Category: Daily Fog

On Cape Cod for the week, so I’m keeping it a little shorter than usual . . .

If last night is a sign of how tight the East race will be, then we’re in for an interesting stretch run.

Brewster and Harwich, the top two teams in the East, played a marathon game and couldn’t even settle the issue after 15 innings, when the game was called for darkness. The teams finished in a 7-7 tie.

Harwich led 6-1 before Brewster tied the game with a five-run sixth inning. Taylor Ard (Washington State) delivered a three-run homer as part of the rally. After Andrew Toles (Tennessee) gave Brewster the lead in the 10th, Harwich tied it in the bottom half when Luke Voit (Missouri State) plated Billy Burns (Mercer).

Elsewhere

Ms. Right Field Fog and I stopped by the Chatham-YD game for a while and saw the Anglers hold on for a 4-2 victory. Chatham has blown quite a few leads this season but held onto this one, as Tucker Healy (Ithaca) got out of a jam in the seventh and struck out the side in the eighth. Zack Jones (San Jose State) came on for the save. Chatham got all its runs in the first inning, giving a cushion to Keith Bilodeau (Maine), who gave up only one hit in five innings.

Bourne stayed within two points of Hyannis thanks to a 7-2 victory over Cotuit. Zach Alvord (Auburn) went 3-for-4 with four RBI to lead the charge for the Braves, and Colin Moran (North Carolina) had four hits. Tommy Collier (San Jacinto CC) got the win for the Braves with six strong innings.

Hyannis would have found itself in a tie atop the West standings with Bourne if not for a dramatic rally. The Harbor Hawks trailed Wareham 3-1 but came back to tie it in the eighth. In the ninth, Kevin Plawecki (Purdue) was hit by a pitch to start the inning and eventually came around on a walk-off single by John Frost (UAB).

Ryan Carpenter (Gonzaga) allowed just two hits in six strong innings as Orleans posted a 7-3 victory over Falmouth. Andrew Alpin (Arizona State) had a home run for the Firebirds, and Matt Koch (Loyola Marymount) and Anthony Gomez (Vanderbilt) drove in runs.

What to Watch
Game: Bourne will try to stay hot when it hosts Orleans at 5 p.m.
Player: Colin Moran (North Carolina) had a huge night last night and is one of the top freshmen on the Cape.

It’s a little strange for a leadoff hitter to be second in the league in RBI. That leaderboard is usually reserved for middle-of-the-order power bats. It’s not that the leadoff hitter never bats with runners on base; the guy in that slot just usually isn’t a big run producer.

Travis Jankowski (Stony Brook) breaks the mold, and Bourne is pretty happy about that.

Jankowski first hooked on with Bourne last year, as a temporary player in the final week of the season. He did well and was signed for this summer. He then put together a big spring for Stony Brook, hitting .355 with 38 RBI.

Back on the Cape, he got off to a solid start, but he was just about the only Brave to do so. Bourne’s offense struggled mightily out of the gates.

But in the second week of the season, Jankowski was moved into the leadoff spot. His first game there, he went 1-for-4 with an RBI in a 4-0 win over Brewster.

Since then, Jankowski has been at the top of the order in every game. He’s hitting .319 overall — .336 since moving to the leadoff spot — and he’s getting on base at a .400 clip. He’s also breaking the mold and ranks second in the league in RBI with 19.

A lot has changed within the Bourne lineup over the course of the season, but since that second week, Jankowski has been an absolute constant, and on his foundation, a turnaround has been built.

The Braves didn’t look too great in the first two weeks of the season but they’ve steadily climbed the ranks.

Last night, Jankowski and Co. got as close as they’ve been all summer, beating Hyannis 7-3 to move within two games of the division-leading Harbor Hawks.

As last night showed, Jankowski now isn’t the only one hitting. The Braves finished with 11 against Hyannis, led by Kyle Farmer (Georgia), who went 3-for-5. Colin Moran (North Carolina) and Zach Alvord (Auburn) had two hits each. On the mound, Brian Ward (UConn) pitched five scoreless innings for the win.

