Five innings. Nine strikeouts.

It’s becoming a trademark for Y-D’s Ian Seymour (Virginia Tech).

On Sunday, for the third time in his four starts this summer, Seymour fanned nine across five innings, this time five shutout innings as Y-D beat Orleans 5-2.

Seymour, who paced Virginia Tech with 81 Ks in the spring, now leads the league in strikeouts with 32 in 19.2 innings. The bulk of the Ks have come in his five-inning outings. He first did it on June 11, when he allowed two runs in a win over Orleans. His next start, he struck out five in 4.1 innings and took the loss. But on June 9, he was back at it, again striking out nine in five innings of three-run ball.

Sunday’s performance was Seymour’s best. He allowed only three hits, all singles, and worked out of the only big trouble spot he had, when Orleans loaded the bases in the fourth inning. Back out for the fifth inning, Seymour retired the side in order, striking out the last two batters he faced to get to his magic number.

Seymour did not factor in the decision as Orleans rallied to take a lead in the eighth. Y-D scored four in the bottom half to regain the lead and the game was called due to darkness. The win moved Y-D into a first-place tie with Chatham.

 

Falmouth 3, Harwich 2

Falmouth emerged victorious in a one-run game for the third time in its last four contests, walking off for the second time. Taylor Smith (Grayson County CC) was the hero with a solo home run in the bottom of the 10th inning. It was his fourth home run of the summer. Zach DeLoach (Texas A&M) added two hits and now leads the league with a .377 average. Before the late drama, Falmouth starter Carmen Mlodzinski (South Carolina) struck out 10 in five innings. He has fanned at least seven in all three of his starts. Falmouth improved to 11-8-1 and is just two points out of first place.

 

Brewster 3, Chatham 0

Three pitchers combined on a shutout and two sluggers went deep again as Brewster beat Chatham. Chandler Jozwiak (Texas A&M) scattered six hits in five scoreless innings. William McKay (Central Florida) and Seth Lonsway (Ohio State) finished the shutout, with Lonsway going 2.1 hitless innings. The offense did all its damage via the long ball. Tyler Hardman (Oklahoma) hit a two-run shot for his fifth of the year, which ties him for the league lead. T.J. Collett (Kentucky) hit a solo homer, his fourth.

 

Cotuit 8, Bourne 6

A six-run fifth inning and crucial insurance runs in the eighth and ninth helped Cotuit outlast Bourne. Parker Chavers (Coastal Carolina) had three RBI, while Allbry Major (Xavier) and Nick Gonzales (New Mexico State) picked up two each. Two-way player Matthew Mervis (Duke), who two days prior, had six RBI, pitched 1.2 innings of relief to earn the win. Bourne scored three unearned runs in the ninth but Casey Schmitt (San Diego State) ended the game with a strikeout.

 

Wareham 12, Hyannis 10

The Gatemen outslugged Hyannis and held on to first place in the West. Benjamin Sems (Kansas) hit his first home run, Jacob Teter (Florida Southern) had three hits and three RBI, Dallas Beaver (Central Florida) drove in two runs, and Darren Baker (Cal) and Toranosuke Otsuka (San Diego) had three hits each to power the Gatemen. Tanner Bibee (Cal State Fullerton) was credited with the win in relief after he struck out five in 3.1 innings. For Hyannis, Jordan Westburg (Mississippi State) finally went a day without a home run but still went 3-for-6. Hunter Goodman (Memphis) went 4-for-5 with four RBI and now leads the league with 22 RBI.

 

What to Watch

After a wild Fourth of July series, Chatham and Orleans get together again at Eldredge Park.

 
Wareham didn’t play on the Fourth of July, but boy did Braiden Ward and the Gatemen get in on the fireworks the next day.

Ward went 6-for-6 with a homer, three runs and two RBI and Wareham lit up the league’s top pitching staff in a 15-4 victory over Orleans.

Ward’s performance is one of the best in recent Cape League annals. The Washington junior came into the game hitting .278. He had just taken an 0-for-5 three nights before. Friday, he led off the bottom of the first inning with a double. In the second inning, he had an infield hit. In the third, he blasted a two-run homer. In the fifth and sixth innings, he singled. And in the eighth inning, he singled again.

Ward is now hitting .350.

And he certainly wasn’t alone in Friday’s win. The Gatemen finished with 20 hits, including eight that went for extra-bases, three of which were home runs.

Adrian Del Castillo (Miami) hit a grand slam in the first inning on his way to a five RBI night, while Dallas Beaver (Central Florida) also went deep and drove in three runs. Jacob Teter (Florida Southern) added two hits and two RBI.

