On a night when the Western Division playoff race got more complicated, the last playoff spot in the East finally got clinched.
The bigger news is who clinched it.
For the first time since 1997, the Harwich Mariners are in the playoffs. They headed into last night’s game knowing they would at least get to a play-in game, even if they lost their final two games of the regular season.
But they didn’t take that chance.
The Mariners beat Orleans 5-3 last night at home to clinch the spot. Chris Manno (Duke) did what an ace is supposed to do, allowing one run on only four hits in seven innings. After Orleans got two runs in the eighth to get within two, Steve Kalush (Santa Clara) pitched two perfect innings of relief to pick up the save.
At the plate, Shaver Hansen (Baylor) went 3-for-4 with two RBI to lead the way.
The victory means the Mariners will get a shot at the same team they just beat — division champ Orleans. I’ll have more on this series once we get through today’s games.
Elsewhere
- Falmouth had a chance to jump back to first place, but lost to Wareham 5-3 in 10 innings. A.J. Pollock (Notre Dame), who was presented with the league MVP award before the game, hit a home run, but the Commodores couldn’t get much else off Wareham starter Brandon Workman (Texas). He struck out eight to finish the year with 67 strikeouts.
- In a game that lost its playoff implications when Harwich won, Brewster beat Chatham 9-1. James Meador (San Diego) had four hits for the Whitecaps and Buddy Bauman (Missouri State) allowed one run in six innings.
- Bourne got right into the thick of the Western Division race thanks to their fourth straight win, a 5-1 victory over Y-D. Nick McCully (Coastal Carolina) improved to 5-0 by tossing six strong innings.
What to Watch For Today/Tonight
- All kinds of craziness. I plan to keep tabs on all of it, and I think I’m about to start a live blog of the Cotuit-Hyannis game. So keep checking.
RELATED POSTS
Twelve games into the season, someone finally got the best of the Bourne Braves. Cotuit shut out the Braves 2-0 on Monday night at Doran Park, handing the hosts their first loss of the s...
Trey Dombroski (Monmouth) does not give up home runs. Literally. The surface statistics are impressive enough for the Harwich ace, but dig deeper and his breakout summer in the C...