And of course, there in the leadoff spot, Jankowksi went 1-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. He’s now hit in eight straight games.

I don’t think he’ll be moving from that leadoff spot anytime soon.

Elsewhere

Brewster won its fourth straight in impressive fashion, shutting out Y-D 4-0. Luke Bard (Georgia Tech) struck out seven in six innings for the win and relievers Jeff Snell (Lafayette), Will Locante (Cumberland) and Joe Biagini (UC Davis) finished off the shutout. At the plate, Brewster got two hits and two RBI from Andrew Toles (Tennessee), as well as two more hits from Jason Monda (Washington State), who is now hitting .400.

While Brewster is still in first, Harwich didn’t let the Whitecaps get further away. The Mariners beat Chatham 9-3. Mike Garza (Georgetown) and Jake Davies (Georgia Tech) had three hits and two RBI each to pace a 14-hit attack. Jabari Henry (Florida International) and Keith Werman (Virginia) added two hits apiece. Tanner Perkins (Western Kentucky) scattered nine hits and allowed three runs in 5.1 innings before giving way to Harwich’s dominant bullpen. Chris Overman (NC State), Lex Rutledge (Samford) and Carter Capps (Mt. Olive) finished it off without allowing a hit in the final 3.2 innings.

Falmouth scored two late runs and rode dominant pitching to a 2-0 victory over Cotuit. Nathan Thornhill (Texas) made his first start of the summer and looked like a veteran, striking out six and allowing just four hits in seven shutout innings. Nate Koneski (Holy Cross) and John Simms (Rice) finished the job, with Simms getting his seventh save. Eric Garcia (Missouri) went 3-for-3 with an RBI to lead the Falmouth attack.

Wareham beat Orleans 6-5 for its third straight win and moved over .500 in the process. The Gatemen got three hits from John Andreoli (UConn) and three RBI from Daniel Palka (Georgia Tech). L.J. Mazzilli (UConn) and Robert Refsnyder (Arizona) had two hits apiece. Barrett Astin (Arkansas) started for Wareham and went eight strong innings, striking out seven and allowing only one earned run. Daniel Feehan (UConn) picked up the save.

What to Watch
Game: Harwich and Brewster meet for the second time in three days, this one in Harwich at 7 p.m. The Whitecaps have a three-point lead on Harwich for first place in the East.
Player: Brewster’s Jason Monda doesn’t have enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title yet, but if he stays hot, he’s going to be the leader as soon as he does. Monda is eight for his last 13.

Losing the league’s leading hitter is a major blow.

Brewster seems to be withstanding it.

Catcher Taylor Davis signed a pro contract with the Cubs on Monday. After going undrafted in June, the junior was awesome on the Cape, and his success certainly had something to do with the contract offer. Brewster was happy for him, I’m sure, but sad to see him go. He was a big reason why the Whitecaps are leading the league in hitting and contending for the top spot in the East.

It’s clear in the days since, though, that Davis wasn’t the only reason. While Brewster was unquestionably a better team with him, the Whitecaps are doing just fine without him.

Brewster won for the third straight time last night and is now 3-1 since Davis left. This one was even bigger than the others, as Brewster beat now-second place Harwich by a 7-3 score. Who’s in first? The Whitecaps themselves. They’re sitting at 16-10-3, three games ahead of Harwich.

Last night, they got it done with a solid all-around performance. Ryan Jones (Michigan State) went 2-for-3 with three runs scored to power a seven-hit attack. Andrew Toles (Tennessee) added a hit and two RBI.

On the mound, Brandon Love (Mercer) had his second strong start in a row, allowing one run in six innings while striking out eight. Harwich made a little headway late against the Brewster bullpen, but J.T. Chargois (Rice) closed the door with a perfect ninth.

We’ll see how Brewster does from here, but at this point, it’s safe to say that the Whitecaps are solid, Davis or not.

