Six current Cape Leaguers hit 14 home runs or more for their college teams this spring. Harwich’s Nick Feight (UNC Wilmington) finished tied for second in the nation with 21. Two more had 18, two had 17 and one had 14. Three players took a break from their time on the Cape to head to Omaha for the TD Ameritrade College Home Run Derby, and Chatham’s Hagen Owenby (East Tennessee State) came back with the crown.
That’s all to say that there is no shortage of sluggers in Cape League uniforms this summer.
But the guy leading the pack isn’t among that group.
Brewster’s Matt Davis (VCU) hit his league-best seventh home run in Saturday’s win over Cotuit. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound infielder — coming off a spring in which he hit six home runs — now has two more blasts than any of his Cape League mates.
A rising senior at VCU who’s been the anchor of the Rams’ offense the last two seasons, Davis is also hitting .314 this summer, leads the league in slugging percentage and ranks second in RBI with 18. He’s been the top performer for the top-performing offensive team on the Cape and has done it all while playing out of position. An infielder at VCU, he’s been slotting in mostly in left field for the Whitecaps.
His homer Saturday was a solo shot in a 5-0 burst for the Whitecaps over the first four innings. Davis finished 2-for-3. Nick Dunn (Maryland), Kel Johnson (Georgia Tech) and Kekai Rios (Hawaii) added hits.
The offense was more than enough for starter Konnor Pilkington (Mississippi State), who struck out five in seven shutout innings. Hanson Butler (North Carolina) and Tyler Zuber (Arkansas State) finished off the win.
Falmouth 4, Chatham 2
Falmouth is the hottest team in the league, topping Chatham for its fifth straight win. Brady Singer (Florida) made his second start and delivered another scoreless outing, allowing three hits in five innings after six shutout innings in his debut. Three relievers kept Falmouth in front before Seth Elledge (Dallas Baptist) worked a scoreless ninth for his second save. Singer’s Florida teammate Deacon Liput went 1-for-4 with an RBI in his second Cape game. Ryan Chandler (Rice) also knocked in a run. With the win, Falmouth improved to 15-10 and has a three-point lead on Wareham for first place in the West. Chatham fell to 11-14, which leaves them in a fourth-place tie with Brewster.
Wareham 3, Harwich 3
Wareham played to a tie for the second night in a row after 12 innings failed to yield a winner against Harwich at Whitehouse Field. The Gatemen were likely happier with the tie than the Mariners. Harwich led 3-0 into the eighth inning before Wareham rallied. The Gatemen got an RBI single by Austen Wade (TCU) in the eighth and tied it in the ninth on a Joey Bart (Georgia Tech) RBI triple and a Robert Metz (George Washington) bunt single. Both runs were unearned due to a one-out error. The runs came off Harwich closer Zach Schellenger (Seton Hall), who had yet to blow a save chance. Wareham kept Harwich off the board the rest of the way thanks to four scoreless innings from Jake Matthys (Angelo State). Brad Bass (Notre Dame) and Teddy Rodliff (Notre Dame) were also lights out for Harwich. Both teams left two runners on base in the 11th. Bart and Metz led the Wareham offense with three hits each. Ernie Clement (Virginia) had four hits for Harwich and leads the league with a .394 batting average. Before the Harwich bullpen lost the lead, Packy Naughton (Virginia Tech) went seven shutout innings, striking out four and allowing just two hits.
Y-D 3, Bourne 1
The Red Sox won their fourth straight and handed Bourne its sixth loss in a row. Oliver Jaskie (Michigan) allowed just an unearned run in six innings for the Red Sox, Nathan Kuchta (San Diego) tossed two scoreless frames and Bryan Pall (Michigan) picked up his sixth save, which is tied for the league lead. Pall has saved three games in Y-D’s four-game streak. J.J. Muno (UC Santa Barbara) paced the offense with two hits, a run scored and an RBI. Deon Stafford (St. Joseph’s) had a hit and a run scored and Will Toffey (Vanderbilt) had two hits. Y-D moved to 15-10 while Bourne fell to 11-13-1.
Orleans 7, Hyannis 1
Orleans stopped a four-game losing streak with a home win over Hyannis. Joe Ryan (Cal State Northridge) struck out seven and gave up just two hits in five scoreless innings, his second straight scoreless start. Kevin Smith (Maryland) gave up one run in three innings of relief and Calvin LeBrun (Gonzaga) worked the ninth to finish off the win. Leadoff man Brian Miller (North Carolina) had three hits, an RBI and a run scored, while Will Golsan (Ole Miss) and Zach Kirtley (St. Mary’s) had two hits each. Seven different Firebirds drove in a run. Hyannis got two hits from Cody Henry (Alabama).
What to Watch
The top two teams in the West, Falmouth and Wareham, square off a Spillane Field at 7 p.m. Brendan King (Holy Cross), who has pitched as a starter and reliever with a 3.70 ERA, goes for the Commodores against Zachary Pop (Kentucky), who allowed one run in five innings his last time out.