After two days of rainouts, the Cape League finally got back to baseball last night.
Chatham and Bourne made up for lost time.
The Anglers and Braves played a 15-inning marathon, the longest game this year and I believe the longest since another 15-inning game in 2009. After each team scored a run early, the played 12 scoreless innings before Bourne broke through for two in the top of the 15th.
The pitching stands out as the biggest story. Thirteen of them took the mound and they pitched so well, they left a lot of hitters with ugly lines.
Chatham’s Keith Bilodeau (Maine) struck out nine and allowed just an unearned run in 7.2 innings before giving way to the bullpen. Four relievers ate up the next 6.2 innings without allowing a single hit.
For Bourne, starter Josh Conway (Coastal Carolina) only lasted four innings, but the bullpen was up to the task. Six relievers combined to allow four hits and no runs in 11 innings of work. Among the stand-outs were Kevin Brady (Clemson), a 17th-round pick this year who struck out the side in the seventh in his summer debut, and Mason Melotakis (Northwestern State), who struck out five in three innings.
The Braves then got the lead in the 15th when Zach Alvord (Auburn) drew a leadoff walk, took second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a base hit by Garrett Cannizaro (Tulane). A squeeze bunt by Travis Jankowski (Stony Brook) brought Cannizaro home.
Chatham still had one last chance and got a two-out single by Joe Sever (Pepperdine) in the bottom of the 15th. But John Farrell (William & Mary) struck out Stephen Perez (Miami) to end it. Farrell ended up striking out four in two innings.
It’ll be interesting to see if a game like this can be a jumpstart for the Braves. They’ve had their struggles but they’re only a game out of second place at 4-6-1. Chatham is now 4-7-1.
Elsewhere
Harwich shut out Wareham 4-0 for its third straight win. The Mariners are now three games clear of Orleans for first place in the East. Taylor Rogers (Kentucky) got the start for the Mariners and dominated. After a loss in his first start, he went six shutout innings this time and struck out nine. The bullpen did the rest with three relievers pitching one scoreless inning each. Blake Hauser (Virginia Commonwealth) finished it off by striking out the side in the ninth, giving Harwich 15 strikeouts for the game. The Mariner offense was led by Jabari Henry (Florida International), who hit his second home run. Austin Nola (LSU) and Jake Davies (Georgia Tech) each had an RBI.
Once 0-7, Falmouth is now 4-8 after beating Cotuit 5-2 last night. Barrett Barnes (Texas Tech) went 2-for-3 with three RBI to lead an offense that’s slowly waking up. Jake Rodriguez (Oregon State) had three hits and Eric Garcia (Missouri) added two. Andrew Heaney (Oklahoma State) walked five and struck out six but worked his way out of trouble and went five innings for the win. Nate Koneski (Holy Cross) followed with three scoreless innings before John Simms (Rice) picked up his third save. Simms is now tied for the league lead, which is kind of remarkable considering how long it took Falmouth to even have a save opportunity. Simms has seized the chances, though — he hasn’t allowed a run and has struck out 12 in 5.1 innings.
The sixth inning was decisive in Orleans. Y-D scored three in the top half, Orleans managed just one in the bottom and neither team scored again as Y-D went on to the 3-1 win. Doubles by the LSU duo of Tyler Hanover and Mason Katz plated Y-D’s first run. Anthony Melchionda (Boston College) followed with an RBI single and Y-D pushed a third run across on an error. Mike Marjama (Long Beach State) had an RBI single for Orleans in the bottom of the sixth, but the Firebirds could get nothing else. James Lomangino (St. John’s) turned in his third solid start of the summer, going five scoreless innings for the win. A.J. Vanegas (Stanford), making his summer debut, struck out four in three innings of relief and Matt Carasiti (St. John’s) worked a scoreless ninth for this third save. For Orleans, eighth-round pick Jason Wheeler (Loyola Marymount) allowed one run and struck out four in 5.2 innings.
Brewster and Hyannis had to cancel their game because of wet field conditions at McKeon Park.
What to Watch
Game: Orleans hosts Brewster at 7 p.m. in a battle of East teams who are just two points apart in the standings.
Player: That game was highlighted in large part because of who’s pitching for Orleans. Arizona’s Kurt Heyer is scheduled to make his season debut. Heyer was among the best pitchers in the country this year — and probably the best sophomore. He had a 2.41 ERA with 128 strikeouts and just 25 walks in 130.7 innings. He ranked fifth in the nation in strikeouts.
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