Elsewhere

Hyannis and Cotuit have split four games this season, but it was the Harbor Hawks who came out on top last night, winning 4-2. Chadd Krist (Cal), Adam Brett Walker (Jacksonville) and Austin Elkins (Dallas Baptist) had two hits apiece for Hyannis. Scott Firth (Clemson) allowed one run in 4.2 innings while Dietrich Enns (Central Michigan) pitched the next 1.2 and was credited with the win. Nick Wittgren picked up his fourth save. On the positive side for Cotuit, Deven Marrero (Arizona State) made his third appearance since arriving from Team USA and went 3-for-5 with an RBI.

Bourne scored three key runs in the eighth and got out of a jam in the ninth to beat Falmouth 8-5. Blake Crohan (Tulane) went 2-for-4 with three RBI to lead the Braves, while Kyle Farmer (Georgia) knocked in two. R.J. Alvarez (Florida Atlantic) got into a two-on, no-outs jam in the ninth but induced a double play and got out with only one run coming in. Bourne moved to 15-11-2 with the victory.

Wareham won its second straight, holding off a late charge from Y-D to win 6-5. Wareham led 5-1 into the eighth, when Y-D scored four to tie it. But in the bottom half, William Carmona (Stony Brook) doubled home Johnny Field (Arizona) with the go-ahead run. Konner Wade (Arizona), who had come on in the eighth, saw the tying run get all the way to the third in the ninth but he struck out Anthony Melchionda (Boston College) to finish off the victory. Justin Amlung (Louisville) started for Wareham and allowed one run in seven innings. Tyler Ross (LSU) led the offense with three RBI. Jacob Lamb (Washington) had three RBI to lead Y-D.

Chatham hasn’t put together a lot of highlights this summer, but any time the Anglers can beat rival Orleans like they did last night, they can go home happy. Chatham won 4-3 thanks to a four-run third inning. Dane Phillips (Oklahoma State) knocked in three of the runs with a triple and the other came home on a Richie Shaffer (Clemson) sacrifice fly. Buck Farmer (Georgia Tech) delivered a solid start, allowing two earned in six innings. Matt Koch (Louisville) then dominated out of the bullpen, pitching three hitless innings with four strikeouts.

What to Watch
Game: Hyannis and Bourne will meet for the second time this week for a 7 p.m. game in Hyannis. With a win, Bourne coule get within two points of the first-place Harbor Hawks.
Player: Bourne’s Tommy Coyle (North Carolina) has been a key piece to the puzzle since arriving from the College World Series. He’s hitting .347 with seven RBI.

A full slate of games was scheduled for last night, but only 17 innings were played because of heavy rain. Two games were postponed while three others went in the books after five or six innings.

Bourne would have liked another inning or two. The Braves, winners of five in a row, trailed Brewster 5-0 before rallying for three runs in the bottom of the fifth. With a little more time, Bourne might have kept going down the comeback trail, but the game was called in the top of the sixth and Brewster ended up with the 5-3 victory.

Patrick Lowery (Columbia) got the win for Brewster. He allowed the three runs on two hits in five innings of work. Ryne Stanek (Arkansas), who left Bourne for a brief stint with Team USA, is back in the fold and started for Bourne, giving up five runs in five innings.

As for the offense, Brewster’s Jason Monda (Washington State) continued to scorch. He went 3-for-3 and has now had multi-hit games in 10 of his last 12 games. Slotting in at the top of the order last night, Monda scored three of Brewster’s five runs, while upping his average to .390. Devon Rodriguez (California) added two hits and an RBI. Travis Jankowski (Stony Brook) had two RBI for Bourne.

With the win, Brewster moved one point ahead of Harwich for first place in the East.

Elsewhere

Despite another big night from Cotuit’s Victor Roache (Georgia Southern), Wareham held off the Kettleers for a 6-5 win in five innings. Roache upped his league-leading average to .397 with a 2-for-3 night, and stretched his hit streak to eight games. He also had two RBI to bring his league-best total to 24. Jordan Leyland (UC Irvine) also had two hits and two RBI for Cotuit, but Wareham had a little bit more offense. Johnny Field (Arizona) went 2-for-3 with three RBI to lead the Gatemen, while Max Muncy (Baylor) went 1-for-2 to stretch his hitting streak to 14 games. Bobby Brosnahan (Michigan) got the win for Wareham.

