Posted on by Will Geoghegan

Daily Fog: Tightening Up

Remember when Harwich and Orleans were running away with the East?

So much for that.

While I still think those two are the two best teams, they’ve struggled lately, especially the Firebirds. Meanwhile, Y-D and Chatham have not struggled. The Red Sox beat first-place Harwich 12-7 last night for their third win in a row, while the Anglers topped Hyannis 9-4 for their third win in a row.

Those victories, together with a loss by Orleans, have the top four teams in the East separated by a total of two games.

Y-D scored the biggest blow by out-Harwiching Harwich. The Red Sox hit three home runs on their way to another double-digit run night, their seventh of the season. Carlos Asuaje (Nova Southeastern) went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI, Mason Katz (LSU) went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI and Justin Shafer (Florida) went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Robert Pehl (Washington) added two RBI.

Andrew Thurman (Long Beach State) got the win after allowing five earned in 5.1 innings. Rick Knapp (Central Florida) went 3.2 scoreless innings to derail any hopes of a Harwich comeback.

The loss was the third in a row for the Mariners.

Over in Chatham, the Anglers continued to surge. After beating Falmouth and Harwich the previous two nights, the Anglers added Hyannis to the list. Though they were out-hit 14-10, the Anglers got the big hits. Chad Pinder (Virginia Tech) hit two home runs and drove in four while John Martinez (Michigan State) knocked in two.

On the mound, Thomas Lawrence (Maine) made his second start since joining the rotation and pitched well again, allowing three runs and striking out six in 6.2 innings. Jimmy Litchfield (UC Irvine) struck out four in two innings of relief.

Elsewhere

  • Break up the Kettleers. Cotuit won for the seventh time in a row, beating Brewster 5-3 thanks to four runs in the eighth inning. The Kettleers are now just one game off the pace of Harwich’s’ league-best record. Mike Ford (Princeton) went 2-for-4 with two RBI to lead the charge, while Patrick Biondi (Michigan), Cael Brockmeyer (Cal State Bakersfield) and Jacob Valdez (San Jose State) drove in one run apiece. Cotuit starter Kyle Finnegan (Texas State) allowed three runs and struck out seven in four innings. Dusty Isaacs (Georgia Tech) got the win with three hitless innings of relief and Dan Slania (Notre Dame) picked up his league-best sixth save. For Brewster, Aaron Judge (Fresno State) hit his third home run, while Sam Moll (Memphis) pitched six shutout innings before Cotuit got to the bullpen.

  • Falmouth has its work cut out for it in keeping up with the Kettleers, but the Commodores did it last night with an 8-7 victory over Bourne. Falmouth scored five runs in the final two innings to erase a 4-3 deficit then held off a Braves charge in the ninth. Jon McGibbon (Clemson) and Drew Dosch (Youngstown State) homered for the Commodores, who also got three hits from Billy Ferriter (UConn). Sean Hagan (St. John’s) allowed four runs in seven innings and got the win. The Braves scored three runs in the ninth and had the bases loaded with two outs when reliever John Colella (Holy Cross) struck out Trent Gilbert (Arizona) to seal the win.

  • Dylan Clark (Elon) made his first start for Orleans after dominating as a reliever, but he was greeted rudely by Wareham. The Gatemen scored four runs off him in 4.1 innings and added four runs off the Firebirds bullpen on their way to an 8-4 victory. Mott Hyde (Georgia Tech) went 2-for-4 with a home run and five RBI, while Tyler Horan (Virginia Tech) hit his seventh home run of the year. Ethan Gross (Memphis) went 3-for-3. Colby Suggs (Arkansas) got the win in relief.

    • What to Watch

    Chatham will try to stay hot and will send its best pitcher to the mound as it visits Falmouth at 5:30 p.m. Ryan Thompson (Franklin Pierce), who struck out 11 in his last start, will go against Ben Wetzler (Oregon State), who has a 3.48 ERA in two starts.

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    One Reply to “Daily Fog: Tightening Up”

    1. Hi Will.
      Love your description of Y-D “out-Harwiching Harwich.” That’s exaclty what it felt like to anyone who attended the game. Again, ESPN needs to find you. Regarding the game, Mason Katz had TWO dingers, and the home run by Asuaje was the Grand Salami variety. Although virtaully any fly ball hit had a chance to get out of the park with a strong southwest wind driving balls deep into the outfield. Even light-hitting Mariners cathcer Mike Connolly (Maine) got one over the fence. Keep up the good work!

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