The top three teams in the West Division have found little separation over the last few weeks. A two-point gap has been pretty standard.
Cotuit and Falmouth had the inside track to keep pace Wednesday night as the Kettleers faced sliding Wareham and Falmouth took on last-place Hyannis. Both won.
Bourne had a much tougher task as it welcomed East leading Orleans – with the best record in the league – to Doran Park, but the Braves managed to keep pace, too.
Orleans had lost just once – to second-place Y-D – since July 12, but the Braves took control with a three-run fifth inning and held on down the stretch.
Bourne managed two runs off Orleans standout Logan Gilbert (Stetson) then went to work when he departed in the fifth, taking advantage of three walks, a Lyle Lin (Arizona State) RBI single and an error.
Luis Alvarado (Nebraska) allowed one run in 3.2 innings of relief for the win. P.J. Poulin (UConn) came on and escaped a two-on, two-out jam in the eighth and Ryan Feltner (Ohio State) struck out two in the ninth for his eighth save.
Bourne improved to 19-17 and is sandwiched between Falmouth and Cotuit at the top of the standings.
Falmouth 7, Hyannis 1
Matt Mercer (Oregon) is emerging as the kind of ace that could form a dangerous combo with Falmouth’s slugging offense come playoff time. Mercer struck out seven and allowed one run on four hits. He has allowed just one run over his last two starts, with 14 strikeouts in the same span. Derrick Adams (Jacksonville State) and Brian Gadsby (UCLA) finished out the win. Slugger Marty Bechina (Michigan State) – homerless for three weeks – moved back into a tie for the league lead with his eighth. George Janca (Texas A&M) hit his fifth home run of the summer and drove in three. Austin Langworthy (Florida) had his fourth multi-hit performance in his last six games.
Cotuit 4, Wareham 0
It was more of a staff effort, but even better shut-down pitching at Lowell Park. Jason Bilous (Coastal Carolina) pitched three scoreless frames despite walking six and the bullpen followed suit. Clark Cota (UNC Wilmington) earned the win with two innings, Zane Collins (Wright State) pitched 1.2 frames and Michael Byrne (Florida) pitched the final 1.1. Wareham totaled just four hits against that quartet. Griffin Conine (Duke) had three hits for Cotuit and Thomas Dillard (Ole Miss) homered.
Harwich 6, Y-D 5
The Mariners snapped a nine-game losing streak and ended Y-D’s nine-game winning streak. Jake McCarthy (Virginia) – a late arrival from Team USA – homered and drove in four to lead the Harwich offense. Nick Dalesandro (Purdue) also had an RBI. Logan Browning (Florida Southern) allowed two runs in 2.2 innings and Tyler Baum (North Carolina) – pitching out of the bullpen but taking on a starter’s workload – went the final 6.1 innings and held off the Red Sox. Sitting 11 points back of fourth place with seven games to go, Harwich can still make the playoffs.
Chatham 7, Brewster 4
The Anglers have won their last two against the Whitecaps, helping them maintain a two-point edge on Brewster for third place in the East. Josh Stowers (Louisville), Ashton McGee (North Carolina) and Landon Kay (Furman) each had two RBI and Shea Langeliers (Baylor) had two hits to lead the Anglers. Reliever Rodney Hutchison Jr. (North Carolina) went five shutout innings for the win, lowering his season ERA to 0.42. Jack DeGroat (Liberty) and Adam Wolf (Louisville) closed it out.
What to Watch
I was really hoping Y-D and Orleans would win again yesterday so tonight’s matchup between the East leaders would be a “Somebody finally has to lose” game. Still, it’s a key battle with the Red Sox just three points behind the Firebirds for first place.
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