Y-D came back from a 2-1 deficit with two runs in the fifth, and that proved to be a decisive frame, as Y-D won 3-2 in a game that was called in the bottom of the sixth. Y-D scored both of those fifth-inning runs after an error on a ground ball by Matt Reynolds (Arkansas). Steven Piscotty (Stanford) knocked in Y-D’s other run. On the mound, Brian Johnson (Florida) made his first start for the Red Sox and turned in an impressive line, striking out seven and allowing just one earned run in four innings. Daniel Gibson (Florida) pitched the last two innings and got the win. Tim Cooney (Wake Forest) was the hard-luck loser for Chatham. He also struck out seven while allowing only one earned run.

What to Watch
Game: The sun is back today. There should be a good game in Brewster when the now first-place Whitecaps host Harwich, who’s one point back. First pitch is at 5 p.m.
Player: Certainly keep an eye on Jason Monda for Brewster. For Harwich, Jabari Henry (Florida International) is hitting .288 and leading the league in extra-base hits.

For the first time in a long time, the second place team in the West is closer to first place than to third. Bourne got there last night thanks to a 5-1 victory over Falmouth and a Hyannis loss to Orleans.

Before that, it had been Hyannis and everybody else, but the Braves have now won five in a row and are within four points of the Harbor Hawks. Falmouth is in third and is six points back of Bourne.

The Braves got it done in impressive fashion last night, putting up 12 hits and getting another dominant pitching performance. Ryan Eades (LSU) took a perfect game into the sixth before giving up a triple. He ended up allowing a run on two hits in 6.1 innings. In an indication of how good he’s been, his ERA actually went up after that. Eades is now 3-0 with a league-best 0.68 ERA.

The Bourne offense did most of its damage against Falmouth starter Kent Emanuel (North Carolina), who surrendered four runs on nine hits in five innings of work. Emanuel’s North Carolina teammate Tommy Coyle had the biggest night, going 4-for-5 with two RBI. Zach Alvord (Auburn) added two hits and D.J. Hicks (Central Florida) hit a home run for the third time in six games.

Bourne is now 14-10-2. Falmouth fell to 12-14.

Elsewhere

Brewster is also getting closer to first in the East thanks to a 4-3 victory over Chatham last night. The Whitecaps are now just one game behind Harwich for the top spot. The game was tied 2-2 entering the eighth when Chatham walked three straight batters. A Trace Tam Sing (Washington State) base hit and an error gave Brewster the 4-2 lead. Chatham got a run in the bottom of the eighth but could get no closer. J.T. Chargois (Rice) struck out two in the ninth to pick up the save.

Hyannis fell to Orleans by a 3-1 score. The Firebirds got all three of their runs in the third inning off Hyannis starter Matt Dermody (Iowa). Anthony Gomez (Vanderbilt) had an RBI single and Ronnie Shaeffer (UC Irvine) drove in two with a base hit. Orleans pitchers did the rest. John Brebbia (Elon) got the win with five strong innings. Andrew Chafin (Kent State) pitched 2.2 scoreless innings to keep his ERA at 0.00, and Trevor Gott (Kentucky) pitched the ninth for his league-leading seventh save. Steve Selsky (Arizona) and Matt Duffy (Long Beach State) each had two hits for Orleans. Joey Rickard (Arizona) and Zach Vincej (Pepperdine) had two hits for Hyannis, and those were the team’s only hits.

What to Watch
Game: Bourne will try to keep its win streak going against a Brewster team that’s been steadily climbing the ranks. The Whitecaps have won six of nine games, with the only losses in that stretch coming to Hyannis.
Player: Jason Monda (Washington State) had a quiet start for Brewster but has emerged as one of the team’s best hitters over the last few weeks. Monda has had at least two hits in nine of his last 11 games, giving him a .357 batting average.

It’s getting very difficult to predict things this season. Last night, a team that had lost five of six and that had struggled offensively took on a team ahead of it in the standings with the second-best ERA in the league.

