On July 19, Orleans lost an 8-3 game to Chatham and dropped to 13-16-3. At that point, roughly two weeks remained in the regular season. The Firebirds looked like they’d still make the playoffs, but that was only because Chatham was doing a lot worse.
Two weeks later, Orleans is indeed in the playoffs — as the Eastern Division champion.
It’s been quite a run.
The Firebirds finished with 11 wins in their final 12 games. It was easy to lose track, because Hyannis was just as hot and because of the all-star break. But Orleans won eight in a row to start their stretch, lost to Hyannis to end the streak and then didn’t lose again.
Yesterday, Orleans put the finishing touches on their run by sweeping a doubleheader with Chatham. With those wins, they finished two points ahead of Harwich for first place.
Orleans won the first game yesterday by a 6-2 score. Stony Brook’s Tyler Johnson, who has emerged as an ace, allowed just one hit in 6.1 shutout innings. He struck out five.
The offense was led by Maxx Tissenbaum (Stony Brook), who broke open a 1-0 game with a three-run homer in the eighth. He finished 2-for-4 with four RBI. Tarran Senay (NC State) also hit a home run, while Matt Duffy (Long Beach State) drove in a run.
The victory in game one secured the championship for Orleans. Even with a loss in game two and a Harwich win, the Firebirds would hold the tiebreaker thanks to their 5-1 head-to-head record against Harwich.
But Orleans didn’t let the tiebreaker even come into play. The teams traveled to Eldredge Park for the nightcap and the Firebirds held off a late charge by Chatham to finish their season with a 9-8 win.
Andrew Aplin (Arizona State) had a huge night at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBI. Tissenbaum and Senay also hit home runs, their second blasts of the day. The Anglers touched Orleans pitchers up for 17 hits of their own, but the Firebirds stayed in front the whole way. With a one run lead, Trevor Gott (Kentucky) pitched a scoreless ninth for his 12th save.
Elsewhere
There was another interesting race going on last night — the race for the batting title. And it ended in a surprise. Statisticians were watching the Orleans-Chatham doubleheader very closely, because it looked like either Dane Phillips or Matt Duffy would win the crown. Phillips ended up on top in that duel, but over in Harwich, Y-D’s Stephen Piscotty (Stanford) — who hadn’t even qualified for the league lead before last night — went 4-for-5, qualified for the title and took it by .000219 points.
Harwich won that game against Y-D 8-7, earning home-field advantage for its first-round series. Harwich led 7-6 in the top of the ninth before Y-D tied it on a Brian Johnson (Florida) RBI single. But Harwich put a rally together in the bottom of the ninth and won it when Ronnie Richardson (Central Florida) raced home on a throwing error.
Wareham also took home-field advantage thanks to its fifth win in a row and its second straight against Bourne, the team it took home-field from. The Gatemen trailed 2-1 in the eighth but came back with three runs on a Max Muncy (Baylor) RBI single and a pair of wild pitches. Bourne scored a run in the ninth but ended up falling a run short in the 4-3 loss. Wareham closer Konner Wade (Arizona) pitched out of trouble in the ninth for his 12th save. Matt Grimes (Georgia Tech) got a no-decision for Wareham but pitched seven shutout innings.
Hyannis and Falmouth split their doubleheader. The Harbor Hawks won 1-0 in the first game, with Scott Firth (Clemson), Dean McArdle (Stanford), Kyle Kraus (Portland) and Nick Wittgren (Purdue) combining on the shutout. Dan Gulbransen’s solo home run was the only offense. In the nightcap, Falmouth broke a tie with two in the seventh and won 8-6. Barrett Barnes (Texas Tech) and Eric Garcia (Missouri) knocked in two runs apiece to lead the Commodores. Hyannis and Falmouth will meet again in the playoffs.
Cotuit isn’t making the playoffs but finished strong last night with a 3-0 win over Brewster. Kevin Ziomek (Vanderbilt) went six shutout innings before Kendall Graveman (Mississippi State), Michael Clevinger (Seminole JC) and Bobby Wahl (Ole Miss) finished it off. The flame-throwing Wahl ended the season with a strikeout. The Cotuit offense was led by Logan Vick (Baylor), who continued a six-game hitting streak and added an RBI. Jordan Leyland (UC Irvine) had two hits and an RBI, while Victor Roache (Georgia Southern) finished up his outstanding summer with a 1-for-2 night.
What to Watch
There’s an off-day today before the playoffs start tomorrow. I’ll have a playoff preview coming at some point.
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