I finally made it to a game last night after some busy weeks, and I thought I had stumbled on one of the first genuine pitching gems of the season.
I had. It just wasn’t the one I thought.
Cotuit’s Chris Beck (Georgia Southern) took a no-hitter into the fifth inning of last night’s game against Wareham but lost it on an RBI triple by C.T. Bradford (Mississippi State). With four Wareham pitchers combining to shut down the Kettleers, the one run was all Wareham needed to win 1-0 before a big crowd at Spillane Field.
Beck was cruising, although it was a sneaky kind of performance. He walked a couple, and Wareham had a runner reach on an error. Beck also worked slowly and went deep into a lot of counts.
But he still didn’t give up a hit until the fifth, and for Wareham, it came at a very good time. Ty Ross (LSU) walked to start the inning before Bradford smacked a deep fly ball to right. Victor Roache (Georgia Southern) couldn’t get to it, and Ross scored easily. Bradford motored to third.
The Gatemen pitchers did the rest. Josh Turley (Baylor) went 5.2 innings and Daniel Feehan (UConn) got a key out to finish the sixth. Barrett Astin, who was great as a freshman reliever for Arkansas this spring, then pitched two scoreless innings before Konner Wade (Arizona) worked a quick ninth for his second save.
Just like that, a gem was in the books.
A few other thoughts from the game:
Roache didn’t have a big game but he certainly looks the part of a national home run leader. Oddly enough, he batted leadoff last night.
A more typical leadoff hitter is Bradford, and he looks like a good one. Brandon Thomas (Georgia Tech) has been hitting leadoff and I don’t think Wareham can go wrong with either one.
Wareham had been shut out in its last two games, and it looked like Beck was going to do the same thing. He’s a big kid and he was throwing well.
Last year’s playoff MVP, Jordan Leyland, is back in a Cotuit uniform. A 44th-round pick this year, the UC Irvine junior picked up exactly where he left off, lining a single in his first at-bat.
Elsewhere
Falmouth got one of the best pitching performances of the season to cool off the first-place Hyannis Harbor Hawks by a 6-1 score. Joe Bircher (Bradley) went six innings, allowed just an unearned run, didn’t surrender a hit after the first and struck out nine against no walks. Bircher now has a 2.25 ERA and he leads the league with 25 strikeouts. He has also walked just one. Falmouth gave him a lead this time thanks to a five-run third. Spencer Kieboom (Clemson) and Billy Ferriter (UConn) each had two RBI in the surge. Max White (Oklahoma) later added a home run.
Kurt Heyer (Arizona) made his debut and turned in a pretty impressive line. He allowed four hits in five shutout innings and struck out three as Orleans beat Brewster 5-2. The Firebirds were actually out-hit 10-9, but managed to stay in front. Matt Duffy (Long Beach State) went 3-for-4 for Orleans while Ben Waldrip (Jacksonville) hit his league-leading third home run, a three-run blast in the first.
Harwich stayed three points ahead of Orleans for first place with an 8-3 victory over Chatham. The Mariners also matched Hyannis for the league-high in wins, and they set themselves on that path right out of the gates. Going up against Tim Cooney (Wake Forest), the Mariners scored seven in the first inning on seven hits and a Chatham error. Jabari Henry (Florida International) and Austin Wilson (Stanford) picked up an RBI each before John Wooten (East Carolina) knocked in two with a double. Jacoby Jones (LSU) also had an RBI to cap off the big inning. Armed with the lead, Andrew Leenhouts (Northeastern) went four innings for the win.
Bourne and Y-D ended up in a 6-6 tie as darkness forced the game to be called. There was plenty of offense before the sun set, though, with the teams combining for 31 hits. James Ramsay (Florida State) had three to lead Y-D while Anthony Melchionda (Boston College) had two hits and two RBI. Kyle Farmer (Georgia) had three hits for Bourne while Jason Coats (TCU) and Blake Crohan (Tulane) each had two RBI.
What to Watch
Game: Harwich, winners of four straight, will travel to Cotuit for a 5 p.m. game. The Kettleers have lost five in a row.
Players: There’s a standing order to watch Victor Roache of Cotuit. As for the Mariners, keep an eye on Jabari Henry, who’s had a big hand in their recent surge. Henry is hitting .262 with two homers, three doubles, a triple and 10 RBI. He’s tied for the league lead in RBI.
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