I would have gone with Team B. And that would have been really wrong. Y-D was Team A in that scenario. The Red Sox had lost five of six and the sixth game was a tie. They hadn’t won since July 2.

Last night, they went out and tied this season’s single game high in runs, beating Orleans 15-8.

You just never know.

In Y-D’s case, it could be a sign of the surge they’ve been waiting for. No team has gotten a bigger talent influx than the Red Sox, who welcomed Florida stars and Team USA invitees Mike Zunino and Brian Johnson to town after the College World Series. Eventually, you’d think it would have to pay dividends, and it certainly did last night.

Johnson made his debut, batted cleanup and promptly went 2-for-5 with a home run and five RBI. Zunino, who had struggled in four games so far, went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

And those two weren’t alone. Y-D finished with 17 hits. James Ramsey (Florida State) and Cody Keefer (UCLA) each had three, with Keefer hitting a home run and driving in three. Tyler Hanover (LSU) added two RBI.

That was enough to overcome a pretty good offensive day by Orleans. Ben Waldrip (Jacksonville) had three hits for the Firebirds, including his league-leading sixth home run.

Zack Weiss (UCLA) got the win for Y-D after allowed four runs in six innings of relief.

The victory moves Y-D into a tie with Orleans for third place in the East. The Red Sox hope it’s a sign of things to come.

But you never know.

Elsewhere

Also from the you-never-know file, Chatham beat Harwich 6-5 last night. The Anglers had lost all three of their previous match-ups against Harwich this season. This time, they trailed 5-3 going into the top of the ninth but staged an improbable rally against the normally lights-out Harwich bullpen. Lex Rutledge (Samford) came on for the save, but Chatham touched him up for three runs on a Kris Bryant (San Diego) RBI double, an Evan Marzilli (South Carolina) RBI single and a Joe Sever (Pepperdine) sacrifice fly. Zack Jones (San Jose State), who had blown a save in his last outing, watched Harwich load the bases in the bottom of the ninth but got out of the jam and finished the game with a strikeout.

Bourne posted a 6-5 walk-off win over Cotuit. D.J. Hicks (Central Florida) started Bourne’s 10th-inning rally with a single, his fourth hit of the day. Pitcher Josh Conway (Coastal Carolina) ran for him at first and ended up coming all the way around to score the winning run. Conway took second on a hit-batsman then moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on another wild pitch. Bourne has now won four in a row and came back to win this one after Cotuit had tied it in the ninth. Mason Melotakis (Northwest State) was credited with the win. Travis Jankowski (Stony Brook) had two hits and two RBI for Bourne. For Cotuit, Victor Roache (Georgia Southern) went 3-for-5 with two RBI and took over the league lead in batting average at .387. Roache is 11-for-17 in his last five games.

Hyannis stopped a two-game skid with a 6-1 victory over Brewster, who had won five of six. Dylan Floro (Cal State Fullerton) was impressive for the Harbor Hawks, striking out nine and allowing just three hits in 6.2 innings. Hyannis took a lead with two runs in the fifth then put the game away with three in the eighth. Chadd Krist (California) had two RBI while Joey Rickard (Arizona) and Justin Gonzalez (Florida State) both had one. Hyannis only had five hits to Brewster’s four, but Whitecaps starter Scott Griggs (UCLA) walked seven in four innings.

Falmouth scored two in each of the first two innings and cruised past Wareham 6-1. Tyler Duffey (Rice) made his first start of the summer after pitching well out of the bullpen and turned in an impressive outing. He went six innings and allowed only one run in picking up the win. Offensively, Jeremy Baltz (St. John’s) had a big day to lead the Commodore offense, going 3-for-4 with three RBI. Kyle Von Tungeln (TCU) added two RBI. For Wareham, Max Muncy (Baylor) went 1-for-3 to run his hitting streak to 13 games.

What to Watch
Game: Bourne visits Falmouth at 7 p.m. in a game between two of the three West squads that have been jockeying for second place for a while now.
Players: The pitching match-up should be a good one. Ryan Eades (LSU), who leads the league with a 0.45 ERA, is scheduled to pitch for Bourne against Kent Emanuel (North Carolina), who had a solid debut last week after a great freshman season in Chapel Hill.