On the mound for Wareham, Ian Bedell (Missouri) gave up runs for the first time this summer, but was plenty good, striking out seven and giving up two runs in five innings.

Wareham has won two in a row and leads the West by a point. Orleans has lost three straight following a five-game win streak.

 

Cotuit 16, Hyannis 4

Second-place Cotuit also went wild in a blowout of Hyannis. Matthew Mervis (Duke) went 4-for-6 with a home run and six RBI. Parker Chavers (Coastal Carolina) hit his third home run of the summer and Allbry Major (Xavier) had three RBI. Christian Robinson (Stanford) and Adam Oviedo (TCU) each had two RBI. Kyle Nicolas (Ball State) was credited with the win in relief. For Hyannis, Jordan Westburg (Mississippi State) made his summer debut and hit two home runs. Quite a way to introduce yourself. The Harbor Hawks have picked up some talent lately in Westburg and Edouard Julien, but they are in a serious hole at 3-16-1.

 

Falmouth 3, Chatham 2; Chatham 6, Falmouth 5

Falmouth and Chatham split a doubleheader, with a one-run win for each side. The Commodores walked off with the victory in game one as Zach DeLoach (Texas A&M) knocked in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh. DeLoach also homered in a 3-for-3 day. Kevin Kendall (UCLA) chipped in an RBI for Falmouth. Tyler Ras (Alabama) allowed two runs in five innings. Justin Wrobleski (Clemson) pitched two scoreless innings to set the stage for the walkoff. In game two, Chatham put together three two-run innings early on and held off a Falmouth push. Charlie Welch (St. John’s River) homered and Tyler Doanes (West Virginia) had two hits and an RBI. Daniel Federman (Miami) got the win. Chatham has won six of seven, with the first game of the twin bill the only blemish.

 

Brewster 13, Y-D 7

A third offensive explosion as Brewster out-slugged Y-D. Christian Molfetta (Stanford) hit his second home run and drove in five. Gage Workman (Arizona State) went 3-for-4 with three RBI. Tyler Gentry (Alabama) knocked in a pair. William McKay (Central Florida) earned the win with two scoreless innings of relief. Noah Campbell (South Carolina) hit his third home run for Y-D. Brewster jumped one game over .500 with the win.

 

Bourne 3, Harwich 2

Bourne took a lead in the top of the first and carried a shutout into the ninth before ultimately holding off the Mariners. Zavier Warren (Central Michigan) hit a solo home run for the first-inning lead, part of a 3-for-4 night. Cody Morissette (Boston College) and Jared Poland (Louisville) knocked in one run apiece in a two-run fourth inning. Nick Dombrowski (Hartford) pitched five scoreless innings for the win. Karl Johnson (UConn) and Kieran Shaw (Harvard) kept the shutout going. Harwich became the first team to score off Tyler Brosius (Rhode Island) in the ninth, but Brosius worked out of trouble to preserve the win.

 

What to Watch

Wareham will try to keep the offense rolling as it heads to Harwich for a doubleheader.

The annual Fourth of July series between Chatham and Orleans did not disappoint.

After the Anglers won 8-7 on a walk-off in Wednesday’s game, they held off a Firebirds rally for another 8-7 win on the Fourth in front of a packed house at Eldredge Park.

#FillTheHill pic.twitter.com/RKcWpUODPl

— Orleans Firebirds (@FirebirdsCCBL) July 4, 2019

Kaden Polcovich (Northwest Florida) hit his third home run of the summer, while Ben Ramirez (USC) and Tyler Doanes (West Virginia) drove in two runs each to lead the Chatham attack.

Cole Ayers (Kentucky) struck out six and allowed one run in five innings before Orleans started to make a move. Trailing 8-1, the Firebirds scored two runs in the eighth and four in the ninth, but with the tying run at third, Jorge Arenas (Stetson) finished the game with a strikeout.

The sweep of the holiday series moves Chatham above Orleans in the standings and into a tie with Y-D for first place. Orleans is now in second, a point back.

 

Y-D 9, Hyannis 7

Y-D out-slugged Hyannis in a darkness-shortened, seven-inning game. Wyatt Young (Pepperdine) went 3-for-5 and pushed his league-best average up to .400. Brad Beesley (Cal Poly) homered, while Austin Wells (Arizona) and Jack-Thomas Wold (UNLV) drove in two runs apiece. Ledgend Smith (Oklahoma) pitched the final two thirds of an inning and was credited with a win. Hunter Goodman (Memphis) hit his third homer for Hyannis. Auburn star Edouard Julien had a hit for the second straight day since joining the team. The struggle continues for the Harbor Hawks, who fell to 3-15-1.

