From the very beginning of the summer, Hyannis has been playing well. The Harbor Hawks won their first three games and five of their first six, serving notice that this year might be different.
Because it’s been a while in Hyannis. The franchise hasn’t finished a season with an above-.500 record since they 2003, when they were still the Mets and they went 21-19-4. They’ve finished in last place the last two years and they won only 14 games last season.
On Monday — Independence Day — the Harbor Hawks celebrated their newfound independence from that past.
Hyannis beat Y-D 4-1 for its 14th win of the summer, the same total it finished with a year ago.
And something tells me they won’t stop there.
The Harbor Hawks are now 14-6 and holding the best record in the league. They’ve won five out of six again after their only brief skid of the season. They have an eight-point cushion in the standings and are the only team in the West with a winning record.
To reach 14, they delivered another strong effort. Hyannis fell behind 1-0 in the top of the third but tied it immediately, took the lead in the fifth and never looked back. Dylan Floro (Cal State Fullerton) allowed nine hits in eight innings but struck out six, didn’t walk anybody and surrendered just one run. The no walks is big for Floro, who previously had walked almost as many as he had struck out.
Nick Wittgren (Purdue) struck out the side in the ninth to pick up his third save.
On the offensive side, Eric Stamets (Evansville) had three hits out of the leadoff spot while Justin Gonzalez (Florida State) went 2-for-4 with a home run. Kevin Plawecki (Purdue) and Cal Towey (Baylor) also had two hits apiece, and Dan Gulbransen (Jacksonville) delivered an RBI.
Hyannis will try to keep the good times rolling today when it visits Harwich in a battle of first-place teams.
Elsewhere
Orleans took care of the fireworks last night with a 12-0 victory over rival Chatham at Veterans Field. Orleans smacked 11 hits and blew the game open in the middle innings, winning for the second straight time while handing Chatham its sixth straight loss. Andrew Aplin (Arizona State) and Jayce Boyd (Florida State) led the attack with three RBI each, and Matt Koch (Loyola Marymount) added a home run. Mike Hauschild (Dayton) made his first start after pitching well in relief and didn’t need all the offensive support. He struck out eight and allowed three hits in six shutout innings. Kenny Long (Illinois State) struck out four of the six batters he faced in two innings of relief, and Nick Mutz finished it off with a scoreless ninth.
Bourne also posted a shutout win, this one a 5-0 victory over Wareham. Ryan Eades (LSU) struck out five in six innings for the win before Slade Smith (Auburn) and John Farrell (William & Mary) closed it out. Jason Coats (TCU) led the offense with three hits and two RBI, while Patrick Cantwell (Stony Brook) also had three hits. Travis Jankowski (Stony Brook) also picked up an RBI and now leads the league with 14. For Wareham, John Andreoli (UConn) finally cooled off and went 0-for-4.
Brewster came back from a loss to Harwich on Sunday with a 6-4 victory last night. The Whitecaps led 6-0 before Harwich scored four in the eighth. Brewster reliever Brandon Love (Mercer) put out the fire, though, and J.T. Chargois (Rice) pitched a scoreless ninth to seal the victory. Tanner Nivins (Stony Brook) had a home run and three RBI to lead Brewster. Austin Nola (LSU) had three RBI for Harwich.
North Carolina standout Kent Emanuel made his start for Falmouth and allowed two runs in six innings but was out-dueled by five Cotuit pitchers in a 6-3 Kettleers win. R.J. Fondon (Florida International) went six innings for the win, allowing one run on five hits. Michael Clevinger (Seminole JC) and Bobby Wahl (Ole Miss) each pitched scoreless innings before Falmouth tried mounting a comeback in the ninth with two runs off Trent Daniel (Arkansas). But Mason McVay (Florida International) came on for the final out and the save. Kevin Mager (Rollins) had three RBI to lead the Cotuit attack.
What to Watch
Game: As mentioned above, Hyannis and Harwich get together for a match-up of first-place teams at Whitehouse Field at 7 p.m. The teams have split their first two meetings.
Player: Eric Stamets (Evansville) has been a steady force atop the Hyannis lineup all summer. He leads the team with a .329 batting average.
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Can we call YD the favorite to win it all now? They just signed Mike Zunino and Connor Harrell?
Wow that’s huge for them.