Entering the Cape League playoffs, nobody had won more games in a row than the Wareham Gatemen, whose four-game streak to close the season vaulted into the No. 2 seed.
And the Gatemen still haven’t lost.
After falling behind 3-2 in the sixth inning against No. 4 Bourne, the Gatemen clawed back with three in the eighth on their way to a 5-3 victory in game one of the Western Division finals. Wareham is now one win away from its first Cape League championship series appearance since 2006.
Bourne has played the underdog role very well in these playoffs, knocking off Cotuit in the first round, and it looked like the Braves had some more magic when they scored three runs in the top of the sixth last night to take the lead. To that point, Wareham starter Brad Kuntz (Baylor) hadn’t allowed a run, but two errors opened the door for three to score.
But Wareham quickly erased those troubles. Singles by Ethan Gross (Memphis) and Cole Sturgeon (Louisville) started the rally, and Kyle Schwarber (Indiana) tied the game with a sacrifice fly. Tyler Horan (Virginia Tech) followed with a two-run single, and the Gatemen were back in business.
In the ninth, Colby Suggs (Arkansas) took over after perfect frames from Nick Rumbelow (LSU) and Jonathan Holder (Mississippi State), and Suggs followed suit. He struck out the side on 10 pitches to seal the deal for the Gatemen.
Another Streak
Y-D wasn’t hot coming into the playoffs. The Red Sox had lost two in a row.
But they’re hot now.
After sweeping Chatham in the first round, Y-D opened the Eastern Division finals with a 10-3 victory over Orleans. The Red Sox jumped to a 2-0 lead in the third, blew the game open with eight runs in the sixth and put the clamps on a late Orleans rally to take the one-game lead.
Carlos Asuaje (Nova Southeastern), who’s now hitting .692 in the playoffs, went 2-for-4 with two RBI, and Alex Blandino (Stanford) also had two hits and two RBI. Justin Shafer (Florida) drove in two, while Sam Travis (Indiana) had two hits. The Red Sox have now had double-digit hits in every playoff game.
The pitching was there too last night. Alex Gonzalez (Oral Roberts) struck out eight and gave up just two hits in 6.2 scoreless innings. Jonny Hoffman (Indiana) followed with 1.1 innings before Orleans got to Spenser Linney (Stanford) for three runs in the ninth. But Linney eventually finished the job.
Cody Kulp (Shippensburg) and Kevin Brown (Bryant) hit home runs for Orleans, but those were two of just four hits.
What to Watch
Y-D visits Orleans at 7 p.m., while Wareham travels to Bourne for an 8 p.m. start. We could have a championship match-up by the end of tonight.
Jonathan Holder is a pretty good name for a set-up man.
Haha indeed!