 

Falmouth 4, Cotuit 1

Falmouth didn’t outscore the Kettleers by as much as they out-hit them (13-4), but they scored enough for their third straight victory. Blake Dunn (Western Michigan) went 4-for-5 and Trei Cruz (Rice) continued a hot streak with a 3-for-5, two RBI day. He’s 7 for his last 12. Tim Tawa (Stanford) added two hits and an RBI. Samuel Strickland (Samford) allowed one run in six innings and struck out two before scoreless relief work from Caleb Wurster (UConn) and Thomas Girard (Duke).

 

Harwich 6, Brewster 4

Antonio Menendez (Wake Forest) struck out eight in six innings to out-duel league ERA and wins leader Mason Black (Lehigh). The Harwich offense touched Black up for two runs in the first inning and tacked on two more in the middle innings. Christian Fedko (UConn) went 2-for-3 with four RBI. Daniel Cabrera (LSU) added two hits and an RBI. After Brewster came back to tie the game in the seventh inning, Fedko delivered a two-run single to give Harwich the lead for good. Tyler Hardman (Oklahoma) was a one-man show for Brewster, hitting two home runs and driving in all four of the team’s runs.

 

What to Watch

SHould be a good pitching matchup when Orleans and Wareham get together at Spillane Field. Owen Sharts (Nevada) has a 0.84 ERA for the Firebirds. Ian Bedell (Missouri) hasn’t allowed a run in 14.2 innings for Wareham.

 
With the top scoring offense in the league, the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox have a number of guys pulling a lot of weight this summer.

A pair of freshmen are shouldering perhaps the biggest load.

Wyatt Young (Pepperdine) leads the league in hitting and Austin Wells (Arizona) leads the league in home runs and RBI. Both did damage in Wednesday’s 13-1 blowout of Hyannis.

There’s a long history of freshman struggles in the Cape League, even for players who go on to stardom. Kris Bryant batted .223 for Chatham after his freshman year. Greyson Jenista hit .229 for Cotuit in 2016 and won the Cape League MVP award the next summer.

Young and Wells have had no such trouble so far.

A native of Hawaii, Young led Pepperdine with a .313 average in the spring. He started his Cape League career with an 0-for-4 night but has been on base in all but one game since then. He has six multi-hit games, and his .378 average now tops the league leaderboard. He has struck out only eight times in 45 at-bats.

Young has also starred with the glove. In 16 games, mostly at shortstop, he has yet to make an error.

Wells came to the Cape off a terrific debut at Arizona, in which he batted .353 en route to first-team Freshman All-American honors from Baseball America.

He made his Cape League splash on June 16 when he blasted three home runs in a doubleheader with Cotuit. He has been steady since then, and in the last week, he’s had two three-hit games. Wells is batting .328. His five homers are tops in the league and his 15 RBI are tied for the most.

Wednesday’s win featured more of the same from Young and Wells. Young went 1-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI. Wells was 3-for-5 with the home run and three RBI. Y-D also got a home run from Erik Tolman (Arizona State) and three hits from R.J. Yeager (Mercer).

It was the second straight win for the Red Sox.

 

Chatham 8, Orleans 7

Chatham walked off on a throwing error for a dramatic win over Orleans. The Firebirds had rallied from a 7-4 deficit to tie the game at 7-7 in the top of the ninth. Hueston Morrill (Oklahoma State) led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk. Ben Ramirez (USC) followed with what was intended to be a sacrifice bunt, but a throwing error allowed Morrill to race all the way around with the winning run. Before the drama, Chatham got a home run from Charlie Welch (Pepperdine), three hits from Jamal O’Guinn (USC) and two from Kaden Polcovich (Northwest Florida). Zarion Sharpe (UNC Wilmington) struck out five in four shutout innings of relief. And for a very random note, Sharpe was one of five players with a first name starting with Z who played in this game – three Zachs, a Zebulon and Zarion. The win moved Chatham within one point of Orleans for first place.

 

Falmouth 6, Cotuit 1

Nine of Falmouth’s 10 hits were singles, but they were well-timed enough to send the Commodores to a victory. Austin Masel (Holy Cross) followed up a four-hit night with a 2-for-3, 1 RBI day. Trei Cruz (Rice) and Kevin Kendall (UCLA) also drove in runs. Three Falmouth pitchers combined on a four-hitter. Nick Nastrini (UCLA) allowed one run in five innings for the win. Sam Weatherly (Clemson) and Bryce Miller (Texas A&M) pitched scoreless relief outings to finish it off.

