The best teams in the Cape League this summer have been the best for many reasons, but a major one is depth.
They both flashed it Thursday night in taking 1-0 lead in their division finals series.
In a 4-0 win over Y-D, Orleans got RBI from their seven and eight hitters, a home run from a guy who didn’t have a hit in the playoffs and a dominant performance from a pitcher who was making his first start of the calendar year.
In the West, Hyannis blasted Bourne 10-3, continuing a sizzling offensive start to the playoffs that has been powered by a one-through-nine attack and a host of step-up performances.
Orleans gave the ball to Eder Erives (Arizona State) for Thursday’s tilt. He was a terrific reliever all summer, posting a 1.47 ERA in 15 appearances. He also had a good year for the Sun Devils, but that season, too, was all out of the bullpen. Erives made 18 appearances, all in relief.
Thursday, he did not look like a guy making his first start. The righty struck out four, walked one and gave up four hits in 6.2 scoreless innings. He surrendered leadoff singles in each of the first three innings but worked around trouble every time. Parker Bean (Liberty), Kit Scheetz (Virginia Tech) and Kyle Serrano (Tennessee) paraded in from the bullpen and finished off the shutout.
The offense was powered by RBI doubles from Daniel Pinero (Virginia) and Nick Zammarelli (Elon). Both have been steady contributors, the kind of guys who aren’t lighting it up but are chipping in. Zammarelli finished with three hits.
Ronnie Dawson (Ohio State), who was off to a slow start in the postseason, made it a 4-0 game with a two-run homer in the fifth.
Four runs were plenty as the Firebirds put themselves in the driver’s seat.
Hyannis, the West top seed, has been even more impressive than Orleans in the playoffs. The Harbor Hawks are 3-0 in postseason games and have scored 29 runs. Every player who has started a game has had at least two hits in the playoffs.
No. 8 hitter Ryne Birk (Texas A&M) has two home runs. Utility infielder Tristan Hildebrandt (Cal State Fullerton), a late addition to the roster is batting .333 in the playoffs. Outfielder Corey Bird (Marshall), who closed the season on a hot streak that bumped his batting average to .344, has moved into the leadoff spot and stayed hot. He’s hitting .429 in the playoffs.
Throw in big contributions from Bobby Melley (Connecticut), and the Harbor Hawks are rolling right along despite having to juggle some things.
Thursday, Bird went 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBI and three runs scored. Austin Hays (Jacksonville) went 3-for-5, Blake Tiberi (Louisville) added two hits and Matt Thaiss (Virginia) drove in two runs.
Hyannis starters have welcomed all the offense. Devin Smeltzer (San Jacinto) picked up the win Thursday, allowing two runs in six innings. Aaron Civale (Northeastern) – the recently-crowned top New England prospect in the league – pitched one scoreless inning. Kevin Roy (Columbia) finished it with two shutout frames.
What to Watch
Both top seeds will try to take care of business in game two of their division finals series. It’ll be Thomas Burrows vs. Alex Robles at Doran Park. Orleans will start Tanner Tully against Dustin Hunt or Cory Malcolm.