A night after Orleans streaked on with its most impressive win yet, the league’s other red-hot team did the same.
Falmouth mashed 22 hits and blew past Bourne 13-3 Sunday for its sixth consecutive win and a spot alone atop the West Division. The Commodores and Braves had been tied for first place.
Power has been on full display all summer for the Commodores, who have led the league in home runs and extra-base hits basically since day one. But even for them, this was a crazy night.
Alec Bohm (Wichita State) went 5-for-6 with three RBI. Hunter Steinmetz (Missouri State) homered and went 4-for-5 with four RBI. Ignacious Janca (Texas A&M) went 5-for-5. Joshua Breaux (McLennan) homered and drove in three. Trevor Larnach (Oregon State) delivered his second three-hit game in three games with the team. Marty Bechina (Michigan State) drove in his 20th run of the season.
The Commodores actually fell behind 1-0 but a double by Bohm in the third lit the fuse on the comeback. Bohm is on quite a tear. After a rare hitless night June 25, he’s 15 for his last 27 with two homers. His .458 batting average is the best in the league by a pretty wide margin.
Five pitchers gave up a fair amount of hits to the Braves, but a back-and-forth slugfest never materialized. Cole Sands (Florida State) was credited with the win in relief.
Falmouth is now 11-7, one game back of Orleans for the best record in the league.
Orleans 5, Brewster 1
The Firebirds rolled on as well with their eighth consecutive win. A four-run third inning sparked by a Jaxx Groshans (Kansas) two-run single broke a 1-1 tie and sent Orleans on its way. After giving up a run in the first, Ryan Rolison (Ole Miss) cruised through four scoreless innings and struck out nine for the win. Cody Deason (Arizona), Brett Daniels (North Carolina) and Josh Hiatt (North Carolina) went the last four innings and allowed just one hit. Jimmy Herron (Duke) had two hits to up his average to .411. Ethan Paul (Vanderbilt) had his third multi-hit game in the last four.
Wareham 4, Y-D 0
Justin Montgomery (California Baptist) dominated again, cementing himself as the league’s best starter in the early going. The 6-foot-5 righty struck out five in five scoreless innings. He has yet to allow a run – earned or unearned – in 17 innings pitched, and has struck out 19 while surrendering just 10 hits and four walks. Fitzpatrick Stadler (Arizona State) and Peyton Culbertson (Arkansas State) finished off the shutout. Based on the probable pitchers, the game was supposed to be a matchup of Montgomery versus Hogan Harris, but it was Y-D’s other standout, Kris Bubic (Stanford) who drew the start. Bubic struck out seven in 5.2 scoreless frames, but Wareham took the lead on a two-run homer by Jake Anchia (Nova Southeastern) and never looked back. Oregon State’s Steven Kwan made his debut and went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Tanner Dodson (California) also drove in a run.
Cotuit 11, Hyannis 8
The Kettleers went to 2-0 in the Barnstable Patriot Cup rivalry series with another win over the Harbor Hawks. Three players homered to lead the Cotuit attack. Gian Martellini (Boston College) and Chandler Avant (Alabama) each hit their second while Thomas Dillard (Ole Miss) went deep for the first time. Griffin Conine (Duke) added a hit and three RBI and Luke Alexander (Mississippi State) drove in two. Justin Hooper (UCLA) allowed just an unearned run in five innings for the win. Hyannis made a late push with six runs in the seventh inning but couldn’t overtake the Kettleers. Jake Mangum (Mississippi State) had three hits to lead the Harbor Hawks.
Harwich 7, Chatham 3
The Mariners got a bit of revenge after Saturday’s walk-off loss to the Anglers. A five-run fifth inning broke a 1-1 deadlock. Cameron Simmons (Virginia) had a two-run double and Nick Dalesandro (Purdue) had a two-run single to key the decisive surge. Both Simmons and Dalesandro finished with two hits. Andrew Moritz (UNC Greensboro), Ryne Ogren (Elon) and Jordan Verdon (San Diego State) drove in one run each. Tyler Baum (North Carolina) struck out six and allowed two runs in six innings for his third win in as many starts. Fabian Pena homered for Chatham. There was news for the Anglers after the game, as they announced that legendary manager John Schiffner will step down after the season.
What to Watch
Connor Higgins announced on Twitter yesterday that he’ll return to Arizona State after being selected late in this year’s draft. That also means he’ll be staying with Brewster, and he’ll be next in line to try to slow down the Orleans Firebirds when the teams meet today at Stony Brook Field.
“Based on the probable pitchers, the game was supposed to be a matchup of Montgomery versus Hogan Harris”
How are those of us who like to gamble on the outcome of CCBL games supposed to do it when managers are pulling switcheroos like this?
And when are the good citizens of Chatham finally going to grab their torches and pitchforks and run John Schiffner out of town? I know he’s a legend but a team that used to be the class of the league is now a perennial doormat.
I swear I typed that post before I went to the CCBL website and read that Schiffner’s stepping down after this season. Weird.
Ha! That’s crazy. I guess you got your answer.