We’ve talked about the success of the Bourne pitching staff. If last night wasn’t a fluke, we’re going to have start talking about the offense.

As recently as Friday, the Braves had the worst team batting average and the best team ERA in the league. After Sunday’s games, they still have the best ERA and the offense still isn’t great. But thanks to last night’s game, it’s not the worst in the league.

Bourne beat West-division leader Hyannis 9-3 on the strength of a 13-hit attack. It’s the third win in a row for the Braves and it moved them three games back of Hyannis for first. That’s as close as anyone in the West has been to the Harbor Hawks in quite a while.

It’s not a surprise that Bourne’s offense is starting to click. Travis Jankowksi (Stony Brook) and Jason Coats (TCU) have been hitting well all summer and they’re still going. Jankowski went 2-for-5 last night and Coats had a hit and an RBI.

Now everyone else is joining in. Colin Moran (North Carolina), the ACC Freshman of the Year, had his best night since arriving on the Cape. He went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. D.J. Hicks (Central Florida) hit a three-run homer, his second in four games.

All in all, every player in the Bourne lineup had a hit. The Braves did much of the damage against Jon Moscot (Pepperdine), who’s been very good .

And though it was new territory, the pitchers didn’t seem to mind having a lead. b(East Carolina) allowed one earned run in five innings for the win last night, with R.C. Orlan (North Carolina) and John Farrell (Northwestern) going two scoreless innings each.

Elsewhere

Harwich won a close one for the second night in a row, this time beating Chatham 7-5 in 12 innings. The Mariners trailed by one going into the ninth but tied it on an Austin Wilson (Stanford) RBI single. Then in the 12th, the Mariners pushed two runs in on a wild pitch and a passed ball. Carter Capps (Mt. Olive), who struck out five in two innings, then pitched a scoreless ninth to seal the win. Wilson led Harwich with two hits and two RBI. Stephen Perez (Miami) had three hits for Chatham.

Victor Roache (Georgia Southern) had a huge night to lead Cotuit past Y-D 8-2. Roache went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a home run and four RBI. He’s now second in the league with a .371 average, he’s tied in home runs with five and he leads in RBI by a wide margin with 20. Roache’s college teammate Chris Beck got the win for Cotuit after allowing two runs in seven innings.

Apparently, Wareham has broken the seal when it comes to home runs. After finally ending an almost season-long drought on Saturday, the Gatemen hit two yesterday and shut out Orleans 2-0. Daniel Palka (Georgia Tech) and Johnny Field (Arizona) hit the blasts back-to-back in the second inning, and that was plenty for Wareham’s pitchers. Josh Turley (Baylor) turned in his third strong start in a row, striking out eight and allowing only one hit in five innings.

Brewster scored a run in the top of the ninth and held on to beat Falmouth 5-4. Devon Rodriguez (California) delivered the heroics, driving in Ryan Jones (Michigan State) with a double in the top of the ninth. J.T. Chargois (Rice) came on for the bottom of the ninth and got the save. Drew Steckenrider (Tennessee) picked up the win. Taylor Davis (Morehead State) had two hits for Brewster, which keeps him in the league lead.

What to Watch
Game: Bourne will try for its fourth win in a row when it hosts Cotuit, who’s won two straight.
Player: Travis Jankowksi is hitting .315 for the Braves and he’s among the league leaders in RBI.

Home runs have been very difficult to come by for the Wareham Gatemen this season. Coming into last night’s game — their 24th game of a 44-game season — the Gatemen had hit just one home run, and it came in the first game of the season. Since then, nothing.

Maybe they were saving it for when they really needed it.

The Gatemen trailed Chatham 5-3 going into the bottom of the ninth last night, in danger of dropping their fifth straight game. With Chatham closer Zack Jones (San Jose State) on the mound, it certainly didn’t look good for Wareham.

But after a walk and a single started the inning, Max Muncy (Baylor) ended Wareham’s drought in dramatic fashion. On a full-count pitch, Muncy smacked a three-run homer over the fence in left to give Wareham the walk-off 6-5 victory.

