 and knocked in a run.

Orleans had lost six of seven and had struggled with the bats, but the Firebirds broke out last night for 15 hits in a 9-4 victory over Falmouth. Jake Hernandez (USC) did a lot of the damage by himself, going 4-for-4 with two home runs and six RBI. J.T. Riddle (Kentucky) added three hits, while Reed Gragnani (Virginia), Max Rossiter (Arizona State) and Dominic Ficociello (Arkansas) had two teach. On the mound, Dylan Covey (San Diego) made his first start and allowed three earned in three innings before giving way to his friends in the bullpen, who took care of the rest. Four relievers combined to allow just two hits in six shutout innings led by Pat Christensen (La Salle), who went three scoreless and got the win. Orleans, for all its struggles, is now just a game back of Harwich for first in the East.

What to Watch

Cotuit will try to keep its streak going when it visits Brewster at 5 p.m. Kyle Finnegan (Texas State), who had been listed as the probable for last night but didn’t pitch, is the probable starter again. Sam Moll (Memphis), who has struck out 25 in 19.1 innings and went six scoreless in his last start, gets the ball for the Whitecaps.

It’s the year of the bat in the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Every time Sean Manaea (Indiana State) pitches, the bats get a little bit quieter.

The Hyannis lefty has been dominant all summer, and almost every start has been better than the one before. Last night, Manaea struck out a season-high 13, didn’t walk anybody and allowed just a run on two hits in seven innings as Hyannis beat Wareham 8-2.

Manaea now leads the league in strikeouts with 51 in 30.2 innings. We’ve focused on the home run record books this season, but Manaea has now surpassed the end-of-season strikeout totals of the last two Cape League strikeout kings. Joe Bircher had 48 last year and Nick Tropeano had 44 the year before.

With seven more strikeouts, Manaea would pass Chris Sale, who K’d 57 for Y-D in 2010. He’s now a star with the Chicago White Sox.

It’s fitting that Sale is next on the list because he and Manaea have followed similar paths. Neither was drafted out of high school and neither ended up at a college powerhouse. Sale was at Florida Gulf Coast. Manaea is at Indiana State.

In the 2010 preseason, I had never heard of Sale until I did the Early Look. It was the same for Manaea this year. In both cases, though, I thought the same thing: tall lefty with a lot of strikeouts — this guy might be pretty good.

Like Sale, Manaea has lived up to every bit of the promise.

Early in the year, he gave up a few more runs than you’d expect, putting his ERA above three for a while, but even then, his opponents batting average was really low. Now, that batting average is .151 and Manaea has pretty much stopped giving up runs. He’s also walked just six all summer — and none in his last two starts.

Last night, he struck out the side twice and retired the last 12 batters he faced. Only one runner got past first base.

There’s a long way to go for Manaea to match the next steps that Chris Sale took — first-round pick and a meteoric rise to the majors.

But for his Cape League summer, Manaea is right on track.

Plenty of Help

Manaea got two no-decisions and a loss in his first three starts, but has had a lot of support in his last two, with Hyannis winning one 9-2 and last night’s game 8-2. Brandon Trinkwon (Cal) continued to shine, with his fifth multi-hit performance in his last eight games. He went 4-for-6 with a home run last night. Dominic Jose (Stanford) and Blake Austin (Auburn) each had a home run and three RBI, while Brett Michael Doran (Stanford) had three hits.

Elsewhere

Chatham got two strong pitching performances of its own as Louie Lechich (San Diego) and Dace Kime (Louisville) combined on a three-hit shutout in a 5-0 victory over West leader Falmouth. Lechich struck out seven and allowed two hits in five innings before Kime struck out three in four innings of one-hit ball. Andrew Knapp (Cal) led the Chatham offense with his fourth home run of the year, and Pat Valaika (UCLA) also homered. Chatham scored all five of its runs off Falmouth starter Trey Masek (Texas Tech), who had allowed just five runs all year before last night. The win put Chatham over .500 at 12-11.

Cotuit won for the fifth straight time, beating Bourne 8-6 and creating a first-place tie in the West with Falmouth, who’s been in front seemingly the whole season. The Kettleers offense came through again, as the team had 15 more hits. In the five-game winning streak, cotuit has had 78 hits. Mike Ford (Princeton) went 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBI to lead the way, while Jacob Valdez (San Jose State) also homered. Jacob May (Coastal Carolina) added four hits, Adam Nelubowich (Washington State) had three and Daniel Aldrich (College of Charleston) had two. Cotuit’s team batting average is now up to .301. On the mound, Jordan Ramsey (UNC-Wilmington) got the win in relief, while Dan Slania (Notre Dame) struck out four in two innings for his league-leading fifth save.

