Daily Fog: Quick and Steady

They might have to work on the finish a little, but the start was about as good as any we’ve seen in the young season.

Eric Pfisterer (Duke) tossed five no-hit innings with 10 strikeouts, Wareham’s veteran lineup scored four runs in the first and the bullpen held off a late charge by Cotuit to seal a 5-3 victory in the season opener for both teams.

Though the game turned into a bit of a nail-biter, the first few innings were all Wareham, and the Gatemen were doing exactly what they hoped to do this season. It appears that they’re the only team in the league currently fielding a lineup without any temporary players, so their lineup looks a lot like it’ll look in a few weeks. That’s particularly true of the middle of the order. Assuming everyone hits pretty well, it’s entirely possible that the top five of Ryan LaMarre (Michigan), Derek Dietrich (Georgia Tech), Ryan Pineda (Cal State Northridge), Alex Dickerson (Indiana) and George Springer (Connecticut) won’t change much all season.

After last night, that’s a reason to think big. Those five combined to go 8-for-19 with two RBI and all five of the runs. A double by Dietrich sparked the four-run first inning rally. Pineda, Dickerson and Springer also had hits, and the Gatemen proceeded to capitalize on a passed ball and a key error to chase home a few more runs. Springer added an RBI single in the eighth.

Pfisterer did the rest, and for five innings, he was a bigger story than the offense. Though he allowed base runners in each of the first two innings, he had unhittable stuff. He ended up getting 10 of the 15 outs he recorded via the strikeout, and he now leads the league in strikeouts.

This early in the season, it’s not surprising that he wasn’t sent back out to chase the no-hitter: you want to be careful with the arm. Especially when it’s one that’s this good. Pfisterer, a 15th-round pick out of high school last year, had an ERA of 5.00 at Duke this year, but he also struck out 45 in 45 innings. That kind of stuff plays well on the Cape, where the ERA is bound to go down. I wasn’t sure how much Pfisterer would factor into Wareham’s pitching plans — he’s also a hitter — but clearly, he’ll play a big role.

He’s certainly off to the right kind of start.

For a game story with a focus on John Wylde, read Ed Collins’ article on South Coast Today.

Elsewhere

• Two notes on Cotuit from that game. Mike Nesseth (Nebraska), a 15th-round pick this year, didn’t pitch all that badly. Three of the four runs he allowed were unearned. On the offensive side, the Kettleers ran wild. They’re always one of the more aggressive teams in the league, and this year, it looked in the preseason like they would have the perfect mix of players to play that way. Cotuit ended up stealing seven bases last night, with Chris Bisson (Kentucky) swiping four, Rico Noel (Coastal Carolina) getting two and Zach Cone (Georgia) stealing another. If they can keep that up, the Kettleers are going to put a lot of pressure on people
• They had lights, so they could have played all night, but this time, the Brewster Whitecaps took care of business in the ninth. A night after their game went to 10 innings but ended in a tie because of darkness, the Whitecaps played under the lights in Orleans and rallied from an 8-6 deficit with four in the ninth to win 10-8 in probably the most dramatic game of the young season. The Whitecaps sent nine to the plate in the ninth and got all the runs home with two outs. Lyle Allen (Georgia) plated the first run with a single, Davy Wright (TCU) worked a bases-loaded walk for the second run and Jim Klocke (Southeast Missouri) hit a single that ended up bringing in two, with the help of a throwing error. Bobby Coyle (Arizona) and Tim Ferguson (Ole Miss) each had three hits and a home run, and Mark Canha (California) added his second home run in as many games. Michael Olt (Connecticut) had a home run for Orleans.
• Klocke is an interesting name to see in the lineup. He’s a junior catcher who wasn’t on Brewster’s initial roster, but he played on the Cape last year and hit .189. He had a huge spring, hitting .394 with nine home runs, but when the draft came around, he lasted until the 46th round. It would appear he’s trying to show his stuff this summer.
• Y-D is the only team in the league with two victories, as the Red Sox posted their second one-run victory last night, this one a 4-3 decision over Bourne. The Red Sox trailed 2-1 until the eighth, when Mickey Wiswall (Boston College) knocked in a run with a single and Brian Hernandez (UC Irvine) drew a bases-loaded walk for the go-ahead run. Tyler Burgoon (Michigan) struck out five in two hitless innings of relief.
• The fog rolled into Chatham again last night, but this time, the Anglers at least got to make their game official. After playing one inning last night before a fog postponement, the Anglers posted a 4-1 victory over Hyannis in a game that was called in the seventh. Mike Dennhardt (Boston College), Russell Brewer (Vanderbilt) and Taylor Hill (Vanderbilt) combined for seven strong innings, allowing just an unearned run. Tom Belza (Oklahoma State) led the offense with a 3-for-3 night that included a fog-aided inside-the-park home run. The game was the second fog-shortened contest in as many games for Hyannis.
• Playing their first game two days after they were supposed to, the Harwich Mariners must have been chomping at the bit. They scored 10 runs on 10 hits in beating Falmouth 10-5. Chris Wade (Kentucky) went 3-for-5, Trent Mummey (Auburn) had two hits and David Herbek (James Madison) and Ryan Lockwood (South Florida) each drove in two runs. Matthew Price (Virginia Tech) worked four strong innings of relief to pick up the win.

What to Watch For Tonight

• Scott Rembisz, who put up some good numbers at Florida International (90 K’s in 94 innings), makes his first start of the year for Wareham as the Gatemen visit Bourne. The Braves will counter with George Washington’s Eric Cantrell.

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