Posted on by Will Geoghegan

Daily Fog: Finding It

Man. It’s 2:30 p.m. and I have no reasonable excuse for why this hasn’t been posted yet. I have a day off, with nothing going on. I tried starting it three separate times, but no matter how many box scores I stared at, I couldn’t come up with a theme.

This is rare. For all the times I’ve had writer’s block in my life, I don’t think I’ve ever had Cape League writer’s block. In two years of putting out these daily updates, I’m pretty sure this has never happened. But today, I feel out of the loop, out of rhythm. It’s like the rainy interruptions killed every ounce of momentum. Nothing connects to anything else. Wednesday’s games offered a brief moment of excitement: Hey, they’re playing again. Today, it’s more of a “What now?”

I can only imagine how the Hyannis Mets feel.

They were on a two-game winning streak before the monsoons rolled in. Then they did nothing for four days. On that fourth day, when everyone else was back in action, they were postponed again.

Somehow, they fought through it.

Facing the same Cotuit team they beat in their last game on June 20, the Mets put a ninth-inning rally together to edge the Kettleers 3-2 last night. The bullpen shined, with Dallas Gallant (Sam Houston) and Kevin Brandt (East Carolina) tossing four shutout innings and setting the stage for the rally. The Mets delivered in the top of the ninth as Dustin Harrington (East Carolina) worked a walk and Eddie Rohan (Winthrop) knocked him in with a base hit. Brandt struck out two in the bottom of the inning to seal the victory.

That’s three wins in a row for the Mets, who improved to 4-4. I can’t imagine it feels much like a streak, but they’ll take it.

I’ll take it too. Rhythm or not, it’s about time this season gets in gear.

Elsewhere

  • Wareham, the only other team that missed four days, didn’t fare quite as well in its return. But that might have had more to do with the scorching Chatham Anglers, who came to Clem Spillane Field and beat the Gatemen 6-4 in 10 innings for their sixth straight win. That’s the third extra-innings victory of the year for the Anglers, who have shown quite a flair for the dramatic. Whit Merrifield (South Carolina), who pinch-ran after a walk to Tom Belza (Oklahoma State), scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch after he had moved up two bases on sacrifice bunts. Phillip Pohl (Clemson) also scored on a wild pitch for an insurance run. Thomas Keeling worked a perfect bottom of the inning to pick up the save. The win moved Chatham to a league-best 9-1. Wareham starter Eric Pfisterer (Duke) finally allowed a hit after surrendering none in his first two starts.
  • Ace Chris Sale (Florida Gulf Coast) was scheduled to start for Y-D last night against Orleans. He didn’t go, but if he had, he might have been out-dueled. Orleans’ Casey Gaynor (Rutgers) allowed just two hits in seven shutout innings and struck out three as the Firebirds rolled to a 6-0 victory. It was the second strong start of the year for Gaynor, who has has a 0.69 ERA. Gary Brown (Cal State Fullerton) went 3-for-5 with two RBI in his first game since arriving from the College World Series. Jaren Matthews (Rutgers) and Alex Hassan (Duke) each had two hits and two RBI. Hassan, a 20th-round pick this year, is now hitting .421 with seven RBI. He’s emerging as one of the most productive hitters in the league.
  • Bourne got a strong start from newcomer Bryan Morgado, a third-round pick this year out of Tennessee, but it went for naught in a 5-4 loss to Falmouth. Morgado struck out five in three shutout innings, but Falmouth jumped out to a 5-0 lead on the Bourne bullpen then held off a late charge. Taylor Wall (Rice) picked up the win with six shutout innings in his first appearance of the summer. Jason Esposito (Vanderbilt) and Todd Cunningham (Jacksonville State) each had two hits and an RBI for the Commodores.
  • Harwich snapped a six-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory over Brewster. Eric Jokisch (Northwestern) struck out five and allowed one earned run in six innings. Recent additions Dan Grovatt (Virginia) and Connor Powers (Mississippi State) both had two hits and an RBI.

    • What to Watch For Tonight
    Looks like a nice pitching match-up in Falmouth.     Casey Schmidt (San Diego), a 15th-round pick this year, will go for Brewster against Jordan Cooper, who had an outstanding freshman year at Wichita State. Cooper allowed two runs in seven innings in his first start. Schimdt has made two starts and has a 2.70 ERA.

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