The homer was part of a big night for Muncy, who went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and the three RBI. Muncy now has a 12-game hitting streak, and his average at .287. You could have pegged him to be the one to break the home run drought — he hit three homers for the Gatemen last year, along with nine doubles.

He’s been solid again this year, and he certainly picked a good time for his best night of the season.

Also for Wareham, John Andreoli (UConn) had two hits. Andy Flett (Louisville) got the win in relief. Chatham was led by Dane Phillips (Oklahoma State) and Darrell Matthews (Cal), who had three hits apiece. Former Gateman Keith Bilodeau (Maine) started for Chatham against his old team and allowed just one earned run in six innings.

Wareham, despite its recent skid, is tied for third in the West and just a game out of second.

Elsewhere

Wareham wasn’t the only team winning in dramatic fashion.. Cotuit posted a 7-6 walk-off victory over Hyannis in 11 innings. Alex Yarbrough (Ole Miss) was the hero, with his 11th-inning double plating Torsten Boss (Michigan State) with the running run. Kendall Graveman (Mississippi State) pitched three scoreless innings of relief and got the win for Cotuit. Boss and Mike Yastrzemski (Vanderbilt) had three hits each, with Yastrzemski also driving in three runs. Joey DeMichele (Arizona State) had three hits to lead Hyannis.

Harwich lost a one-run game to Orleans on Thursday but turned the tables last night, beating the Firebirds 1-0. Taylor Rogers (Kentucky) gave up just two hits in seven shutout innings for the win. Carter Capps (Mt. Olive) worked a scoreless eighth to keep his ERA at 0.00 before Lex Rutledge (Samford) came on for the save. Kurt Heyer (Arizona) started for Orleans and allowed only two hits in five innings, but Harwich got to normally lights-out reliever Kenny Long (Illinois State) for a run in the sixth on an RBI single by Darnell Sweeney (Central Florida). The win puts Harwich at 15-9.

Bourne also posted a shutout in a 2-0 victory over Falmouth. Tommy Collier (San Jacinto JC) struck out six and allowed only two hits in six scoreless innings. Slade Smith (Auburn) continued an eight-inning scoreless streak in the seventh, Mason Melotakis (Northwest State) worked a scoreless eighth and R.J. Alvarez (Florida Atlantic) pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save. D.J. Hicks (Central Florida) gave Bourne a lead with a sac fly in the sixth, and Jason Coats (TCU) made it 2-0 with an RBI double in the seventh. Joe Bircher (Bradley) started for Falmouth and went 4.2 scoreless innings with three strikeouts.

Y-D and Brewster played 11 innings but couldn’t settle the issue before darkness came and finished in a 4-4 tie. Jason Lamb (Washington) and Tyler Hanover (LSU) knocked in one run apiece for Y-D, while Jason Monda (Washington State) went 3-for-5 for Brewster. Starters A.J. Vanegas (Stanford) and Luke Bard (Georgia Tech) both pitched well.

What to Watch
Game: No one is very close to Hyannis in the West standings, but Bourne is the closest at eight points out, and the Braves will visit Hyannis tonight at 7 p.m. The teams have split the season series so far.
Player: Adam Brett Walker (Jacksonville) doesn’t have the highest average on the team — .270 — but he’s had a hit in 18 of 23 games. He has three home runs and leads the team with 14 RBI.

It was not a good day for baseball yesterday, with rain forcing postponements of four of the five games on the schedule.

But the weather didn’t deter Brewster and Y-D from playing good baseball in the only game that did happen. The Whitecaps and Red Sox both got clean pitching performances and neither team made an error. Two runs in the seventh for Brewster proved to be the difference as the Whitecaps posted a 2-0 victory.

Brandon Love (Mercer) got the win for Brewster with six strong. He struck out five, walked one and allowed only two hits in six scoreless innings.

And the Brewster offense made a winner out of him. Y-D starter Alex Gonzalez (Oral Roberts) didn’t allow a hit until the fourth and was still cruising in the seventh when Brewster pushed through. With a runner on, Taylor Davis (Morehead State) smacked a two-run homer that gave Brewster all the offense it needed.

