J.J. Schwarz (Florida) singled in his long-awaited Cape League debut and that was just the start of a good night for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in Harwich. Three pitchers combined on a one-hit shutout as the Red Sox topped first-place Harwich 3-0 and vaulted into a tie for third place in the East.
Schwarz has been a big name in college baseball and prospecting circles since he burst onto the scene as a freshman at Florida last year by hitting .332 with 18 home runs. He didn’t have quite as much success this year but remains near the top of every early 2017 draft preview you’ll see.
Last summer Schwarz was on Y-D’s roster but ended up with Team USA. This year, after Florida’s loss in Omaha, he’s in town and immediately becomes a must-see attraction for scouts. Friday, he singled to lead off the second inning in his first Cape League at-bat and finished 1-for-3.
The bigger story for the Red Sox in terms of impact on Friday’s game was the pitching. Erich Uelmen (Cal Poly) allowed one hit in six shutout innings and struck out four. Coming off a spring in which he had a 3.68 ERA, Uelmen has delivered two scoreless outings in his two Cape starts, having gone five shutout innings his last time out.
Nathan Kuchta (San Diego) followed Uelmen to the hill and pitched a quick seventh inning. Calvin Faucher (UC Irvine) then notched his first save in emphatic fashion, striking out five of the six batters he faced in two perfect innings.
Harwich, as usual, had good pitching of its own, but a Y-D run in the fifth and two in the sixth provided the difference against starter Hunter Williams (North Carolina). Deon Stafford (St. Joseph’s) reached on an error and came around on a passed ball in the fifth. Dillon Persinger (Cal State Fullerton) doubled and Kevin Smith (Maryland) had an RBI to key the sixth inning rally.
Y-D has won two in a row and is 9-9 on the year, hitting the .500 mark for the first time. The Red Sox started the season with five straight losses.
Falmouth 5, Bourne 1
Falmouth topped Bourne for its second straight win and moved within one point of the Braves for first place in the West. Willie Burger (Penn State) homered and had two RBI to lead the Commodore offense. Trevor Larnach (Oregon State) and Bryce Johnson (Sam Houston State) added two hits each. Brady Puckett (Lipscomb) surrendered one run in five innings for his third win of the season and his third consecutive start allowing one run or less. Three relievers combined for four scoreless frames. Bourne got two hits from Mississippi State teammates Jake Mangum and Elih Marrero. Falmouth was without leadoff man and top hitter Kevin Merrell (South Florida), who is apparently injured and has been released, according to the league’s transactions page.
Hyannis 10, Chatham 0
The Harbor Hawks jumped to a 5-0 lead in the first inning and cruised past Chatham at Veterans Field. Zach Rutherford (Old Dominion), Carl Stajduhar (New Mexico) and Brett Netzer (Charlotte) led the early burst. Rutherford would finish 2-for-3 with a home run, three runs scored and two RBI, while Netzer drove in three. Chris Hudgins (Cal State Fullerton) and Kameron Esthay (Baylor) also homered. Eight different Harbor Hawks had hits and six of those hits went for extra bases. Much of the offense came against Chatham’s Jacob Stevens (Boston College), who had tossed five shutout innings in his previous start. Alex Eubanks (Clemson) was the beneficiary of the offense and tossed six shutout innings for a second consecutive start. Tyler Stevens (New Mexico) and Garrett Cave (Florida International) finished off the win.
Orleans 7, Brewster 2
The Firebirds broke a 1-1 tie with two runs in the sixth and tacked on two more in each of the seventh and eighth innings to pull away. The win allowed Orleans to take over second place in the East at 10-8, as Brewster fell to 9-9. Ethan Paul (Vanderbilt) and Drew Lugbauer (Michigan) had two hits and two RBI apiece. Riley Mahan (Kentucky) added two hits and Justin Jones (Georgia State) scored three runs. John O’Reilly (Rutgers) picked up the win in relief and three of his bullpen mates combined for three scoreless innings to finish it off. For Brewster, Matt Davis (VCU), Brent Rooker (Mississippi State) and Ryan Gridley (Mississippi State) all had two hits. Davis hit his league-best sixth home run. Rooker is now hitting .400.
Cotuit 7, Wareham 6
Cotuit got on its first win streak of the season, beating Wareham for a second consecutive victory. Jackson Klein (Stanford) went 4-for-5 with three RBI and homered for the second straight game. Recent arrival Jason Delay (Vanderbilt) – a former Orleans Firebird who was picked in the 11th round of last month’s draft by the Giants – went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Cal Stevenson (Arizona) and Patrick Dorrian (Herkimer) added two hits each, with Dorrian hitting his first home run of the summer. Taylor Lehman (Penn State) was credited the win in relief after surrendering one run in 3.1 innings. Wareham rallied within a run in the ninth on a three-run homer by Colton Shaver (BYU) – his fifth of the year – but Alec Byrd (Florida State) struck out Gavin Sheets (Wake Forest) to end the game.
What to Watch
Falmouth and Y-D will both try to make it three wins in a row when they square off in Falmouth at 6 p.m. Oliver Jaskie (Michigan) makes his first start for Y-D. For Falmouth, Florida’s Brady Singer – the highest unsigned high school pick in the 2015 draft (second round by the Blue Jays) – will make his Cape League debut.