 

Wareham 7, Bourne 5

Wareham and Cotuit traded places atop the West again. Five runs in the first inning and two in the second staked the Gatemen to an early lead, and they held off Bourne down the stretch. Wareham hit two home runs in the big first inning. Matthew Rudick (San Diego State) led off the inning with a solo shot and Kameron Guangorena (Cal State Fullerton) blasted a three-run homer. Jacob Teter (Florida Southern) chipped in an RBI double. Six different pitchers took the mound for Wareham. Trey Dillard (Missouri) was credited with the win. Landen Roupp (UNC Wilmington) earned the save.

 

Brewster 7, Harwich 5

Alabama teammates Brett Auerbach and Tyler Gentry both went deep as Brewster outlasted Harwich. Auerbach finished 2-for-4 with the homer, his second of the summer. Gentry’s blast – his first – was part of a 2-for-4, 4 RBI night that also included a triple. Marcos Castanon (UC Santa Barbara) and Kurt Wilson (Texas Tech) also knocked in runs for Brewster. Seth Lonsway (Ohio State) earned the win with 2.1 scoreless innings of relief. Brewster snapped a two-game skid while handing Harwich its fourth straight loss.

 

What to Watch

Round two of the Chatham-Orleans Fourth of July set is slated for Eldredge Park.

Their annual Fourth of July home-and-home rivalry series begins tonight.

Chatham and Orleans will head into it as the hottest teams in the league.

The Firebirds won their fifth in a row on Tuesday with a 7-5 victory over Hyannis. The Anglers are riding a three-game streak after a 3-2 win over Harwich on Tuesday. Orleans leads the East Division, while Chatham is tied with Y-D for second place, three points back.

Orleans’ win on Tuesday wasn’t vintage as the Harbor Hawks actually did some damage against the normally dominant Firebird bullpen. But Orleans prevailed all the same. Starter Austin Love (North Carolina) went four shutout innings with five strikeouts. After Hyannis scored five runs from the fifth through the seventh innings, Isaac Esqueda (USC) closed the door with two scoreless innings of relief.

Max Troiani (Bentley) had another big game to lead the offense, going 3-for-5 with an RBI. He has five multi-hit games in his last nine and is batting .362.

For Chatham, Tuesday’s win was of the comeback variety. After giving up single runs in the first and second innings, the Anglers didn’t allow another, then scored single runs of their own in the fifth, seventh and eighth to take the victory. Parker Scott (Oklahoma State), Austin Vernon (North Carolina Central) and Dawson Merryman (Midland College) delivered scoreless relief work. An RBI groundout by Ben Ramirez (USC) plated what proved to be the winning run.

Chatham is home for the first game of the set with Orleans, tonight at 7. The Firebirds host the Anglers on the Fourth of July, also at 7.

 

Falmouth 12, Brewster 7

Falmouth smacked a whopping 19 hits to out-slug Brewster. Taylor Smith (Grayson County CC) hit a grand slam for the biggest blow. Austin Masel (Holy Cross) had four hits, Zack DeLoach (Texas A&M) went 3-for-3 for the second straight game, Trei Cruz (Rice) had three hits and Tyler Ras (Alabama) also had three hits. Hayden Cantrelle (Louisiana Lafayette) went 2-for-4 and scored three runs. Aidan Maldonado (Illinois) was credited with the win in relief. Brewster did plenty of damage, too, with home runs by Marcos Castanon (UC Santa Barbara), Eric Foggo (Stetson) and Justin Vought (Maryland).

 

Cotuit 4, Bourne 1

Cotuit won its second straight. With Wareham losing two in a row, the Kettleers have taken over first place in the West by a point. Strong pitching set the course in this one. Joseph Nahas (Georgia Southern) struck out five in six innings and now leads the league in Ks. Two-way player Casey Schmitt (San Diego State), who started the game at third base, pitched 2.2 scoreless innings of relief with four strikeouts to finish off the win. At the plate, Nick Gonzales (New Mexico State) went 3-for-5 to push his league-best batting average to .377. Parker Chavers (Coastal Carolina) and Joey Loperfido (Duke) also had three hits.

