Going Deep

A historic season and postseason run by Tennessee Tech meant a late arrival to Orleans for outfielder Nick Osborne.

But he is making up for lost time.

In his eighth game with the Firebirds Sunday, Osborne hit his fourth home run, a walk-off shot in the ninth that gave Orleans a 9-8 victory over Brewster.

Osborne had a big hand in Tennesee Tech’s success this season, batting .312 with 12 home runs and also pitching out of the bullpen. It represented a breakout junior campaign for Osborne, who had three career home runs in less than 100 career at-bats. The Golden Eagles broke out, too, winning more games in the regular season than any other team in the country and pushing Texas to the brink in Super Regionals.

With Orleans, Osborne hasn’t slowed down. He went 3-for-5 with a home run in his debut June 29 and has logged at least one hit in seven of eight games, with five of those as multi-hit performances. It adds up to a .448 batting average. He also has 11 strikeouts in 6.2 innings on the mound, with a 5.40 ERA.

Sunday’s game brought more success, especially when Orleans needed it most. With his team trailing 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth, Osborne came to the plate with a runner on first and one out. He then smacked a 2-2 pitch out of the park to win the game for the Firebirds.

Osborne’s blast capped a wild late-innings rally for the Firebirds, who trailed 8-1 in the seventh inning. Four runs in the seventh, two in the eighth and two in the ninth got them off the mat.

Osborne finished 2-for-3 with three RBI. Pat DeMarco (Vanderbilt) added a home run and two RBI and Spencer Steer (Oregon) had two hits. Shay Smiddy (Louisville) pitched three scoreless innings of relief to set the stage for the rally.

Hyannis 9, Wareham 5

Hyannis moved into a tie for first place in the West with a victory over Wareham, who has been atop the division for most of the summer. The Harbor Hawk offense steadily took control, scoring in six different innings. Davis Wendzel (Baylor) and Tommy Jew (UC Santa Barbara) each had two RBI, while Seth Gray (Wright State) had three hits. Todd Lott (Louisiana-Lafayette) and Braden Comeaux (Rice) chipped in two, as did Will Holland (Auburn), who recently returned from Team USA trials. Starter Gavin Hollowell (St. John’s) allowed three runs in 4.1 innings, while Ryan Pepiot (Butler) continued a strong summer in the bullpen with 3.2 innings for the win. Pepiot took over the league lead in strikeouts with 28, which have come in 17.1 innings.

Bourne 3, Falmouth 2

Bourne totaled just four hits but that proved to be enough for a narrow win over Falmouth. Spencer Brickhouse (East Carolina) hit a two-run homer in the first inning for his league-best 19th and 20th RBI of the summer. The long ball staked Bourne to a lead that it never lost, with an RBI single by Anthony Prato (UConn) providing a crucial insurance run in the seventh. Austin Pope (Fairfield) struck out seven and allowed one run in five innings for his best start of the summer. Zach Peek (Winthrop), Nick Morreale (Georgetown) and Michael McAvene (Louisville) combined for the final four innings, with McAvene earning the save. For Falmouth, Kyle Stowers (Stanford) hit his third home run of the summer.

Y-D 10, Chatham 1

Y-D sent 14 men to the plate in a nine-run fourth inning and blew past Chatham at Red Wilson Field. Five hits, two walks, two hit-by-pitches and an error paved the way for the big inning. Noah Campbell’s (South Carolina) three-run double was the big blow. Campbell finished 2-for-3, while Jonathan DeLuca (Oregon) was 3-for-5. Andrew Daschbach (Stanford) and Nicholas Quintana (Arizona) each had two RBI. Jensen Elliott (Oklahoma State) was the beneficiary of all the offense, allowing one run in 5.1 innings for the win. Mitchell Tyranski (Michigan State) shined in relief, striking out five in 3.2 scoreless innings. Y-D is 13-6-4 and holds a seven-point cushion for the top spot in the East.

Cotuit 4, Harwich 1

Anthony Veneziano (Coastal Carolina) pitched six dominant innings to lead Cotuit past Harwich. Coming off a good outing in his second start of the summer July 1, Veneziano allowed just one hit and struck out five in six scoreless frames for the win. Stephen Schoch (UMBC), Joseph Walsh (Boston College) and Garrett Gayle (Rice) finished it off for him. Michael Toglia (UCLA) led the offense with his third home run, finishing with two RBI. Cory Wood (Coastal Carolina) helped out his college teammate with two hits and two runs scored.

What to Watch

Orleans won both games of a July 4 series with rival Chatham and will try to make it three in a row when it visits Veterans Field tonight.

RELATED POSTS