Red Wilson Field has long been an unfriendly place for Cape Cod Baseball League pitchers. The fences are close, the baseballs fly and the home team takes full advantage. The Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox are hard to beat there and even harder to shut down. Just once in their last 44 home games – dating back to 2016 – had the Red Sox been shut-out.
Matt Canterino (Rice) and his teammates in the Falmouth bullpen were up to the challenge Saturday. The Rice ace delivered the league’s best start of the young season and three relievers teamed up to finish off the shutout as the Commodores rolled past the Red Sox 8-0.
As unlikely as a Red Wilson shutout is, Canterino was a likely candidate to deliver it. He struck out 116 and walked just 22 in 94 innings this spring, to go with a 3.06 ERA. Opponents hit just .188 against him as he emerged as one of the top sophomore arms in the nation.
A trials spot with Team USA awaits, but Canterino is on the Cape now, and his performance Saturday was the best start of the summer so far. Only one other pitcher – Harwich’s Gage Stallings – had gone six innings in a start. As the summer just gets going and arms warm up, a few pitchers have gone five. Most have gone four. Canterino went six complete, allowing two hits and striking out five.
After the Red Sox threatened a few times early with the hits and a few walks, Canterino retired 12 in a row, a streak he carried into the sixth inning. Jim Govern (Eastern Illinois) stopped it with a double, but he was stranded at third.
Relievers Declan Cronin (Holy Cross), Taylor Wilkes (Kennesaw State) and Nick Mikolajchak (Sam Houston State) tossed an inning each to close out the win.
And by then, they had a comfortable lead to work with. The Commodores broke the game open with a five-run fifth inning and finished with 12 hits. Davis Sims (Murray State) went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Logan Foster (Texas A&M) added two hits and two RBI and Cameron Cannon (Arizona) had two hits and one RBI.
Falmouth ran its record to 2-2 with the win, while Y-D fell to 2-2-1.
Harwich 2, Wareham 0
Wareham’s season-opening win streak ended at the hands of strong pitching by the Mariners. Ty Buckner (Missouri State) struck out three and allowed one hit in four innings. Danny Poidomani (Stevens) tossed two innings of no-hit relief, Christian Santana (Florida International) allowed two hits in two scoreless innings and Andrew Misiaszek (Northeastern) worked the ninth for the save. All of Wareham’s four hits were singles. Gatemen pitching was nearly as good, but Harwich pushed across a run in the first and another in the sixth. Tanner Morris (Virginia) had both RBI.
Chatham 10, Hyannis 1
Fresh off an 8-0 loss in which they struck out 17 times, the Anglers racked up 10 runs in the first four innings and coasted to a win over Hyannis. National home run king Spencer Torkelson (Arizona State) hit his second blast for the Anglers, a solo shot that got Chatham started in the first. Blake Sabol (USC) also homered and went 3-for-4, while Kyle McCann (Georgia Tech) hit a three-run homer. John Rave (Illinois State) added two hits and Ben Ramirez (USC) had an RBI. The Anglers also pitched well, with Troy Miller (Michigan) allowing just an unearned run in four innings with six strikeouts and Dan Hammer (Pittsburgh) surrendering only one hit and striking out five in five scoreless innings of relief.
Brewster 6, Bourne 1
Brewster won its second straight, taking a lead in the first inning and holding it throughout. Conor Grammes (Xavier) homered for the second straight day, part of a 3-for-4, three RBI night. Michael Massey (Illinois) homered in his Brewster debut and went 2-for-4. Hunter Bishop (Arizona State) and Joe Donovan (Michigan) drove in one run apiece. Jacob Hennessy (Clemson) earned the win with five strong innings, allowing one run. James Acuna (Oregon) didn’t allow a hit in three innings of relief and Owen Griffith (Clemson) pitched a scoreless ninth. Jared Triolo (Houston) homered for Bourne.
Cotuit 6, Orleans 2
The Kettleers got all their offense from home runs and held down Orleans after the second inning. Jonathan Robertson (Creighton) hit a two-run homer that tied the game in the third and Adam Oviedo (TCU) blasted a grand slam the next inning to break the deadlock. Luke Chevalier (Northern State) – a native of Cotuit – allowed two runs in 5.2 innings for the win. Deacon Medders (Alabama) was dominant out of the bullpen, going 3.1 innings without allowing a hit. For Orleans, Spencer Steer (Oregon) homered.
What to Watch
It’s a doubleheader Sunday around the league. Were I picking one set of games to attend, I would head to Falmouth for two big pitching attractions. Harwich will send LSU flamethrower Zack Hess to the mound in game one and Kyle Brnovich (Elon)- the national strikeout leader this spring – to the hill in game two.