From Arnie Allen Diamond to TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, it was a good night to be a Commodore.
Falmouth beat Orleans 1-0 as two pitchers combined on a dominant performance. And the game was over in an hour and 53 minutes, plenty of time for Falmouth players, coaches and fans to turn on the TV and watch a couple of former Commodores play heroes in Omaha. Cadyn Grenier (Falmouth ’16) hit the game-tying single in the bottom of the ninth inning and Trevor Larnach (Falmouth ’16 & ’17) hit a two-run homer to send Oregon State to an improbable win in game two of the College World Series championship.
I’m not sure there’s a stronger connection between a Cape team and a college program than what Falmouth and Oregon State have going. As the Beavers made their rise to national prominence, Falmouth was in on the ground floor, serving as the summer home for stars like Jacoby Ellsbury, Joey Wong, Mitch Canham and Dallas Buck. I don’t remember many Oregon State players who have played somewhere on the Cape other than Falmouth.
Before Commodore fans could turn into Beavers fans Wednesday, they watched their summer squad pick up its fourth straight win, a streak that started after a six-game slide.
Pitching powered win number four, as Scott Politz (Yale) took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before settling for seven shutout frames. Ian Koch (Western Illinois) allowed one hit in the final two innings to close out the win.
Politz was the ace of Yale’s staff in the spring, putting up a 3.07 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 88 innings pitched. After pitching in four games for Falmouth last summer, he returned this year and pitched fairly well in his first two starts of the summer. Wednesday was a whole new level. Politz struck out four and didn’t walk a batter. Only two errors and a hit-by-pitch kept him from being perfect through six.
Justin Lavey (Louisville) broke up the no-hit bid on a two-out single in the seventh. Matt Fraizer (Arizona) followed with a base hit, but Politz escaped further trouble.
Koch took over as a good person to trust with a shutout. After a solid summer in Falmouth last year and a good showing in the Western Illinois rotation this spring, Koch has returned to the Commodore bullpen with a bang. He has yet to allow a run, a streak he stretched to 13.2 innings with Wednesday’s performance.
Orleans got strong pitching of its own, but an RBI single by Logan Davidson (Clemson) in the third inning gave Falmouth all the offense it needed.
The Commodores will be home again tonight to take on Hyannis. The former Commdores in orange and black will play for a title in Omaha at 6:30.
Y-D 3, Harwich 2
A battle for first place in the East turned into a marathon, with Y-D prevailing in 11 innings to take over the top spot from Harwich. Adam Kerner (San Diego) hit the go-ahead RBI single in the top of the 11th, part of a 2-for-5, two RBI night. Noah Campbell (South Carolina) – who’s 9 for his last 21 – homered in a 2-for-5 showing. Ryne Nelson (Oregon) earned the win, holding off Harwich in the bottom of the 11th with his third consecutive scoreless frame. Y-D has won three in a row and six of its last seven.
Hyannis 7, Brewster 5
The Harbor Hawks won their sixth in a row, the longest streak for any team so far this summer. Brewster led 3-0 for much of the game, but Hyannis scored four runs in the fifth to take the lead then added to it down the stretch. Pedro Pages (Florida Atlantic) went 2-for-3 with three RBI and Matthew Barefoot (Campbell) went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and one RBI. Barefoot has been almost as hot as his team, with hits in five straight games. Brady Lindsly (Oklahoma) added two RBI. Brett Schulze (Minnesota) earned the win in relief and Dylan Thomas (Hawaii) tallied his second save. For Brewster, Dominic Canzone (Ohio State) homered and drove in three. The Whitecaps have lost six in a row and fell to 3-12-1.
Wareham 7, Chatham 3
The Gatemen have had Chatham’s number this season, winning for the third time over the Anglers Wednesday night. A run in the first and four in the second staked the Gatemen to the lead. Bryant Packard (East Carolina) hit his second home run of the summer and drove in three, while Sahid Valenzuela (Cal State Fullerton) went 2-for-5 with two RBI. Lael Lockhart (Houston) and Jeremy Ydens (UCLA) knocked in one run each. Joey Matulovich (California) allowed just an unearned run in five innings, striking out six, and now owns a 0.50 ERA in four games this summer. Chatham got home runs from Greg Jones (UNC Wilmington) and Tristin English (Georgia Tech), who have been two of their hottest hitters. Jones is batting .295 with three homers. English is at .405 with two homers.
Cotuit 6, Bourne 5
Cotuit broke a 5-5 tie with a run in the eighth and held off Bourne the rest of the way. Jakob Goldfarb (Oregon) plated the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly. Joseph Walsh (Boston College), Stephen Schoch (UMBC) and Garrett Gayle (Rice) finished off the win on the mound. Michael Salvatore (Florida State) went 3-for-3 with two RBI to pace the Cotuit offense. Eric Jones (Davidson) also had two RBI. For Bourne, Tyler Fitzgerald (Louisville) went 3-for-4 with a home run.
What to Watch
The hottest teams in the league meet in Falmouth as the Commodores put their four-game streak on the line against Hyannis’ six-game heater.