In the power rankings the other day, I mentioned that Cotuit’s propensity for short outings from its starters was a little bit of a concern. I still think it’s an issue, but if anybody can handle the heavy workload, it might be the Cotuit bullpen.
Even a 14-inning game wasn’t a problem.
After starter Kyle Finnegan (Texas State) struck out seven and gave up three runs in 3.2 innings, five Cotuit relievers kept Hyannis off the board for the rest of a game that matched the longest of the summer. The Hyannis bullpen was impressive, as well, but Cotuit broke through for three runs in the top of the 14th and held off the Harbor Hawks in the bottom half for the 6-3 win. It’s the seventh victory in a row for the Kettleers.
The bullpen has been awesome throughout for the Kettleers, but this was a new level. Dusty Isaacs (Georgia Tech) relieved Finnegan and had a starter-type performance, going 6.1 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out nine. Jacob Stone (Weatherford) and Dan Slania (Notre Dame) followed with hitless outings, and Tim Mayza (Millersville) worked around a single in the 13th to pitch another scoreless frame.
With a lead in the 14th, Mayza gave up a leadoff single to Blake Austin (Auburn) and was replaced by Ryan Connolly (Coastal Carolina), who’s been the busiest and probably the most successful member of the bullpen. Connolly came through again, striking out two and getting a pop-out to finish off the victory. Amazingly, Connolly — who has not started a game — now is tied for second in the league in strikeouts with 46. He’s allowed two runs in his last nine appearances, a span of 21.1 innings.
The bullpen performance set the stage for the Kettleers in the 14th. An Aramis Garcia (Florida International) RBI single brought in the go-ahead run and an Adam Nelubowich (Washington State) squeeze bunt brought in another. Jacob May (Coastal Carolina) then delivered an RBI single to make it 6-3.
Patrick Biondi (Michigan) went 3-for-6 to lead the Cotuit offense and he’ll now carry a .404 average into the All-Star Game. May and Daniel Aldrich (College of Charleston) had two hits each.
Cotuit has now won 14 of 16 games.
For Hyannis, Austin went 3-for-5 and Brad Zebedis (Presbyterian) homered. Peter Miller (Florida State) had the best relief performance as he struck out seven in four scoreless innings.
Elsewhere
Y-D’s Ben Lively (Central Florida) matched the league’s season high in strikeouts with 15 in seven innings but he took the loss as Harwich beat the Red Sox 3-1. Lively, who struck out better than a batter an inning at UCF this spring, got off to a bit of a slow start this summer but had pitched well lately and caught fire on this night. Unfortunately for him, two of the five hits he gave up were home runs — one each by JaCoby Jones (LSU) and former Red Sox Tyler Sciacca (Villanova). And on the other side, Harwich starter A.J. Reed (Kentucky) wasn’t striking everybody out but was authoring a gem of his own. He struck out six and allowed one run in seven innings. The Harwich bullpen then slammed the door and the Mariners got out with the win. Jones and Sciacca each had two hits. Sam Dove (Georgia Tech) drove in the other run. Sam Travis (Indiana) knocked in Y-D’s only run.
I guess Falmouth just had to get that first win out of the way. After snapping an eight-game losing skid on Wednesday, the Commodores rolled over Bourne 9-0 last night. Combined with a Wareham loss, Falmouth is now in sole possession of second place in the West. Drew Dosch (Youngstown State) led the 13-hit attack with two hits and three RBI. Jake Rodriguez (Oregon State) and Mike O’Neill (Michigan) had two hits and two RBI each while Casey Turgeon had two hits and two RBI and Jon McGibbon (Clemson) had three hits. Five Falmouth pitchers combined on the shutout, with the win going to Luke Farrell (Northwestern).
Orleans scored five in the eighth to break a 1-1 tie and went on to a 7-2 victory over Wareham. Orleans starter Jarrett Arakawa (Hawaii) took a no-hitter into the sixth and ended up striking out eight in 6.2 innings. He gave up a game-tying home run to Daniel Palka (Georgia Tech) before departing in the seventh, but Orleans quickly went back in front. Conrad Gregor (Vanderbilt) had a sac fly to start the eighth-inning rally. Cody Kulp (Shippensburg) continued it with a two-run double, and Angelo LaBruna (Duke) knocked in two more with a single. Dylan Covey (San Diego) got the win in relief. For Wareham, Brad Kuntz (Baylor) struck out nine in seven innings. Palka’s home run was his 10th, which creates a three-way tie atop the leaderboard.
Chatham scored a run in the top of the ninth to tie Brewster 3-3 and the game was called due to darkness after the bottom of the ninth, giving the league its first tie of the season. An RBI groundout by John Martinez (Michigan State) brought the tying run home. Tom Bourdon (Boston College) and Andrew Knapp (Cal) knocked in the other runs for the Anglers. Kevin Williams (UCLA) hit a home run for the Whitecaps. Brewster starter Austin Voth (Washington) got the no-decision but was outstanding. He struck out 11 in six innings.
What to Watch
The Cape League All-Star Game is tonight at 6 p.m. See the post below for more info.
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