 

Y-D 3, Wareham 1

Y-D bounced back from a blowout loss to Chatham with a win over the Gatemen. Two runs in the seventh off a Tate Samuelson (Cal Poly) home run and a Wyatt Young (Pepperdine) RBI single broke a 1-1 tie. Young had two hits for the third time in his last four games and is hitting .372, second-best in the league. Reigning CCBL Pitcher of the Week John Beller (USC) allowed one run in five innings but did not factor in the decision. Cullen Kafka (Oregon) earned the win with three scoreless innings of relief. Taylor Dollard (Cal Poly) earned his second save. For Wareham Brandon Pfaadt (Bellarmine) had pitched 12 scoreless innings to start his summer. He allowed two earned in seven innings this time.

 
Chatham’s Kaden Polcovich (Northwest Florida) led off the bottom of the first inning Monday with a home run.

Things went on from there.

The Anglers pounded three homers and 13 hits overall en route to the highest-scoring game of the Cape League season, a 15-1 demolition of Y-D at Veterans Field.

Paxton Wallace (Wichita State) and Ben Ramirez (USC) joined Polcovich in homering. Jamal O’Guinn (USC) had two doubles and four RBI. Nine players had hits for the Anglers and nine players scored runs. And it could have been an even bigger night, as Chatham left nine runners on base.

On a night when they didn’t need it, the Anglers also got dominant pitching. Kolby Kubichek (Texas) struck out six in five scoreless innings and allowed just two hits.

The win moved Chatham into a tie for second place with Y-D.

 

Orleans 3, Falmouth 1

The Firebirds won their fourth in a row and now sit at 10-4-2. Pitching carried the day again, with five different arms doing the lifting. Noah Skirrow (Liberty) delivered one of the team’s best starts thus far, striking out nine in five shutout innings. Connor Pellerin (Tulane), Zebullion Vermillion (Arkansas) and Kamron Fields (Texas) tossed a scoreless frame each, before Jeffrey Praml (Southern New Hampshire) picked up his fourth save. Falmouth held up its end of the pitchers duel bargain early on, with Carmen Mlodzinski (South Carolina) tossing five hitless innings with seven strikeouts, but the Firebirds got to the Falmouth bullpen.

 

Cotuit 9, Hyannis 8

A run in the eighth helped Cotuit outlast Hyannis in a back-and-forth affair. After Hyannis had tied the game at 8-8 with five runs in the top of the eighth inning, Oraj Anu (Wallace Community College) untied it with a solo home run. Bo Hofstra (Purdue), who had been touched up for three of the Hyannis runs in the eight, followed with a scoreless ninth to seal the win for Cotuit. Anu’s home run was one of three hit by the Kettleers on the day. Casey Schmitt (San Diego State) also went deep, as did Parker Chavers (Coastal Carolina). Brooks Carlson (Samford) homered for Hyannis.

 

Bourne 6, Wareham 1

The Braves snapped a three-game slide with a win over first-placw Wareham. Mac Lardner (Gonzaga) scattered six hits and allowed one run in six innings of work. Colby Dunlop (UConn) was dominant in relief, with five strikeouts across two innings. Tyler Brosius (Rhode Island) pitched a quiet final frame for his fifth consecutive scoreless, hitless outing. He hasn’t allowed a hit in 6.1 innings. Jackson Greer (East Tennessee State) powered the Bourne offense with two hits and three RBI. Zavier Warren (Central Michigan) knocked in two runs, and Jud Fabian (Florida) had three hits.

 

What to Watch

Orleans will try to keep its win streak going against Hyannis, with another potential ace making his first start. Austin Love was the closer for North Carolina this year. He has pitched two scoreless relief outings for the Firebirds so far.

Ian Bedell (Missouri) and Trent Palmer (Jacksonville) both owned 0.00 ERAs coming into Sunday’s game for the Wareham Gatemen.

Against a team that had just scored 11 runs off their teammates, Bedell and Palmer somehow kept those perfect marks intact.

Bedell pitched five innings of one-hit, shutout ball, and Palmer followed with four scoreless as Wareham edged Cotuit 1-0 at Spillane Field. The win salvaged a split of a two-game set with the Kettleers and kept Wareham in first place in the West.

A standout reliever for Missouri in the spring, Bedell logged a 1.56 ERA. He has transitioned seamlessly into a role as a starter with the Gatemen, going 4.2 shutout innings in his first start before a five-inning gem in his second. He was even a little better Sunday, with a single in the third inning his only blemish. He struck out four, didn’t walk a batter and faced just one over the minimum.

Palmer carried the torch from there. He hadn’t allowed a run in two shorter outings previously. This time, he gave up a pair of singles and nothing else, while striking out three in four innings of work.

