Posted on by Will Geoghegan

Daily Fog: Out of the Gate

When the day began, Wareham was under .500 and sitting in third place in the West, seven points behind first-place Bourne.

Amazing what a doubleheader sweep can do.

The Gatemen beat Hyannis 4-0 and 4-3 last night to move over .500 at 9-8-1 and jump into second place, just three points behind the Braves, who lost for the first time in six games. Before Monday, the Braves had beaten Wareham on consecutive nights.

But the Gatemen bounced back in a big way. Jack Armstrong (Vanderbilt) pitched a complete game shutout in the opener, striking out six and surrendering two hits in the seven-inning game. Armstrong now leads the league with three wins. He has won each of his starts.

Armstrong was backed by a strong offensive effort. Derek Dietrich (Georgia Tech) tripled in the first and Zach Wilson (Arizona State) homered, staking Wareham to an early lead. Wilson has been very strong since arriving from the College World Series. In nine games, he’s hitting .344 with six extra-base hits.

The Gatemen got a seventh-inning home run by Cole Leonida (Georgia Tech) and an RBI single from Dietrich to add to their lead.

The second game was a little more dramatic. After Wareham built a 3-0 lead, Hyannis fought back to tie the game, forcing extra innings. But it didn’t take long for Wareham to respond. In the top of the eighth, Ryan Pineda (Cal State Northridge) singled in George Springer (Connecticut) with the go-ahead run.

The Mets put a major threat together in the bottom of the inning when they loaded the bases, but Dean Kiekhefer (Louisville) came in and struck out the side to end the game. That’s as impressive a save as you’ll see all season. Wareham has three players with one save each, so they may be looking for a closer to emerge. Kiekhefer has certainly thrown his name into the hat.

Elsewhere

  • The Harwich Mariners, who shut out three straight opponents last week, haven’t shut out anybody lately and have, in fact, lost three straight. Last night, it was Chatham beating the Mariners 4-3. That’s the second straight win for the Anglers, who continue to cling to first place. Dean Green (Oklahoma State) and Whit Merrifield (South Carolina) each hit home runs to pace the Anglers. Mike Dennhardt (Boston College) picked up his second win of the year, with Taylor Hill (Vanderbilt) getting the save. Highly-touted freshman Rick Oropesa (USC) made his first appearance for Chatham and hit a triple.
  • Bourne’s five-game winning streak ended with a thud as Orleans posted a 9-3 victory last night. Jimmy Reyes (Elon) went seven strong innings for his second win of the year. Leadoff man Gary Brown (Cal State Fullerton) had two hits and scored four runs. The Firebirds moved to 10-8 with the win, and they’re just four points out of first place.
  • Brewster won its third straight game behind a dominant start from Kyle Blair (San Diego). Blair struck out 10 and allowed one run in eight innings en route to his first win in four starts this summer. His ERA is now sitting at 1.33, and he’s quickly becoming one of the top-performing pitchers in the league, in addition to his status as a top prospect. Brewster broke open a 1-1 game with a big seventh inning. That’s the second time in as many games that they’ve gotten a late rally.
  • Falmouth had some offense again, but Y-D had a little more. A day after scoring a league-high 14 runs, the Commodores put up six last night thanks in large part to two-run homers by Ryan Jones (Wichita State) and Brian Fletcher (Auburn). But Y-D kept pace and broke through for four runs in the seventh to take the lead. They held on for a 7-6 victory. Jordan Casas (Long Beach State) and Tyler Hanover (LSU) each doubled home runs to cap off the uprising. Tyler Burgoon (Michigan) picked up his league-leading sixth save. He has still given up just one hit all summer.

    • What to Watch For Tonight

    Chatham will head to Falmouth for a pitching-rich doubleheader that’s set to begin at 4:30 p.m. In game one, Shawn Tolleson (Baylor), who has struggled since a dominant first start, will go for Chatham against Falmouth’s Tommy Collier (San Jacinto), who’s fourth in the league in ERA. In the nightcap, it’ll be a pair of good freshman, with Logan Verrett (Baylor) going for Chatham and Taylor Wall (Rice) getting the ball for Falmouth. This will be Verrett’s firs start, though he has had one very strong extended relief appearance. Wall has a 0.82 ERA in two starts.

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