Wareham’s Andrew Vaughn (California) looked like the best hitter on the Cape when he departed for Team USA. Now another Golden Bear wearing Gatemen colors is emerging as the league’s best pitcher.
Joey Matulovich tossed six shutout innings in Tuesday’s 8-1 win over Cotuit and now owns a 0.37 ERA in five appearances. He has allowed one earned run – and just three runs total – in 24 innings of work.
Matulovich – a 6-foot-4 righty – is in his second summer with Wareham. He was a steady performer last year, putting up a 2.34 ERA in seven appearances. This spring, in his junior season at Cal, he made five starts and 14 relief appearances, turning in a 3.47 ERA.
The Brewers selected Matulovich in the 20th round of this year’s draft. Whether he inks a deal with them in the next few days – the signing deadline is July 6 – or returns to Cal for his senior season, he’s putting himself in a good spot with his Cape League dominance.
Matulovich started for Wareham on opening night and went four shutout innings. He allowed his lone earned run in his next start, when Orleans scratched one across . . . on an RBI fielder’s choice.
Four shutout innings of relief against Bourne followed before Matulovich allowed just an unearned run in five innings against Chatham last week.
Tuesday’s performance was the best of all.
Matulovich took a no-hitter into the fifth before Cory Wood (Coastal Carolina) broke it up with a double. That would be the only hit allowed by Matulovich, who struck out four in his six innings of work.
Wareham led 2-0 when Matulovich departed then piled on, scoring six runs over the final three innings. Austin Shenton (Florida International) had two hits and three RBI and Gian Martellini (Boston College) – playing against the Cape squad he played for last summer – homered and drove in three.
When it was over, Matulovich had his second win of the summer and a further-cemented spot atop the ERA ranks. He’s also tied for fourth in strikeouts. Perhaps most impressively, Matulovich has done it all while leading the league in innings pitched, so he’s not sneaking onto any leaderboards.
He’s pitching like the best in the league.
Y-D 12, Brewster 10
Y-D prevailed in a slugfest for its third straight win and now has a four-point edge on Chatham for first place in the East. The Red Sox have won nine out of their last 10 overall. Zubia (Texas) and Nicholas Quintana (Arizona) homered for the Red Sox, while Noah Campbell (South Carolina) had two hits and three RBI. Jonathan DeLuca (Oregon) added two hits and two RBI. Nathan Wiles (Oklahoma) allowed four runs in five innings, but with all the run support, he earned the win on the mound. Brewster scored two in the ninth to get within striking distance, but Tristan Baker (Western Carolina) stranded the tying runs on base to preserve the win. Brewster hit four home runs in the loss, with Cameron Eden (California) blasting two and Hunter Bishop (Arizona State) and Brandon Martorano (North Carolina) hitting one each.
Hyannis 6, Bourne 4
The Braves entered the night one game behind Hyannis for second place in the West, but the Harbor Hawks now own a two-game edge thanks to the key win. Bourne led 4-0 into the sixth, but Hyannis tied it then took the lead in the eighth. An error allowed two runs to score, before a Kyle Wilkie (Clemson) single and a Todd Lott (Louisiana-Lafayette) fielder’s choice made it 4-4. Seth Gray (Wright State) delivered the go-ahead runs with a two-run double in the eighth. Dylan Thomas (Hawaii) worked a scoreless ninth for his fourth save. Remarkably, Thomas leads the league in wins and is tied for the lead in saves.
Falmouth 6, Orleans 1
Falmouth pitchers didn’t allow an earned run and the offense steadily took control for a win over Orleans. Spencer Strider (Clemson) went six innings and surrendered an unearned run on three hits while striking out five. He now owns a 1.77 ERA. Nick Mikolajchak (Sam Houston State) allowed one hit in three shutout innings of relief. Kyle Stowers (Stanford) homered and drove in two to pace the Falmouth attack. Davis Sims (Murray State) added two RBI.
Chatham 13, Harwich 6
Chatham fell behind 5-2 in the fourth but scored 11 runs over the next four innings to run away with a win over Harwich. Tristin English (Georgia Tech) hit a grand slam – his fourth home run of the summer – to highlight the explosion. In his first game on the Cape, North Carolina standout Michael Busch also went deep for the Anglers. John Rave (Illinois State) and Jorge Arenas (Stetson) each added two hits and an RBI to the Chatham cause. Jeff Belge (St. John’s) pitched well in a long relief stint, allowing two runs in five innings while striking out eight. He took over the league lead in strikeouts with 24.
What to Watch
Three holiday games on tap as Harwich visits Brewster, Y-D heads to Hyannis and Orleans visits Chatham. Harwich will send Tyler Baum (North Carolina) to the hill in his first Cape start of 2018. The Tar Heel star led the Cape League in ERA last season.
And just as Matulovich emerges as the league’s top pitcher, he gets released. Did he end up signing?
Matulovich signed with the Milwaukee Brewers on July 6.