Cotuit’s pitching was almost as good. Jackson Wolf (West Virginia) matched Bedell with five scoreless innings. Matthew Mervis (Duke) was solid in relief, but Wareham pushed the game’s lone run across in the seventh. Jacob Teter (Florida Southern) singled to lead off the inning and later came around on a sacrifice fly by Benjamin Sems (Kansas).

Wareham is now 9-6-1, while Cotuit drops to 7-7-2.

 

Orleans 7, Harwich 2

Orleans is the latest East team to get hot, and the Firebirds’ third straight win has them atop the division with the best record in the league. Four pitchers combined to allow just two hits as the league’s top staff kept the good times rolling. Jared Shuster (Wake Forest) struck out six and surrendered two runs on two hits in five innings of work. Both runs scored on a home run by Cory Acton (Florida) in the second inning. Shuster wouldn’t allow another hit, and his relief corps followed suit. Isaac Esqueda (USC), Nick Garcia (Chapman) and Carter Lohman (Louisville) combined on four hitless innings of relief. Raymond Gil (Miami) and Zach Kokoska (Kansas State) each homered to lead the Orleans offense. Max Troiani (Bentley) – who was featured in a great Cape Cod Times piece last week – logged his seventh multi-hit game of the summer.

 

Y-D 5, Brewster 2

Y-D rebounded from Saturday’s loss to split a weekend set with the Whitecaps. Andrew Eyster (South Carolina) and R.J. Yeager (Mercer) had two RBI each for the Red Sox, while Austin Wells (Arizona) went 3-for-4. The Red Sox worked backwards in the pitching department, with starter Brandon Dufault (Northeastern) going 1.1 innings, Chase Smith (Pittsburgh) coming next with 2.2 innings and Bodhi Vander Kooi (Arizona State) logging an unheard of five-inning save, quite possibly the longest save in Cape League history.

 

Hyannis 4, Bourne 2

Ryan Cusick (Wake Forest) was coming off an eight-strikeout, five shutout inning performance for Bourne, but Hyannis touched him up for three runs in the second and got some strong pitching of its own en route to a win. Hunter Goodman (Memphis) broke the ice in the big inning with a two-run single, and Bryce Teodosio (Clemson) added an RBI single. Starting pitcher Billy Corcoran (Pittsburgh) took a shutout into the fifth inning that was broken up by a Henry Davis (Louisville) home run, but Corcoran finished out the inning with the lead still intact. The bullpen held it, with Ben Abram (Oklahoma) and Nolan Crisp (Florida) finishing off the win.

 

Chatham vs Falmouth, PPD

 

What to Watch

The second game of the Barnstable Patriot Cup rivalry is set for today at Lowell Park. Cotuit won the series opener 11-0.

 
It wasn’t as if Nick Gonzales was struggling in the Cape League.

The All-American and national batting champ from New Mexico State was humming along with a .282 average, a home run and eight RBI through 13 games with Cotuit. Solid.

Solid has since turned to spectacular.

Gonzales went 4-for-5 in Friday’s game. Then Saturday night, he did it again. The totals from the two games: 8-for-10, one home run, two triples, a double, two runs scored, seven RBI.

In a short Cape League summer, a quick heater like that can work wonders. Gonzales is now batting a league-best .388. He tops the OBP board, too, at .531. His 15 RBI also lead the league, and he’s tied for second in home runs.

Gonzales started his college season with a similar two-game ride, going 8-for-11 with two homers and eight RBI. He promptly stayed hot over the next two, going 8-for-11 again and finishing the first series of the season with a .727 average. So look out, next two teams on Cotuit’s schedule.

Saturday’s performance helped power an 11-3 victory over Wareham. Cody Pasic (Maine) chipped in with two RBI, while Donta Williams (Arizona) had two hits and scored three runs. Reid Johnston (NC State) went five scoreless innings for the win.

Cotuit improved to 7-6-2 and moved to within one game of the first-place Gatemen.

 

Falmouth 3, Bourne 0

Franco Aleman (St. John’s River State College) had another great outing, going six shutout innings to lead Falmouth past Bourne. A highly-rated recruit out of high school, Aleman had a strong freshman season at Florida International but will go the juco route next year. He has already announced a commitment to Florida for the 2021 season. On this night, Aleman struck out four and scattered six hits. He has now gone five scoreless and six scoreless in his two Cape League starts. Backing Aleman, Blake Dunn (Western Michigan) had two hits while Tim Tawa (Stanford) and Zach DeLoach (Texas A&M) knocked in one run each. Jimmy Glowenke (Dallas Baptist) had three hits for Bourne.

