In a year when relief pitching has been dominant, it’s no surprise that the East bullpen put on a show in the Cape Cod League All-Star Game last night in Fenway Park.
After the West squad scored a run in the first inning, the East went to its pen and watched eight pitchers allow a combined one hit the rest of the way — and that hit came in the third. The final six pitchers didn’t allow a hit and faced only one batter over the minimum.
It started with Orleans’ Tyler Johnson (Stony Brook), who pitched a perfect fourth. Brewster’s J.T. Chargois (Rice) followed suit in the fifth and Harwich’s Chris Overman (NC State) continued his dominant summer with a scoreless sixth. Overman hasn’t allowed an earned run this summer.
In the seventh, Brewster’s Austin Voth (Washington) pitched a perfect inning. In the eighth, it was Harwich’s Carter Capps (Mt. Olive), who had a baserunner reach on a called third strike before striking out two more and getting a flyout for another hitless frame. Saves leader Trevor Gott (Kentucky) of Orleans then finished it off with two strikeouts in the ninth, including one of Victor Roache.
And thankfully for the East, the offense did its part too. After falling behind in the first, the East took a 2-1 lead in the second on a Mason Katz (LSU) double and two throwing errors, which allowed Katz to come all the way around.
In the third, Brewster’s Jason Monda (Washington State) knocked in teammate Ryan Jones (Michigan State) for the 3-1 lead. Y-D’s James Ramsey finished the scoring when he belted a solo home run in the fifth.
Stephen Piscotty (Stanford) led the East offense with two hits while Hyannis’ Eric Stamets (Evansville) had two to lead the West. Ramsey was the East MVP while Stamets took home the honors for the East. On the mound, the West bullpen had its moments too, with closers Bobby Wahl (Ole Miss), Konner Wade (Arizona) and John Simms (Rice) each pitching a scoreless frame.
The attendance in this the league’s third year at Fenway was 7,007.
What to Watch
We’ll be back to a full slate of action, with several match-ups that could shape up as playoff previews. In the East, Brewster hosts Harwich and Y-D hosts Orleans. In the West, Bourne visits Hyannis. Also out West, Falmouth hosts Cotuit in a game with playoff implications. Falmouth has a five-point lead on Cotuit for the finaly playoff spot.
Will, Mike Zunino has an injured back and has left the Cape.
Too bad. Would have liked to see him get a chance to make a bigger impression.