Good pitching beats good hitting.
Sometimes that’s even true in the very offensive 2012 Cape Cod Baseball League season.
Hyannis standout Sean Manaea (Indiana State) struck out nine and didn’t allow a run in six scoreless innings as the Harbor Hawks beat Bourne 9-2, while Chatham’s Ryan Thompson (Franklin Pierce) struck out 11 and gave up two runs in 5.1 innings to lead the Anglers past Harwich 5-3.
Great starting pitching performances have been hard to come by this season. Seven teams have ERA’s over four.
Manaea and Thompson have been consistently breaking the mold.
Manaea will likely end up as one of the top pitching prospects on the Cape. The 6’5 lefty had a huge spring for Indiana State and has picked up where he left off with the Harbor Hawks. He struck out 11 in his last start, but this performance was probably his best. He didn’t give up an earned run and scattered six hits, five of them singles.
The Harbor Hawks backed him with a second straight big offensive day. Brad Zebedis (Presbyterian) went 3-for-5 with two RBI, while Mitchell Garver (New Mexico) and Brandon Trinkwon (Cal) also had two RBI. The win moved Hyannis two games ahead of Bourne for fourth in the West.
Chatham’s Thompson has taken a winding path to the Cape. He hails from Calgary and started his college career at UConn. He’s posted two strong seasons at Franklin Pierce, and is now turning some heads on the Cape.
Last night was also his best start. He allowed just three hits, struck out 11 and walked just one in 5.2 innings. He now has a 1.62 ERA to go with 21 strikeouts and only four walks.
And he did it against Harwich, as Chatham scored a key victory. Chad Morgan (Virginia Tech) had three hits to lead the Anglers, while Alex Calbick (Maine), Mike Fransoso (Maine) and John Martinez (Michigan State) all drove in runs.
Chatham has all of a sudden won three in a row and sits just two games back of second-place Orleans.
Elsewhere
What to Watch
Vanderbilt standout Kevin Ziomek gets the ball for Cotuit as the Kettleers visit Wareham at 7 p.m. Ziomek struck out nine and allowed three hits in his last start.
A few more things on the Chatham/Harwich game… the bull-pen combo of Parrish and Joyce was as dominant as Thompson. They went 3 1/3, giving up just one run on 2 hits and a walk, while striking out 7, bringing the K total for Chatham pitching to 18 on the night. The hard hitting duo of Wilson and Ervin were particualrly ineffective, going 0-7 with 5 (!) strikeouts. Ragira was the lone offensive standout for Harwich, going 2/3 with a homer and a walk, 2 runs scored and 2 RBI. Catcher Brett Austin was the only Mariner who didn’t strike out at least once; four Mariners struck out twice, while three (including Wilson) K’d 3 times.
One more thing on Ervin, though. In the 2nd inning Fransoso for Chatham hit a sac fly to deep left field to score Flores. It should have been an easy run, but Ervin uncorked a laser to the plate that was unfortunately just a little bit late. It didn’t amount to anything, but everyone in the stands was buzzing about the throw for some time. Ervin also made an awesome diving catch in center the night before against Orleans, and of course he’s having a monster summer so far with the bat. The guy truly is a 5-tool player.
I did this quick this morning so I didn’t even pay attention to the bullpen. An 18 strikeout night is pretty awesome.
Ervin is really turning heads, huh?