The Whitecaps are now two points out of first place at 12-9-2. Y-D dropped to 10-12-2.

What to Watch
Game: After playing each other on three consecutive days at the end of June, Hyannis and Cotuit will meet again tonight at 5 p.m. at Lowell Park.
Player: Chris Beck (Georgia Southern) is scheduled to start for Cotuit. He’s been a hard-luck loser several times, but has been impressive all summer.

The Bourne Braves have quietly climbed to the top of the team pitching statistics. They have a league-best 2.08 ERA, eight runs better than the next best team.

I say they’ve done it quietly because there haven’t been a bunch of gems, and if I was picking dominant starters, I would look to Bourne.

But if last night is a sign, then maybe the best is yet to come.

Josh Conway (Coastal Carolina) got the start last night against Wareham and struck out five in seven shutout innings to lead Bourne to a 2-0 win. R.C. Orlan (North Carolina) and R.J. Alvarez (Florida Atlantic) finished it off with a scoreless inning each.

Conway is now 2-0 with a 0.53 ERA. His first start, he went four innings but he shined in his second start last week, allowing just an unearned run in six innings of work.

This time, he let nothing across, while striking out five and walking only one.

Conway doesn’t qualify for the ERA leaderboard yet, but if he did, he’d be near the top. And he’d have plenty of familiar company. Bourne’s Ryan Eades (LSU) leads the league with a 0.45 ERA, reliever Slade Smith (Auburn) is second at 1.00 and starter Chris Pickering (Rhode Island) is fourth at 1.27.

None of those Braves is near the top of the strikeout list. Alavarez checks in at 22nd to lead the Braves. I think that’s why I wouldn’t call them dominant.

But they’ve been great anyway, and they’re keeping Bourne afloat. The Braves have the lowest team batting average in the league. Thanks to the pitching, though, they’re 10-10-2 and tied for second in the West.

As was the case last night, sometimes they don’t need much offense. D.J. Hicks (Central Florida) and Jason Coats (TCU) each drove in runs, giving Bourne a 2-0 lead that proved to be enough.

Elsewhere

Hyannis moved to 16-7 with a 5-1 victory over a hot-hitting Brewster team. b (Clemson) shut the Whitecaps down through seven innings, allowing just a run on five hits and striking out six. Eric Ruth (Winthrop) and Nick Wittgren (Purdue) closed it out. With Brewster sending Tony Buccifero (Michigan State) to the mound against Firth, the game had the makings of a pitchers’ duel. But Hyannis touched Buccifero up for 12 hits in six innings. Eric Stamets (Evansville) and Joey Rickard (Arizona) each had three hits while Zach Vincej (Pepperdine) and Cal Towey (Baylor) had two apiece. Brewster’s defense didn’t help the cause — the Whitecaps made three errors and, as a result, Hyannis had only one RBI for the game.

Orleans took the lead with three in the fifth and watched its bullpen dominate en route to a 4-3 victory over first-place Harwich. A bases-loaded walk, an RBI single by Anthony Gomez (Vanderbilt) and a Jayce Boyd (Florida State) sac fly accounted for the fifth-inning rally. Starter Jason Wheeler (Loyola Marymount) then gave way to Andrew Chafin (Kent State), who allowed two hits in two scoreless frames. Kenny Long (Illinois State) followed with a scoreless inning before Trevor Gott (Kentucky) picked up his league-leading sixth save. Ronnie Shaeffer (UC Irvine) had two hits to lead the Orleans offense, while Ben Waldrip (Jacksonville) hit his league-best fifth home run.

What to Watch
Game: It should be a good one in Orleans as the Firebirds host Hyannis at 7 p.m. The Firebirds have been a little up and down, but they still look like one of the top teams in the East. And Hyannis still looks like the top team in the league.
Player: Kurt Heyer (Arizona) is scheduled to start for Orleans. He’s had one good outing and one bad outing, but nobody on the Cape had a better spring.