The Wareham Gatemen stretched their winning streak to four games with a 4-2 victory over Bourne last night.
It looked a lot like the others.
Outside of a lopsided win over Cotuit on Saturday, every win in the streak has come on the strength of a late comeback. It was two in the eighth and three in the ninth on Friday against Hyannis, and two in the eighth against Hyannis on Monday. Last night, it was two in the eighth again.
Bullpens beware.
The Gatemen were held largely in check by Bourne starter Mike Mayers (Ole Miss), who made his third start of the summer and turned in his best performance. He struck out 10 and didn’t walk anybody while allowing two runs on four hits in seven innings.
Mayers’ Ole Miss teammate Hawtin Buchanan came on for the eighth, and Wareham — as usual — went to work. A walk to Ethan Gross (Memphis) and a base hit by Tyler McFarland (James Madison) put runners on first and third with one out. Buchanan responded by getting Kyle Schwarber (Indiana), Wareham’s top hitter, for the second out, but the Gatemen weren’t done. Claude Johnson (Arkansas State) walked to load the bases, which chased Buchanan. Facing John Farrell (William & Mary), Tyler Ross (LSU) doubled to bring two home runs and give Wareham the lead.
Bourne tried staging its own rally in the ninth, putting two men on, but Colby Suggs (Arkansas) got out of the jam to finish off the victory.
Joe Filomeno (Louisville) got the win in relief for the Gatemen after a strong start by Kendall Graveman (Mississippi State), who struck out six and allowed two runs in six innings.
Ross had the two RBI and Schwarber had two hits to lead the Wareham offense. The Gatemen are now 9-7 and sitting comfortably in second place in the West, just a game back of Falmouth.
Elsewhere
Orleans won for the third game in a row, beating Chatham 5-4. Coupled with a Harwich loss, the win gives the 13-3 Firebirds sole possession of first place in the East. The Firebirds didn’t have much offense early on and trailed 4-2 going into their last at-bat. A walk, a single and an error loaded the bases before the Firebirds got a run home on a groundout. Down to their last out, Jake Hernandez (USC) singled to score two and give Orleans the lead. Kyle Crockett (Virginia) then worked a scoreless bottom of the ninth to seal the Orleans win. The clutch hit was part of a big day for Hernandez, who hit a home run drove in four of Orleans’ five runs. He has six hits in his last three games and is the latest Firebird to step up when needed.
Brewster knocked off Harwich 8-2 thanks in part to one of the most impressive pitching performances of the season. Tom Windle (Minnesota) struck out nine in six innings and allowed just an unearned run against the league’s most powerful team. Windle and three relievers also didn’t allow a home run. Harwich had hit a home run in 13 consecutive games. The last — and only time — they didn’t hit a home run was in the second game of the season against Falmouth. Brewster’s offense was led by Ryon Healy (Oregon), who went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. Windle’s Minnesota teammate Dan Olinger added three hits.
Falmouth rebounded from a tough-to-take loss to Harwich on Sunday with a steady 3-1 victory over Cotuit. Craig Schlitter (Bryant), who had been solid in two starts, was even better on this night, striking out seven and allowing just three hits in five shutout innings. Relievers Kyle Ruchim (Northwestern), Johnny Magliozzi (Florida) and John Simms (Rice) picked up where Schlitter left off, allowing just one hit in the final four innings. Florida standout freshman Casey Turgeon hit a home run in his first Cape League game to pace the offense.
Hyannis, which was winless until last Sunday, beat Y-D 9-8 in 10 innings for its third win in four games. The Harbor Hawks are now out of the basement, sitting one game ahead of Bourne for fourth place. Brandon Trinkwon (Cal) was the hero this time, as his single brought home Blake Austin (Auburn) with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Brett Michael Doran (Stanford) also had two RBI for the Hawks, who trailed 7-1 but came back with five runs in the sixth and two in the seventh. Walter Wijas (Kentucky) got the win with two scoreless innings of relief.
What to Watch
For the Fourth of July, your present is a full slate of rematches of Tuesday’s action. For a good pitching match-up, keep an eye on the 5 p.m. Wareham at Bourne game. Brad Kuntz (Baylor) has pitched well for the Gatemen and he’ll square off against Tyler Skulina. The Kent State star will be making his first start with the Braves.
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