 

Orleans 5, Harwich 1

The shuffle at the top of the East Division continues as Orleans now claims the top spot after its second win in a row. Owen Sharts (Nevada) struck out six and allowed one run in five innings for the win. Dawson McCarville (Grand Canyon) was spectacular in relief, striking out four and allowing no hits in four innings, while facing the minimum. For Harwich, Jacob Palisch (Stanford) struck out nine in six innings but between the swings and misses, the Firebirds touched him up for three runs, two earned. Shay Whitcomb (UC San Diego) led the Firebirds offense with two hits and three RBI.

 

Brewster 7, Y-D 4

The Whitecaps stopped Y-D’s four-game winning streak with a win at Red Wilson Field. Ryan Bliss (Auburn) and Brett Auerbach (Alabama) homered for Brewster, while Marcos Castanon (UC Santa Barbara) went 2-for-5 with three RBI. Matthew Mikulski (Fordham) struck out seven in five shutout innings for the win. Brewster has now won two in a row.

 

Chatham 6, Hyannis 1

With the aforementioned East Division results and Chatham’s win over Hyannis, it’s now a three-way tie for second place, with all those teams one point out of first. The Anglers scored four runs in the third inning to take control and got solid pitching throughout. A two-run single by Kaden Polcovich (Northwest Florida) and a two-run homer by Alejandro Toral (Miami) powered the big inning. Ty Madden (Texas) struck out five across four scoreless innings for Chatham with Luke Bartnicki (Georgia Tech) earning the win in relief. Samuel Thoresen (Minnesota) took the loss for Hyannis but struck out eight and now leads the league in Ks with 25.

 

What to Watch

Cotuit and Wareham meet again, this time with first place on the line.

 
Harwich pitchers struck out nine in a 6-0 shutout of Hyannis on Friday night.

And that’s actually a little low for them.

The Mariner staff leads the league in strikeouts with 142, for a K/9 of 11.6. They have struck out at least five batters in every game and have fanned as many as 15.

Interestingly, while Harwich has the top strikeout pitcher in the league in Team USA bound Logan Allen, they have only two other pitchers in the top 20. So it’s not just one or two guys racking up Ks. Everybody is doing it, a little at a time.

On Friday, it was Connor Sechler (Missouri State) and Will Heflin (Tennessee) doing the honors. After taking a loss in his last start, Sechler struck out six in six scoreless innings, allowing three hits. He’s now second on the team in Ks.

Heflin, despite pitching out of the bullpen, is third on the team in strikeouts after punching out three in his shutout relief appearance. He has yet to allow a run in 8.1 innings.

Harwich’s offense backed the strong pitching with two runs in the second and sixth innings and one each in the third and fifth. Joey Wiemer Jr. (Cincinnati) went 2-for-4 with three RBI to lead the attack.

The win evened Harwich’s record at 7-7.

 

Brewster 2, Bourne 1

Mason Black (Lehigh) picked up his league-best third win and kept his ERA at 0.00 as Brewster nipped Bourne. The rising sophomore – a highly-touted recruit for Lehigh last year – had previously pitched in long relief. Making his first start, he went 5.2 scoreless innings, scattering four hits and striking out four. Stephen Emanuels (Washington) followed with two shutout innings of relief. Bourne scored a run off Sean Fisher (Maryland) in the ninth, but Fisher buckled down and finished off the win. Christian Molfetta (Stanford) – a rare three-year Cape Leaguer – went 3-for-3 with a home run in his second game back with the Whitecaps.

 

Y-D 4, Falmouth 3

Don’t look now. The Red Sox are getting hot. Y-D won its fourth straight game and suddenly owns the best record in the East at 8-4-1. Early offense, a tie-breaking rally and strong relief work down the stretch powered the latest win. Noah Campbell (South Carolina) hit his second home run and drove in two. Austin Wells (Arizona) and Riley Tirotta (Dayton) each had two hits and an RBI, with Tirotta’s RBI breaking a tie in the sixth innings. Wyatt Young (Pepperdine) scored two runs. Cullen Kafka (Oregon) earned the win in relief. Brandon Dufault (Northeastern) and Taylor Dollard (Cal Poly) combined for three scoreless innings. In the loss, Falmouth got another big day from Hayden Cantrelle (Louisiana Lafayette), who went 2-for-2 and is hitting a league-best .378.

