July 13. That was the last time the Wareham Gatemen were held to less than two runs in a game. It only happened four times all year.
Thursday night, on the biggest stage, Y-D made it happen again — and kept its season alive in the process.
Aaron Blair (Marshall) struck out 10 in seven shutout innings and Rick Knapp (Florida Gulf Coast) twice worked out of trouble to seal the deal as the Red Sox beat the Gatemen 5-1 to tie the Cape League championship series at one game apiece. The decisive game three is set for today at 4 p.m. at Red Wilson Field.
I made the drive over to Wareham expecting to see a championship clincher. The Gatemen have found a way to win time and again over the last two weeks. It seemed like a 10th straight win — and a title — were in the offing.
The only big reason to think otherwise was Blair, Y-D’s ace who was held out of action for the last few weeks of the season in order to save his arm for the playoffs. He came back with five strong innings in Y-D’s first-round series.
But this — this is what the Red Sox saved him for.
Blair took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Wareham had a baserunner in each of the first four innings but could do nothing with them. Blair struck out eight of the first 16 batters he faced. In the first and second innings, he fanned the powerful middle of Wareham’s order right in a row.
And while Blair was in control, so was his team. While Barrett Astin (Arkansas) gave the Gatemen a terrific start, Y-D did just enough to beat him. The Red Sox jumped on top 1-0 in the second on a single by Zak Blair (Mercyhurst) and an RBI double by Alex Blandino (Stanford). In the fifth, the Red Sox made it 2-0 thanks to an RBI groundout by Carlos Asuaje (Nova Southeastern).
Wareham finally broke up Blair’s no-hit bid in the sixth as Ryan Sullivan (Seton Hall) smacked a double to deep right-center. When Kyle Schwarber (Indiana) followed with a walk, the no-hitter seemed like ancient history. Suddenly, the Gatemen were threatening.
The single and the walk made the sixth Blair’s worst inning of the night in terms of what he gave up, but what he did in response may have made it his best. Blair got CCBL home run king Tyler Horan (Virginia Tech) to hit into a force-out at second. He then struck out Daniel Palka (Georgia Tech) for the third time, getting this one on a 3-2 pitch. He finished the inning by inducing a ground ball from Mott Hyde (Georgia Tech).
Blair came back out for the seventh and got into a bit of trouble again thanks to a two-out error and a single. But he got Sullivan to fly out to end the inning. The Red Sox then added some insurance with three runs in the eighth, including two on a squeeze bunt from Justin Shafer (Florida) and an ensuing throwing error.
Knapp relieved Blair in the bottom of the eighth, and it looked like the Gatemen might find some playoff magic for a second straight night. Schwarber reached on an infield hit, Horan singled and Palka lined a base hit into center to load the bases with nobody out.
But just as Blair had done, Knapp buckled down. Hyde hit a ground ball to short and Y-D conceded the run for a force-out. Ty Ross (LSU) then popped out, before Knapp struck out Dustin DeMuth (Indiana) to end the inning.
Wareham put one last rally together in the ninth, getting a double from Cole Sturgeon (Louisville). Sullivan then reached on an error, bringing up the middle of the order. But Knapp struck out Schwarber and got Horan to ground out.
That was that. Wareham lost for the first time in 13 days.
And Y-D stayed very much alive.
Game 3
Alex Gonzalez (Oral Roberts) is listed as the probable starter for the Red Sox, which should again give them the edge in that department. Gonzalez went 6.2 scoreless innings in a playoff win over Orleans.
Wareham has not announced a starter.
Results from the Cape Cod Dice Baseball League:
Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Harwich rallied for two runs off of Wareham’s Chris Hicks (Georgia Tech) and held on for a 3-2 victory. Josh Donaldson (Auburn) and Tommy Medica (Santa Clara) contributed the run-scoring hits in the eighth. Chris Overman (N.C. State) got the win, pitching 2.2 scoreless innings of relief, and Craig Hansen (St. Johns) pitched a perfect ninth for his second save. Phil Ervin (Samford) hit his second home run of the season for Harwich’s other run. Justin Amlung (Louisville) gave Wareham a great start, striking out 11 and giving up only one run in six innings.
Elsewhere
In a much-anticipated duel, Aaron Crow (Missouri) outpitched Daniel McCutchen (Oklahoma) in Falmouth’s 4-3 victory over YD, but the real mound hero for the Commodores was John Simms (Rice), who induced Jeff Kindel (Georgia Tech) to hit into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the eighth. Jon Still (N.C. State) had three hits for Falmouth, while Chris Errecart (Cal) homered and doubled for YD.
Cotuit’s Austin Wood (St. Petersburg) pitched six shutout innings in a 6-0 win over Hyannis. Patrick Biondi (Michigan) had three hits and Daniel Aldrich (College of Charleston) homered for the Kettleers. I rolled a single 10-sided die before the game and determined that there were four Canada geese on the field at McKeon Park.
Bourne scored eleven runs in the first inning in a 15-7 win over Orleans. Kyle Roller (East Carolina) homered and drove in five runs, while Mason Robbins (Southern Miss) homered and drove in three. Jake Hernandez (USC) hit his first home run for the Firebirds.
In another first inning avalanche, Brewster scored four runs and then Chatham scored five, knocking out Mike Palazzone (Georgia) before he recorded a single out. But the Whitecaps roared back with another four-spot in the fourth off of Chatham starter Logan Verrett (Baylor) en route to a Dolly Parton win (9 to 5). Drew Martinez (Memphis), Tyler Davis (can’t remember which college he attended), Jason Monda (Washington State), and Will Rhymes (William & Mary) each contributed three hits to Brewster’s 19-hit attack.
What to Watch
In a battle of traditional powerhouses, Falmouth will pitch Dallas Buck (Oregon State) against Chatham’s Robert Woodard (North Carolina), who was Orleans’s pitching coach this summer.