Even when they’re not doing it with home runs, the Harwich Mariners are catching a lot of eyes.
Harwich did hit two more home runs last night, but the real story was its ninth inning rally. West leader Falmouth went into the bottom of the ninth with a 6-4 lead on the Mariners. With closer John Simms (Rice) coming in, it looked like Falmouth was well on its way to its second victory of the year over the nation’s No. 1 summer collegiate team.
But Simms had to get through the middle of Harwich’s order. And that is proving to be a very difficult task this season.
With an error and a walk opening the door, the Mariners seized the opportunity. Austin Wilson (Stanford) doubled home a run to make it a 6-5 game before Brian Ragira (Stanford) smacked a single off the glove of a diving Jon McGibbon (Clemson) at first, allowing two runs to score and giving Harwich a 7-6 victory.
The Mariners haven’t needed a lot of heroics this season. This was their third one-run victory out of 12 wins. They’ve averaged about a four-run margin in their other wins.
But they got just what they needed on this night. The meat of their order is about as intimidating a group as I remember on the Cape. Whether the balls are flying out of the park or not, that group is a very tough one to deal with.
Harwich’s two home runs came early on, with Wilson and Eric Jagielo (Notre Dame) both hitting their fifth of the season. Matt Reida (Kentucky) went 3-for-5 at the top of the Mariner order.
Drew Dosch (Youngstown State) led Falmouth with two hits and two RBI. Before Harwich’s ninth-inning rally, the Commodores got great relief work, with Ryan Moore (UConn), John Colella (Holy Cross), Kyle Ruchim (Northwestern) and Sam Paterson (Montana State-Billings) combining for six innings of one-hit, shutout baseball.
Elsewhere
Orleans turned in one of the most impressive all-around games of the season with a 12-0 dismantling of Brewster, the team’s second win in a row since two straight losses on Thursday and Friday. Kevin Brown (Bryant) hit a grand slam in the second inning on his way to a huge six RBI night, and the Firebirds blew the game wide open with six runs in the fourth. J.T. Riddle (Kentucky) had three hits for the Firebirds, while Daniel Aldrich (College of Charleston) and Pi’ikea Kitamura (Hawaii) each had an RBI. On the mound, Jarrett Arakawa (Hawaii) turned in his third impressive start in as many tries, allowing just two hits and striking out four in five shutout innings. That line is identical to the line from his last start. Arakawa now has a 0.60 ERA. The bullpen was also impressive, with Karsten Whitson (Florida), Dylan Covey (San Diego), Pat Christensen (La Salle) and Kyle Crockett (Virginia) giving up just one more hit in four innings.
Y-D also blew past an East rival, powering past Chatham 12-2. The win puts Y-D into a tie for third in the East with Chatham. The Red Sox finished with 11 hits, including three home runs. Robert Pehl (Washington), Alex Blandino (Stanford) and Justin Shafer (Florida) had the blasts, with Blandino and Pehl both finishing with two hits. Wayne Taylor (Stanford) added two RBI. For Chatham, John Martinez (Michigan State) hit a home run, but the Anglers didn’t get much else. Y-D starter Alex Gonzalez (Oral Roberts) allowed two runs in four innings before Anthony Montefusco (George Mason) and Joey DeNato (Indiana) finished it off.
Cotuit and Bourne have both had their struggles this season, but they were duking it out for 12 innings last night. The Kettleers eventually prevailed 7-4 thanks to a rally in the top of the 12th. James Roberts (USC) cleared the bases with a two-out double to give Cotuit the 7-4 lead. Jacob Stone (Weatherford College) then tossed his second straight scoreless inning to seal the victory, which moved Cotuit to 6-8. The long game happened despite strong starting pitching performances on both sides. Kevin Ziomek (Vanderbilt) struck out nine and allowed just a run on three hits in 6.1 innings for the Kettleers. He now ranks third in the league in strikeouts. On the other side, Bourne’s Chad Green (Louisville) struck out eight and allowed two runs on three hits in 5.1 innings.
Wareham pulled off a comeback win over Hyannis for the second time in three days. On Friday, Wareham had rallied from a 6-2 deficit against the Harbor Hawks with two in the eighth and three in the ninth. This time the Gatemen posted a 4-3 victory thanks to two runs in the eighth. A two-run home run by Tyler Horan (Virginia Tech) was the difference, and Cole Sturgeon (Louisville) pitched a scoreless ninth once his team got the lead. Claude Johnson (Arkansas State) also had two RBI for the Gatemen, who finished with just four hits. Hyannis was also limited to four hits. Brandon Trinkwon (Cal) had a hit and an RBI to lead the Harbor Hawks.
What to Watch
Just two games on the slate today. Bourne visits Cotuit at 5 p.m. in a rematch of last night’s 12-inning affair, and Hyannis travels to Chatham for a 7 p.m. start. If you’re looking for a pitcher to watch, Chatham starter Eric Stevens is your guy. The Boston College righty struggled in his last start, but his first time out, he was perfect through five innings.
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Hi Will. I saw a Tweet which indicated that the CCBL home run record for wooden bats is 16. I think the stat came from the League statistician, so I presume that it’s accurate.
Forgot to ask: Anyone hear anything on why Orleans closer Trevor Gott’s summer came to such an abrupt end?
Oops. Must always READ RFF before posting. I see that both of my comments have already been addressed. Late night in Bourne last night. Sorry.
What I think is interesting about Harwich’s record-setting pace is that Whitehouse Field isn’t exactly a home-run haven. When was the last time a Mariner hit as many as five in one season? I think you have to go back to Jim Negrych, who hit six in 2005.
Very good point on Whitehouse Field. You’d expect Y-D to always hit home runs with their park, but not Harwich.