In an odd statistical twist, four of the five teams in the Cape League’s West Division – even the ones with winning records – own negative run differentials for the year. The one that doesn’t? The last place Wareham Gatemen.
Because when the Gatemen win, they win big.
Wareham rolled past Cotuit 11-0 Friday night to improve to 7-9. In their wins, they’ve out-scored the opposition 55-10. They’ve won games 9-0, 10-2, 11-3 and now 11-0. One of their wins was by a 4-3 score. Everything else has been by at least four runs and usually more.
Friday was their most lopsided win yet, as they knocked 16 hits and allowed just three.
Tanner Dodson (California) got in on both those feats with one of the best performances in the league this summer. He went 4-for-4 at the plate with a run scored and two RBI and also pitched 3.2 scoreless innings of relief. Dodson did both for Cal this spring and has now pitched 9.2 innings with the Gatemen while making eight starts in the outfield. He’s hitting .462, which would be good for the league lead if he weren’t a little short of the qualifying number of plate appearances.
Kyle Kasser (Oregon) added three hits while Nick Angelini (Bryant) had two hits – including a home run – and drove in three. Six different players drove in at least one run.
Before Dodson took the mound, starter Miller Hogan (St. Louis) – a 32nd-round pick of the Brewers in this year’s draft – was dominant, allowing just one hit and striking out six in five shutout innings.
Orleans 9, Harwich 1
The Firebirds won their sixth straight game and their second consecutive blowout, after a 13-2 win Thursday. Orleans scored five runs in the first inning and three in the second for a blistering start. Jimmy Herron (Duke), Stephen Scott (Vanderbilt), Niko Decolati (Loyola Marymount) and recent Omaha arrival Devin Mann (Louisville) all had two hits in the onslaught, with Herron bumping his average to .408. Both of Herron’s hits came in the all-important battle of Jimmy Herron versus Harwich pitcher Tim(my) Herrin (Indiana), Armed with the early lead, Joey Murray (Kent State) turned in his second straight dominant start, following up five shutout innings June 21 with five more in his return to the mound. He struck out five and scattered five hits. Orleans owns the league’s best record at 10-6.
Falmouth 8, Chatham 3
The Commodores just keep mashing, and a new slugger fit right in. Oregon State star Trevor Larnach made his Cape debut after the Beavers’ deep College World Series run and went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. The big entrance was part of a 16-hit attack that included six more extra-base hits added to Falmouth’s league-best total. Hunter Steinmetz (Missouri State) hit his second home run and Zeke Dodson (Lipscomb) hit his first. Marty Bechina (Michigan State) had two doubles. Alec Bohm (Wichita State) went 3-for-5 and took over the league lead in hitting with a .419 average. Connor Eason (Seminole State) earned the win in relief.
Y-D 4, Bourne 3
After losing to the Braves in both games of a doubleheader Thursday, the Red Sox avoided a three-game sweep with a narrow victory. Y-D built a 4-1 lead and held off a Bourne rally in the ninth. Nicholas Quintana (Arizona) hit his fourth home run – he has four homers and eight hits on the season – while Connor Kaiser (Vanderbilt) also went deep. Kyle Isbel (UNLV) and Alex McKenna (Cal Poly) drove in one run each. Michael Cassala (Jacksonville) earned the win in relief and Riley McCauley (Michigan State) buckled down after allowing the two ninth-inning runs on Turner Brown’s (East Carolina) homer, finishing the game with two straight strikeouts.
Hyannis 8, Brewster 3
The Harbor Hawks racked up 16 hits and blasted three home runs for a win over the Whitecaps. Hunter Stovall (Mississippi State), Micah Coffey (Minnesota) and Daniel Robinson (Central Michigan) hit the home runs, the first of the summer for all of them. Ford Proctor (Rice) added three hits, an RBI and two runs scored. Reece Hampton (Charlotte), Ryan Olenek (Ole Miss) and Robert Neustrom (Iowa) had two-hit games. After Brewster tied the game in the third, three Harbor Hawk relievers combined for six scoreless innings of relief. Chase Haney (Florida State) was credited with the win.
What to Watch
For a seventh straight victory, the Orleans Firebirds will have to go through the league leader in wins. Michael Brettell (Central Michigan) takes a 3-0 record and a 0.73 ERA to the hill for Hyannis against the Firebirds. Chandler Day (Vanderbilt) will make his first start for Orleans after a scoreless relief outing in his debut last week.