Not too long ago, Hyannis was threatening to run away and hide at the top of the West Division. The Harbor Hawks were eight points ahead of their nearest competitor.
But with Hyannis hitting a speed bump in recent days — the Harbor Hawks have lost three in a row — the opportunity was there for someone to get closer.
Two teams seized it and it’s not the two you might have picked. Falmouth and Bourne, who both got off to very rough starts this summer, are now within striking distance. Bourne is three points back of Hyannis while Falmouth is four back. The Braves have won two in a row and three of four, while Falmouth has won five straight.
Last night, Bourne got one of its best pitching performances of the season to beat Orleans 3-0. The Braves have had to patch things together and have frequently used four or five pitchers in a game. This time, Ryan Eades (LSU) went six shutout innings, striking out four and allowing only two hits. Slade Smith (Auburn) then worked two scoreless frames before R.J. Alvarez (Florida Atlantic) struck out two in a perfect ninth for his second save.
The Braves offense tallied nine hits, with Jason Coats (TCU) going 3-for-3 with two RBI to lead the way. D.J. Hicks (Central Florida) also had an RBI.
As for Falmouth, the Commodores won for the seventh time in eight games since their 0-7 start, beating Y-D 2-1. Falmouth trailed into the seventh but picked up a run then and scored the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth on a safety squeeze by Jack Marder (Oregon). Josh Easley (NC State) then worked a scoreless ninth to seal it.
Marder finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and Kyle VonTungeln (TCU) went 3-for-5. Taylor Sandefur (Western Carolina) got the win in relief after starter Sean Hagans (St. John’s) allowed one run in seven innings.
Elsewhere
What to Watch
Games: Harwich will be looking for its sixth win in a row when it hosts Bourne at 7 p.m. Hyannis and Cotuit also meet for the second night in a row, this one in Cotuit.
Players: The Mariners won’t have an easy time getting that sixth straight win. Bourne is starting Tommy Collier (San Jacinto), who went six shutout innings in his last start. Harwich, though, does counter with Tanner Perkins (Western Kentucky) who went 6.1 shutout innings in his last start.
Will, I went to see team USA play in Newport and talked to alot of the Cape players before the game and asked them if they were coming back to the cape after team USA is finished. Devin Merrero said he was going to play for Cotuit after team USA finishes. However, Kevin Gausman, Brady Rodgers, and Brian Ragira are all not coming to the cape.
How did Chafin look, Will? I was a big fan of his at Kent State and he was a very good get for Arizona considering they’d already grabbed Bauer and Bradley. He’s a nice hedge if they fail to sign one of those two.
Will, it will be interesting to see if Florida’s Zunino comes to cape now that he is not on team USA’s roster? It would give YD a major jolt in their lineup and give the cape a big name! Also, Ragira is off team USA? Can he be coming to Harwich? He said no to me, but we will see now that he is off team USA? Also, Baxendale said he is not coming to the cape after team USA either.
Evan – I wasn’t at that game so I didn’t get to see Chafin. I’m hoping he’ll stick around and I’ll get to see him at some point.
Steve – Thanks for the info. With such a light Team USA schedule, it seemed like a good possibility that some would come to the Cape. Marrero will be a great addition for Cotuit.
We’ll certainly keep an eye out for Zunino. He would be just about the biggest name on the Cape.