For the first time in a long time, the second place team in the West is closer to first place than to third. Bourne got there last night thanks to a 5-1 victory over Falmouth and a Hyannis loss to Orleans.
Before that, it had been Hyannis and everybody else, but the Braves have now won five in a row and are within four points of the Harbor Hawks. Falmouth is in third and is six points back of Bourne.
The Braves got it done in impressive fashion last night, putting up 12 hits and getting another dominant pitching performance. Ryan Eades (LSU) took a perfect game into the sixth before giving up a triple. He ended up allowing a run on two hits in 6.1 innings. In an indication of how good he’s been, his ERA actually went up after that. Eades is now 3-0 with a league-best 0.68 ERA.
The Bourne offense did most of its damage against Falmouth starter Kent Emanuel (North Carolina), who surrendered four runs on nine hits in five innings of work. Emanuel’s North Carolina teammate Tommy Coyle had the biggest night, going 4-for-5 with two RBI. Zach Alvord (Auburn) added two hits and D.J. Hicks (Central Florida) hit a home run for the third time in six games.
Bourne is now 14-10-2. Falmouth fell to 12-14.
Elsewhere
What to Watch
Game: Bourne will try to keep its win streak going against a Brewster team that’s been steadily climbing the ranks. The Whitecaps have won six of nine games, with the only losses in that stretch coming to Hyannis.
Player: Jason Monda (Washington State) had a quiet start for Brewster but has emerged as one of the team’s best hitters over the last few weeks. Monda has had at least two hits in nine of his last 11 games, giving him a .357 batting average.