Pitchers have certainly held their own in the Cape League this season, but there haven’t been a ton of dominant performances. Before Saturday’s games, the league’s strikeout leader was a relief pitcher.
But on opposite ends of the Cape Saturday, two pitchers added a little dominance to the equation.
In Falmouth, Wareham’s Kyle Cody (Kentucky) struck out six in seven shutout innings as the Gatemen beat Falmouth 4-0. In Orleans, Kolton Mahoney (BYU) struck out 11 in six innings as the Firebirds beat Y-D 6-3.
Scouts and people who have seen Cody in the past have been waiting for a performance like this. Despite the fact that he pitched only nine innings for Wareham last summer, Perfect Game still picked him as the Cape League’s 30th-best prospect.
The 6-foot-7 righty had pitched 4.1 innings this summer, but broke out with the big performance on Saturday. He allowed three singles, walked one and threw 67 of 91 pitches for strikes.
Scott Effross (Indiana) followed him to the hill and followed suit, striking out four in two scoreless innings to finish off the shutout. The Wareham offense got RBI from Jake Little (Memphis) and Nick Halamandaris (California).
In Orleans, Mahoney has been strong all summer, having gone six scoreless innings in his last start. The 23rd-round pick this year also tossed a no-hitter for BYU this spring.
Last night, he allowed one hit through five scoreless innings before Jordan Tarsovich (VMI) smacked a game-tying, three-run home run in the sixth. But after the home run, Mahoney struck out the final two batters he faced and his offense rallied immediately with a run in the bottom of the sixth to put him in line for the win. The 11 strikeouts put Mahoney in the league lead with 24 on the year.
Kyle Twomey (USC) and Jacob Cronenworth (Michigan) relieved Mahoney and finished off the victory. Edwin Rios (Florida International) and Bobby Dalbec (Arizona) both homered to lead the Firebirds offense.
Cotuit 3, Harwich 1
Cotuit also got a pretty good pitching performance as Logan James (Stanford) allowed one run in five innings with six strikeouts. Adam Whitt (Nevada), who’s been one of the best relievers in the league, struck out seven batters in just 2.2 innings. Jeff Kinley (Michigan State) picked up a save with 1.1 scoreless innings. The Kettleers got an RBI each from Jake Fincher (NC State) and Jeremy Taylor (East Tennessee State). The Kettleers have won two in a row and are now at .500 with an 8-8 mark.
Hyannis 6, Bourne 2
The Harbor Hawks got solid pitching, steady offense and five stolen bases in a victory over West-leading Bourne. The Harbor Hawks are now 10-6, just one game back of the Braves. Blake Hickman (Iowa) allowed two runs and struck out four in five innings. He left with the lead, and reliever Marcus Brakeman (Stanford) kept it thanks to four scoreless frames. David Houser (Tennessee) led the offense with two hits and three RBI. Austin Slater (Stanford) also had two hits. For Bourne, Harrison Bader (Florida) homered.
Brewster 5, Chatham 4
Wade Wass (Alabama) hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to give Brewster its first lead of the game, and the Whitecaps held on from there to win 5-4. The homer was part of a three-hit, four RBI night for Wass, who was batting just .179 coming into the game. Braden Bishop (Washington) and Kevin Martir (Maryland) added two hits each for the Whitecaps. Andrew Naderer (Grand Canyon) struck out five in in three innings of relief and Evan Hill (Michigan) pitched a scoreless ninth.
What to Watch
Orleans, winners of three straight, is now in second place in the East and will visit first-place Harwich tonight at 5:30 p.m. Bobby Poyner (Florida) starts for Orleans, with Jared Poche’ (LSU) going for Harwich.
Thanks for covering Cape League baseball. Heading up for July, looking forward to some great games.