There isn’t much separation in the standings yet, but the top three teams in the East have looked the part lately, especially Wednesday night.
Orleans rolled over Cotuit 13-2 for its fifth consecutive win and is the first team to nine victories this season. Y-D blew past Harwich 12-1 and is one points behind the Firebirds for first place. And Brewster hammered Chatham 11-1. The Whitecaps are two points back of Y-D.
While it’s just one night, that’s a combined 36-4 score for three teams that have already had their share of impressive moments this summer. Y-D owns the league’s top batting average, Orleans has the best ERA and Brewster has three of the top four on the strikeout leaderboard.
Orleans is riding the longest win streak for any team this summer. The first four wins in the streak were lower-scoring, closer affairs, but number five was an easy one. The Firebirds smacked 15 hits and capitalized on three Cotuit errors and eight walks by Kettleer pitchers.
Steve Passatempo (UMass-Lowell) had three hits, including a home run, and four RBI. Stephen Scott (Vanderbilt) had three hits and three runs scored, while teammate Ethan Paul (Vanderbilt) homered and had two RBI. Five pitchers maintained a shutout into the ninth when Cotuit got on the board. Taylor Sugg (North Carolina) was credited with the win in relief after starter Kevin Smith (Georgia) struck out six in four hitless innings.
The 15-hit attack wasn’t even the best of the night though, as Y-D pounded 18 hits in the victory over Harwich. Nicholas Quintana (Arizona) homered and drove in three, Kyle Isbel (UNLV) went 2-for-6 with four RBI and Luke Miller (Indiana) had three hits. Seven different players had multi-hit games. Harwich was no match, managing just four hits off three Y-D pitchers. Tim Brennan (St. Joseph’s) delivered one of the summer’s best starts with 10 strikeouts and one run allowed in seven innings, and he now leads the league in Ks with 20. Hunter Parsons (Maryland) and Tommy Henry (Michigan) finished off the win.
Brewster had the strangest line score of the night, getting out-hit 9-7 and somehow turning that into an 11-1 win. Chatham committed three errors, which led to five unearned runs. Angler pitchers also walked seven batters. Mickey Gasper (Bryant) helped Brewster take advantage with his third home run, and Justin Kunz (Gardner-Webb) also went deep. Nick Dunn (Maryland) and Connor Smith (Western Michigan) drove in two runs apiece. Tony Locey (Georgia) struck out seven in five scoreless innings and now ranks second in the league in strikeouts. Ryan Broom, who ranks third, struck out three in two innings of relief.
Falmouth 8, Wareham 4
Down three runs late, the Commodores tied the game with a run in the eighth and two in the ninth then won it in extras thanks to a four-run 11th inning. Marty Bechina (Michigan State) drove home the go-ahead run in the 11th for his league-best 19th RBI of the summer. Willie Burger (Penn State) and Alec Bohm (Wichita State) had two hits and an RBI apiece, with Lee Solomon (Lipscomb) and Ignacious Janca (Texas A&M) driving in one run each. Derrick Adams (Jacksonville State), Thomas Ponticelli (San Francisco) and Ryan Zeferjahn (Kansas) combined for 4.2 scoreless innings of relief. Falmouth jumped one game over .500 at 8-7 while Wareham fell to 6-9.
Hyannis 5, Bourne 3
Seven players had hits and four pitchers teamed up in short outings as Hyannis nipped Bourne. Reece Hampton (Charlotte) went 2-for-4 with an RBI and now leads the league with a .407 batting average. Chris Proctor (Duke) also had two hits and an RBI while Ryan Olenek (Ole Miss) drove in two runs. Fresh off the College World Series, Chase Haney (Florida State) made his first appearance and earned the win with 2.1 hitless innings of relief. The Harbor Hawks are 6-7-1 while Bourne is 7-6.
What to Watch
Y-D and Bourne will square off in a rescheduled doubleheader, beginning at 4 p.m. at Doran Park.
Note how many Duke players are in the league this season. In years past I remember noticing the same thing about Indiana and Stony Brook, and the next season both colleges had their best years ever.
Yes, very reminiscent of that. Would expect big things from Duke next year.
Good to hear from you, Orville!