Brewster must have Harwich’s number. The Whitecaps rallied to a 4-3 win last night for their third victory over first-place Harwich in as many tries. Brewster went into the bottom of the ninth trailing 3-0 but scored four runs to win it. Ryon Healy (Oregon) had an RBI single before Aaron Judge (Fresno State) and J.T. Files (South Alabama) drew bases-loaded walks to tie the game. Dan Olinger (Minnesota) then brought home the winning run with a base hit. The late rally meant a waste of a great start for Harwich’s A.J. Reed (Kentucky), who struck out eight in seven scoreless innings. Brewster starter Austin Voth (Washington) was also impressive, striking out 11 in six innings. James Leckenby (Washington State) got the win with 1.2 scoreless innings of relief.

What to Watch

More good pitching should be on the docket tonight. Aaron Blair (Marshall) and his league-leading 0.37 ERA will go for Y-D at home against Bourne at 5 p.m. In Falmouth at 7 p.m., Dylan Covey (San Diego) will make his first start for Orleans after spending the first half of the year in the bullpen.

Should be a good one in Harwich as well, with Michael Wagner (San Diego) going for Chatham against David Whitehead (Elon). Both have been good.

Heading into last night, Orleans had lost five of six games, with Saturday’s win over Y-D the only thing that broke up the streak.

Another game with Y-D didn’t yield the same result.

The Red Sox took a lead a lead in the sixth inning, watched the Firebirds tie the game but came back with two runs in the top of the seventh on their way to a 7-5 victory.

Y-D is now 12-11, two games back of 14-9 Orleans. The Firebirds were 13-3 when their rough patch began.

The key runs in the seventh came against the strong Orleans bullpen. A double, a fielder’s choice and a base hit put two on, for Sam Travis (Indiana), who reached on an error to bring the go-ahead run in. A Mason Katz (LSU) RBI groundout plated another run.

In the bottom of the seventh, Orleans loaded the bases for its top hitter, Conrad Gregor (Vanderbilt), but Joey Denato (Indiana) induced a ground ball to end the inning. A.J. Vanegas (Stanford) came on for the eighth and struck out four of the seven batters he faced in two scoreless innings.

The Red Sox was led by Zak Blair (Mercyhurst), who had three hits to raise his average to .380. Travis had two hits and an RBI, Tanner Mathis (Ole Miss) had two hits, and Katz drove in two runs. Carlos Asuaje (Nova Southeastern) also had an RBI.

Starter Ben Lively (Central Florida) pitched five strong innings, striking out six. Denato got the win in relief.

What to Watch

A couple of good pitching match-ups tonight. In Wareham, league strikeout leader Sean Manaea (Indiana State) gets the ball for the Harbor Hawks against Wareham’s Brad Kuntz (Baylor), who’s had two good starts and one bad start. That game is at 7 p.m.

In Bourne, Tyler Skulina (Kent State) makes his second start and goes against Cotuit’s Kyle Finnegan (Texas State). Skulina struck out 106 this spring. Finnegan has struggled a bit this summer but has a big arm.

I was a little surprised when I saw on July 2 that Orleans had released Daniel Aldrich. He was hitting well for the Firebirds, but he was a temporary player, and when the roster stated filling up, Orleans didn’t have a whole lot of options. In the Cape League, that kind of numbers crunch happens every year.

I was not surprised that Aldrich quickly hooked on with Cotuit. In addition to his solid start with Orleans, this is a guy who hit .347 with 22 home runs as a freshman at College of Charleston in 2011.

And the Kettleers are very happy to have him in the fold.

Aldrich hit a home run and had four RBI in his first game with Cotuit, and he hasn’t slowed down since. In six games since coming over from Orleans, Aldrich is hitting .433 with four home runs and 11 RBI. He went 3-for-5 last night with a homer and three RBI as Cotuit demolished Y-D 10-0 for its fourth straight win.

That’s the other thing — Cotuit has won five of the six games Aldrich has played and is now 12-10, good for second place in the West.

He’s not the only reason, of course. A lot of guys are heating up, but Aldrich has been exactly what Cotuit needed in the middle of its order. Before he joined the team, Cotuit had hit seven home runs on the year. By himself, Aldrich now has more than half of that total. Of Cotuit’s new season total of 12 home runs, Aldrich has hit a third of them.

