It’s getting very difficult to predict things this season. Last night, a team that had lost five of six and that had struggled offensively took on a team ahead of it in the standings with the second-best ERA in the league.
I would have gone with Team B. And that would have been really wrong. Y-D was Team A in that scenario. The Red Sox had lost five of six and the sixth game was a tie. They hadn’t won since July 2.
Last night, they went out and tied this season’s single game high in runs, beating Orleans 15-8.
You just never know.
In Y-D’s case, it could be a sign of the surge they’ve been waiting for. No team has gotten a bigger talent influx than the Red Sox, who welcomed Florida stars and Team USA invitees Mike Zunino and Brian Johnson to town after the College World Series. Eventually, you’d think it would have to pay dividends, and it certainly did last night.
Johnson made his debut, batted cleanup and promptly went 2-for-5 with a home run and five RBI. Zunino, who had struggled in four games so far, went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
And those two weren’t alone. Y-D finished with 17 hits. James Ramsey (Florida State) and Cody Keefer (UCLA) each had three, with Keefer hitting a home run and driving in three. Tyler Hanover (LSU) added two RBI.
That was enough to overcome a pretty good offensive day by Orleans. Ben Waldrip (Jacksonville) had three hits for the Firebirds, including his league-leading sixth home run.
Zack Weiss (UCLA) got the win for Y-D after allowed four runs in six innings of relief.
The victory moves Y-D into a tie with Orleans for third place in the East. The Red Sox hope it’s a sign of things to come.
But you never know.
Elsewhere
Also from the you-never-know file, Chatham beat Harwich 6-5 last night. The Anglers had lost all three of their previous match-ups against Harwich this season. This time, they trailed 5-3 going into the top of the ninth but staged an improbable rally against the normally lights-out Harwich bullpen. Lex Rutledge (Samford) came on for the save, but Chatham touched him up for three runs on a Kris Bryant (San Diego) RBI double, an Evan Marzilli (South Carolina) RBI single and a Joe Sever (Pepperdine) sacrifice fly. Zack Jones (San Jose State), who had blown a save in his last outing, watched Harwich load the bases in the bottom of the ninth but got out of the jam and finished the game with a strikeout.
Bourne posted a 6-5 walk-off win over Cotuit. D.J. Hicks (Central Florida) started Bourne’s 10th-inning rally with a single, his fourth hit of the day. Pitcher Josh Conway (Coastal Carolina) ran for him at first and ended up coming all the way around to score the winning run. Conway took second on a hit-batsman then moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on another wild pitch. Bourne has now won four in a row and came back to win this one after Cotuit had tied it in the ninth. Mason Melotakis (Northwest State) was credited with the win. Travis Jankowski (Stony Brook) had two hits and two RBI for Bourne. For Cotuit, Victor Roache (Georgia Southern) went 3-for-5 with two RBI and took over the league lead in batting average at .387. Roache is 11-for-17 in his last five games.
Hyannis stopped a two-game skid with a 6-1 victory over Brewster, who had won five of six. Dylan Floro (Cal State Fullerton) was impressive for the Harbor Hawks, striking out nine and allowing just three hits in 6.2 innings. Hyannis took a lead with two runs in the fifth then put the game away with three in the eighth. Chadd Krist (California) had two RBI while Joey Rickard (Arizona) and Justin Gonzalez (Florida State) both had one. Hyannis only had five hits to Brewster’s four, but Whitecaps starter Scott Griggs (UCLA) walked seven in four innings.
Falmouth scored two in each of the first two innings and cruised past Wareham 6-1. Tyler Duffey (Rice) made his first start of the summer after pitching well out of the bullpen and turned in an impressive outing. He went six innings and allowed only one run in picking up the win. Offensively, Jeremy Baltz (St. John’s) had a big day to lead the Commodore offense, going 3-for-4 with three RBI. Kyle Von Tungeln (TCU) added two RBI. For Wareham, Max Muncy (Baylor) went 1-for-3 to run his hitting streak to 13 games.
What to Watch
Game: Bourne visits Falmouth at 7 p.m. in a game between two of the three West squads that have been jockeying for second place for a while now.
Players: The pitching match-up should be a good one. Ryan Eades (LSU), who leads the league with a 0.45 ERA, is scheduled to pitch for Bourne against Kent Emanuel (North Carolina), who had a solid debut last week after a great freshman season in Chapel Hill.
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Taylor Davis has left the Brewster Whitecaps and has been released. He must have signed a pro contract? Too bad he was having a great season for Brewster!
Yeah, he signed with the Cubs. Too bad for Brewster but good for him. Summer certainly paid off.