 

Wareham 7, Chatham 4

In a rematch of last year’s championship series, Wareham scored four runs in the top of the first inning and built a 7-0 lead en route to a win over Chatham. Braiden Ward (Washington) led off the game with a solo home run. Adrian Del Castillo (Miami) also homered for the Gatemen. Matt McClain (UCLA) chipped in two hits and an RBI. While Chatham got to the Wareham bullpen, college rivals Levi Prater (Oklahoma) and Ben Leeper (Oklahoma State) bookended the game with scoreless outings.

 

Orleans 10, Cotuit 6

Both teams had double-digit hits, and despite having just one of their 14 go for extra bases, the Firebirds had a little more production behind theirs en route to a slugfest win. Eddie McCabe (Georgetown) went 2-for-3 with three RBI. Matthew Goodheart (Arkansas) was 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Tanner Murray (UC Davis) had two hits and scored two runs. On an unfriendly night for pitchers, Austin Love (North Carolina) earned the win with 1.2 scoreless innings, which featured three strikeouts. For Cotuit, Nick Gonzales (New Mexico State) had a huge night, going 4-for-5 with a double, a triple and two RBI.

 

What to Watch

The teams in the East are all tightly packed in the standings, but there will be some breakouts tonight as Brewster visits Y-D and Orleans heads to Harwich.

On the night when a national champion was crowned in college baseball, the defending Cape League champions looked the part of a contender again.

Wareham rolled over Brewster 11-0, getting shutout efforts from four pitchers and blowing a close game wide open in the top of the ninth inning.

Jonathan Gates (Miami) and Joseph Baran (East Stroudsburg) went two scoreless innings each. Brandon Pfaadt (Bellarmine) followed with a dominant outing, striking out five in four innings of no-hit ball. It was his third straight shutout performance and he has totaled 16 strikeouts in 12 innings. Trey Dillard (Missouri) pitched the ninth to finish out the win.

Wareham scored two runs in the fourth and one in the seventh before racking up eight runs in the ninth. Jacob Teter (Florida Southern) homered as part of a 3-for-4, two RBI night. Benjamin Sems (Kansas) added three hits and three RBI. Matt McClain (UCLA) added two hits and two RBI.

Wareham is now 7-5-1 while Brewster is 6-6-1.

 

Hyannis 10, Falmouth 4

Trevor Hauver (Arizona State) delivered one of the best offensive nights of the summer as Hyannis pulled away from Falmouth. Hauver went 2-for-4 and hit a grand slam in the sixth inning. He finished the night with seven RBI and suddenly ranks fourth in the league after entering the night with two RBI on the season. The grand slam was part of a five-run inning that broke a 3-3 tie. Lucas Dunn (Louisville), Rigsby Mosley (Troy) and Chad McDaniel (Missouri) also knocked in runs for the Harbor Hawks. Billy Corcoran (Pittsburgh) earned the win with three scoreless innings of relief.

 

Y-D 3, Harwich 1

Jack Leftwich (Florida) allowed a run in the second inning but nothing else in 5.1 strong innings, and that set the stage for a Y-D rally. Austin Wells (Arizona) put the Red Sox ahead in the sixth with his league-best fourth home run of the summer. Riley King (Georgia) added an RBI single in the eighth. Taylor Dollard (Cal Poly) and Zack Matthews (Oklahoma) finished out the win on the mound. For Harwich, Christian Fedko (UConn) homered.

 

Bourne 4, Chatham 1

Chatham broke a 0-0 tie in the fifth, but Bourne answered with a run of its own in the bottom half and three in the sixth en route to the win. Peter Burns (Boston College) and Jud Fabian (Florida) drove in one run each for the Braves. After five strong innings by Harrison Rutkowski (Rutgers), Bourne got shutout relief from Karl Johnson (UConn), Kieran Shaw (Harvard) and Tyler Brosius (Rhode Island). Brosius picked up his third save.

 

Orleans 3, Cotuit 3

Cotuit led 3-0 after six but Orleans tied it in the seventh and the light ran out before either team could score again. Zach Daniels (Tennessee) had two RBI for Orleans. Oraj Anu (Wallace CC) knocked in two for Cotuit. Kettleer starter Joseph Nahas (Georgia Southern) starred, striking out nine of the 15 batters he faced in four shutout innings. He now ranks second in the league in strikeouts with 22.

 

What to Watch

Teams are off today as they head to Boston for their annual workout at Fenway Park. When the action resumes Friday, we’ll have a championship rematch as Wareham visits Chatham.