Last night, Aldrich helped power the most impressive win of Cotuit’s streak. Not only did the Kettleers pound out 16 hits; they also limited the league’s top offense to three hits and handed Y-D its first shutout of the season. Cameron Griffin (Stetson) made his first start after eight relief appearances and pitched four scoreless innings. Joe Broussard (LSU) and Ryan Connolly (Coastal Carolina) combined for four more scoreless innings and Dan Slania (Notre Dame) struck out the side in the ninth to finish off the win.

In addition to Aldrich’s big day at the plate, Cotuit got three hits from league batting leader Patrick Biondi (Michigan), who is hitting .545 in his last six games for a season average of .419. Tony Kemp (Vanderbilt), James Roberts (USC) and Angel Rosa (Alcorn State) had two hits and two RBI each.

Giant Killer

Brewster’s Tom Windle (Minnesota) has been one of the most impressive starting pitchers in the league this season.

The list of teams he’s beaten makes it all that much more impressive.

Windle struck out eight and gave up just one hit in six shutout innings last night to lead Brewster past Orleans. Windle is now 3-1 and the three wins have come against West leader Falmouth, East leader Harwich and now Orleans, the second-place team in the East.

For Windle, each win has been better than the last. After losing his first start, against Chatham, he came back with five innings of one-run ball to beat Falmouth. He then struck out nine and allowed just an unearned run on four hits in six innings in a win over Harwich.

Last night, he gave up just a second-inning single to Conrad Gregor (Vanderbilt). Orleans had three other base-runners, two on errors, one on a dropped third strike, but Windle didn’t allow any of them past second base.

Windle, who was the 17th-best prospect in the Northwoods League last summer, is now 3-1 with a 1.66 ERA and 29 strikeouts.

Brewster’s offense was led by a huge day from Ryon Healy (Oregon), who went 4-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Trevor Mitsui (Washington) and Derek Campbell (Cal) also hit home runs, while Windle’s Minnesota teammate Dan Olinger had two hits and an RBI.

Elsewhere

Harwich trailed Wareham 6-1 going into the sixth inning but stormed back and scored five runs in the ninth on its way to a 9-6 victory. After Brian Ragira (Stanford) tied the game with an RBI single, Austin Wilson (Stanford) hit a three-run homer to give Harwich the lead. Zane Evans (Georgia Tech) then pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth to finish off the victory. Wilson, Ragira, JaCoby Jones (LSU) and Phillip Ervin (Samford) all had two hits for the Mariners while Tyler Sciacca (Villanova) had three at the top of the order. Tyler Horan (Virginia Tech) hit his sixth home run for Wareham, while Mott Hyde (Georgia Tech) and Kyle Schwarber (Indiana) also went yard. Wareham starter Kendall Graveman (Mississippi State) struck out eight in five innings but did not factor in the decision.

Falmouth broke a 1-1 tie with a run in the seventh to nip Hyannis 2-1. Jake Rodriguez (Oregon State) scored what proved to be the winning run on a bunt by Billy Ferriter (UConn). Jared King (Kansas State) led the Commodore offense with two hits. Falmouth starter Craig Schlitter (Bryant) turned in his third impressive start of the summer, striking out six and allowing one run in seven innings. Schlitter now is 4-1 with a 1.39 ERA. Brandon Trinkwon (Cal) led Hyannis with two hits, bringing his average to .304.

What to Watch

Teams will head to Boston today for a workout at Fenway Park, one of the thrills of the season for Cape League players. There’s only one game on the schedule — Y-D at Orleans at 7 p.m. Arizona standout James Farris will make his first start for the Firebirds.

Also, later today on Right Field Fog, I’ll have a couple of midseason report posts. Yes, it’s midseason. Yes, that’s crazy.

Chatham visited Bourne in the only game on the Cape League schedule last night. The Anglers had lost two in a row, while the Braves had won two straight.

The streaks continued.

The Braves took a lead in the bottom of the fourth and never let go en route to a 5-3 victory. At 7-15, Bourne is now a game ahead of Hyannis for fourth place in the West. Chatham fell to 11-11, tied for third in the East.

Mason Robbins (Southern Miss) again led the Braves offense, going 2-for-4. He has eight hits in the three-game winning streak and is 8-for-12 in that span. Justin Leeson (Georgetown) also had two hits, John Murphy (Sacred Heart) drove in two and Colin Moran (North Carolina) had an RBI to take over the league lead with 22.

On the mound, Mike Mayers (Ole Miss), who struck out 10 in seven innings in his last start, was solid again. He struck out eight and allowed one earned run in four innings. Brandon Moore (Arkansas) was credited with the win thanks to four strong innings of relief. Hawtin Buchanan (Ole Miss) struck out the side in the ninth for his second save.

