Quick one today — Chatham still alive, Cotuit out, Harwich clinches East crown.
Chatham 2, Orleans 1
The only way this one could have been more dramatic was if it had clinched a playoff spot outright. As it was, Donovan Casey’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th gave the Anglers a 2-1 win over Orleans and pushed them to the brink of the postseason. Chatham now has a one point lead on Brewster for the final playoff spot, with one game to play. Casey had struck out four times in the game before his game-winning blast. The heroics made a winner out of Moises Ceja (UCLA), who pitched three scoreless innings of relief. Jeremy Vasquez (Florida) and Kyle Adams (Richmond) added three hits each for Chatham.
Y-D 6, Cotuit 1
The Red Sox scored all their runs after the sixth inning and knocked Cotuit out of the playoff race with a 6-1 win. The loss stung a bit more for the Kettleers with results later in the day, as Hyannis lost again, which meant Cotuit would have stayed alive with a win. Ross Achter (Toledo) gave Cotuit six strong innings, allowing one run and leaving with the game tied 1-1. Y-D scored three runs in the seventh – aided by a one-out error that kept the inning alive – with a Joey Thomas (Cincinnati) double plating all three runs. Kevin Smith (Maryland) and Brendan Skidmore (Binghamton) knocked in runs in the eighth, and Sean Barry (San Diego) pitched two scoreless innings of relief to seal the win.
Harwich 3, Brewster 2
A run in the top of the 10th sent Harwich to the regular-season division title. The go-ahead run came home on an RBI fielder’s choice by Joe Dunand (NC State), and Nick Brown followed with a one-two-three bottom half of the inning to give the Mariners the victory. Tommy DeJuneas (NC State) and Peter Solomon (Notre Dame) were also strong in relief for Harwich. Nick Dalesandro (Purdue) had two hits. Brewster has lost four in a row and must win and hope for a Chatham loss today to grab a playoff spot.
Falmouth 9, Hyannis 2
The Commodores just keep winning – 8-2 in their last 10 – and will enter the playoffs with the best record in the league. J.J. Matijevic (Arizona) had three hits and Michael Gigliotti (Lipscomb) had three RBI to lead the big offensive day. Cadyn Grenier (Oregon State) added two RBI, while Tyler Lawrence (Murray State) and Tristan Gray (Rice) had one each. Brendan King (Holy Cross) struck out five and allowed two runs in six innings for the win. Seth Elledge (Dallas Baptist) was electric in relief, striking out six of the eight batters he saw in two innings of work. With Cotuit’s loss, Hyannis will make the playoffs, but the Harbor Hawks have dropped seven games in a row.
Wareham 3, Bourne 1
Wareham rallied from an early 1-0 deficit and won for the 11th time in its last 13 games. Recent addition Noah Zavolas (Harvard) – making his second appearance – went 4.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen for the win and Jake Matthys (Angelo State) recorded his seventh save. Jonathan Pryor (Wake Forest) scored the tying run on a wild pitch in the fifth. Colton Shaver (BYU) gave Wareham the lead with a two-run single in the sixth. Cole Freeman (LSU) went 1-for-4 and is hitting .374 as he chases the league batting title. Harwich’s Ernie Clement is the next closest at .353.
What to Watch
All eyes on Eldredge Park, where Chatham will try to complete its late playoff surge against Orleans. Andrew Karp (Florida State) and his 3.75 ERA go for Chatham against Orleans’ Chandler Day (Vanderbilt), who has a 3.37 ERA while pitching mostly out of the bullpen.