Posted on by Will Geoghegan

Daily Fog: Wild West

On Thursday night, the Wareham Gatemen climbed out of the basement and moved into fourth place. Last night, they jumped to third. Today, they could get to second, and Sunday, they could be in first.

Welcome to life in the Cape League’s Western Division.

It’s a little crazy. After Friday’s games, the five teams in the division are all within four points of each other. First-place Bourne has 28 points. Hyannis and Falmouth, who are tied for fourth, have 24 points. Cotuit has 26.

And Wareham — this week’s poster boy for the craziness — has 25.

The Gatemen have won four games in a row. Not too long ago, they were well off the pace, but they hopped over Hyannis with a win on Thursday and kept moving up with Friday’s 8-6 victory over Falmouth.

Eric Pfisterer (Duke) gave the Gatemen six solid innings, and the offense took care of the rest. Nico Rosthenhausler (Oklahoma State) drove in two and Jake Davies (Georgia Tech), who’s more pitcher than hitter, delivered a double and an RBI. Derek Dennis (Michigan) and Adam McClain (Memphis) also drove in runs. Those four guys did their damage from the bottom of Wareham’s order.

The Gatemen had to hold off a late charge from Falmouth but got it done. Ken Ferrer (Elon) picked up the save, his second.

The victory gives the Gatemen the longest current win streak in the league. Can they keep it going? If they do, they’ll keep moving up. Tonight, they play first-place Bourne. On Sunday, they play second-place Cotuit.

First place might not be far off. I guess in the West, it never is.

Elsewhere

  • Heading into Friday, Brewster had the best record in the league but was 1-2 against Y-D. In their last meeting, Y-D posted a 7-1 victory. This time, it was Brewster getting the upper hand as the Whitecaps won a big tilt by a 9-2 score. It was a typical performance for the Whitecaps, who have won three in a row and now have 20 victories. Andrew Gagnon (Long Beach State) delivered a solid start, allowing a run in 5.1 innings for his league-best fifth win of the year. Kyle Hendricks (Dartmouth), Daniel Renken (Cal State Fullerton) and Jake Barrett (Arizona State) finished it off. The offense broke out for 14 hits, led by three from Cohl Walla (Texas), who also drove in two. Danny Oh (California) and Andy Burns (Kentucky) each had a home run and three RBI. And Brewster did a lot of its damage against a pitcher who’s now slouch. John Leonard (Boston College) came in with a 1.09 ERA but Brewster touched him up for four runs. The Whitecaps added five more runs against the Y-D pen.

  • Hyannis signed fifth-round pick Cole Cook (Pepperdine) at some point on Friday — and then he got the start Friday night. He must have been ready. Cook struck out seven and allowed one run in five innings as Hyannis beat first-place Bourne 7-1. Cook, who had a 2.93 ERA with Pepperdine and was picked by the Indians in the fifth round this year, could be a big addition. He was backed on Friday by a 12-hit attack. Johnny Ruettiger (Arizona State) went 3-for-5 to raise his average to .360. Mark Micowski (Georgia State) also had three hits, and Casey McElroy (Auburn) drove in two.

  • Four Orleans pitchers combined on a shutout as the Firebirds beat Chatham 2-0. Cameron Hobson (Dayton) walked five but didn’t allow a hit in 5.2 innings. Burny Mitchem (Dayton) and Will Clinard (Vanderbilt) kept the combined no-hitter going before Chatham broke through for two hits against closer Marcus Stroman (Duke). Stroman got out of trouble, though, and picked up the save. Kolten Wong (Hawaii) led the Orleans offense with three hits. He’s at .350 and has taken over the batting average lead.

  • Cotuit stayed in front of surging Wareham thanks to an 8-4 victory over Harwich. Standout freshman Brady Rodgers (Arizona State) made his first start for Cotuit, and though he allowed four runs on nine hits, he also struck out 10 and walked nobody in 7.2 innings. He got the win. The Cotuit offense was led by Mike Yastrzemski (Vanderbilt), who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Chad Wright (Kentucky) drove in two. For Harwich, Pratt Maynard (NC State) had two RBI, bringing his league-leading total to 19.

    • What to Watch

    If Wareham is going to keep rising, the Gatemen will have to get through an ace. Anthony Meo (Coastal Carolina) is back with Bourne after Team USA trials and is scheduled to get the ball tonight as the Braves host Wareham at 5:30 p.m. Wareham sends Jack Armstrong (Vanderbilt) to the hill. Also of note, Austin Wood (St. Petersburg), a fourth-round pick this year goes for Cotuit as the Kettleers host Falmouth.

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