Chatham, which had won three in a row before its recent skid, was led by three hits from Andrew Knapp (Cal).

What to Watch

Brewster’s Tom Windle (Minnesota), who has beaten East leader Harwich and West leader Falmouth in his last two starts, gets another crack at a top team when the Whitecaps visit Orleans at 7 p.m. Jerad Grundy (Kentucky) is scheduled to go for Orleans.

Mason Robbins and Colin Moran are two of the biggest names in a pretty talented Bourne Braves lineup. That lineup — and the team in general — has had a rough go of it this year, but the last two games have offered some pretty promising signs.

Robbins (Southern Miss) and Moran (North Carolina) have been featured prominently.

Robbins went 2-for-3 last night with two home runs, while Moran went 1-for-4 with his fifth home run and his second in as many days. Robbins suddenly ranks third in the league in hitting with a .382 average, while Moran is tied for the league lead in RBI. Throw in Chase McDonald (East Carolina), who also hit a home run for the second straight night, and you’ve got a lineup that’s finally hitting its stride.

And the results are finally there too. Bourne beat first-place Falmouth 9-2 last night after topping Hyannis 10-7 the night before. Those are the second and third-highest run totals of the season for the Braves.

Moran, one of the top hitters in the country, has been on target all summer, but in the first two weeks of the season, he wasn’t producing much, with just four RBI in his first 10 games. In his last 10 games, he’s hit four homers and knocked in 17 runs. In Bourne’s last two wins, he’s hit two home runs and driven in five.

Robbins, a 20th-round pick out of high school last year, has been even hotter. On June 28, he was hitting .267. Since then, he’s gone 13 for 25 and raised his average significantly. On Saturday against Hyannis, he went 4-for-5 with a double. Last night, he blasted his first two home runs of the season.

Now that Moran and Robbins are in gear, the rest of the Braves are following suit. McDonald now has four home runs while Aaron Payne (Oregon) went 4-for-5 with three RBI last night. The pitching was also good. Jaron Long (Ohio State) turned his best performance of the season, striking out six and giving up just an unearned run in six innings.

And Bourne did all that against the best team in the West. With a 6-15 record, there’s still a long way to go for the Braves to be back in the thick of things.

But they’re certainly heating up.

Elsewhere

Cotuit is also heating up, as the Kettleers beat Hyannis 14-8 for the their third win in a row. They’re now over .500 for the first time since week one. James Roberts (USC) led a 16-hit attack with a 4-for-5, four RBI day. Mike Ford (Princeton) added two hits and three RBI while Tony Kemp (Vanderbilt) drove in two. Daniel Aldrich (College of Charleston) had two more hits, his ninth and 10th in five games with the Kettleers. Cotuit actually fell behind 7-4 when Hyannis rocked starter Tim Mayza (Millersville) for seven runs in the second inning, but the Kettleers came back with three in the second and then kept hitting. Out of the bullpen, Dusty Isaacs (Georgia Tech) allowed one run in 3.2 innings for the win, while Jordan Smith (Western Carolina) pitched three scoreless frames to finish it off.

Harwich got the best of Orleans for the third time in four tries this season, topping the Firebirds 7-4 at Eldredge Park. Eric Jagielo (Notre Dame) hit his seventh home run and JaCoby Jones (LSU) cracked his second as the Mariners improved their league-best record to 15-6. They did much of their damage against Orleans starter Jarrett Arakawa (Hawaii), who gave up five runs in two innings. He had given up just one run on the season before that. On the other side, Corey Littrell (Kentucky) struck out seven and allowed two runs in five innings, before the Harwich bullpen took over. Tyler Burgess (Missouri State), Zane Evans (Georgia Tech) and Grant Gordon (Missouri State) pitched scoreless frames. Orleans touched up C.K. Irby (Samford) for two runs in the ninth, but Irby got out of a two-on, two-out jam with a groundout.

Y-D scored eight runs in the third inning and never looked back en route to a 10-3 victory over Chatham, which moves the teams back into a third-place tie in the East. Josh Tobias (Florida) had a home run and three RBI to lead the Y-D charge, while Wayne Taylor (Stanford) went 2-for-4 with two RBI. On the mound, Rick Knapp (Florida Gulf Coast) got the win with four strong innings of relief. Pat Valaika (UCLA) had three hits to lead the Anglers.

Brewster won for the second night in a row, beating Wareham 5-2. Aaron Judge (Fresno State) went 2-for-2 with a home run and two RBI to lead the offense, while Dylan Davis (Oregon State) made his first start after four relief appearances and pitched four scoreless innings. Four Brewster relievers finished off the victory.