Joe Bircher wasn’t on the Falmouth roster when I wrote that preview, and I never know quite as much about the late additions like him.
In Bircher’s case, it’s certainly time to learn. We’re in that part of the season when stars are starting to cement their spots, and Bircher has been one of the brightest.
A junior at Bradley, the 6’4 205-pound lefty posted his fourth very strong start last night in a 4-0 Falmouth win over Brewster. Bircher is now 1-1 with a 1.57 ERA. He leads the league with 31 strikeouts (in 23 innings) and he has amazingly issued just two walks. Opponents are hitting just .169 against him and he’s given up only four earned runs.
Bircher was locked in a pitchers’ duel last night with Brewster’s Tony Buccifero (Michigan State), who’s been great in his own right. He has a 1.48 ERA.
Bircher’s Commodores scored four runs in the ninth to win it, when he was already out of the game. But he certainly set the stage. Bircher struck out six and walked one in seven scoreless innings, surrendering just three hits.
That marks the third straight start that Bircher has allowed one run or less and three hits or less. And last night, he did it against a Brewster team that leads the league in hitting by a pretty wide margin.
Bircher has had summer success before. Last year, he played for the Mat-Su Miners in Alaska and went 6-1 with a league-best 1.29 ERA. He was solid this spring, with a 3.00 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 105 innings, but it looks like summer is the time when he shines brightest.
I think we’ll be watching now.
Elsewhere
What to Watch
Game: For whatever reason, it seems like top teams haven’t played each other yet, but that changes tonight when West leader Hyannis hosts second-place Wareham at 7 p.m. Both teams have won three in a row.
Players: Wareham’s Robert Refsnyder (Arizona) has seven hits in his last four games and leads the Gatemen with five extra-base hits. Refsnyder’s Arizona teammate Joey Rickard has been even hotter for Hyannis. Rickard has had two hits in each of his last four games, and five have gone for extra bases.
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