Noah Campbell (South Carolina) made his Cape League debut for Y-D in a doubleheader against Cotuit June 17. He went 0-for-3 in the first game and 0-for-1 in the second. Y-D lost both game, falling to 2-4-1.
Campbell and the Red Sox have both been on a different trajectory since.
Campbell owns a 16-game hitting streak and the Red Sox are 12-3-1 in those games. Overall, they’re 13-4-3 since the doubleheader loss.
There are many reasons for Y-D’s rise to the top of the East – they own the best team batting average in the league – but Campbell has stood out with his consistency. A 19th-round pick out of high school, he headed to South Carolina, where he batted .270/.372/.380 in 47 games this spring.
His Cape League success is especially impressive given his age. Plenty of players who have gone on to very good careers struggled when they took on the Cape League after their freshman seasons, but Campbell has thrived.
He shook off the doubleheader start with a 1-for-4 performance three days later and has logged at least one hit in every game since. His batting average sits at .385, good for third in the league.
Thursday, Campbell went 1-for-3 and hit his third home run of the summer as Y-D beat Orleans 11-8. It was his second home run in the last three games, and it provided a spark, staking Y-D to a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Andrew Daschbach (Stanford) also went deep for his fourth homer of the year. Jonathan DeLuca (Oregon) added three hits and Zach Ashford (Fresno State) scored three runs. Quin Cotton (Grand Canyon) had two hits, a run scored and an RBI.
Tommy Mace (Florida) allowed three earned runs in five innings for the win.
Y-D currently owns a six-point edge at the top of the East standings. As long as Campbell keeps hitting, they may keep winning.
Falmouth 4, Hyannis 3
Falmouth blew a 3-0 lead in the top of the ninth but erased that with a walk-off in the bottom half. Maverick Handley (Stanford) played hero, doubling to score Logan Davidson (Clemson) with the winning run. Davis Sims (Murray State), Edouard Julien (Auburn) and Will Brennan (Kansas State) added RBI for the Commodores. Mitchell Stone (Oklahoma State) went five shutout innings before the Hyannis rally, which was powered by RBI from Will Holland (Auburn), Eric Rivera (Florida Atlantic) and Adam Elliott (Louisville). Falmouth has won two in a row and is tied with Bourne for third place in the West, three points behind second-place Hyannis.
Cotuit 2, Wareham 2
Cotuit rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth and the teams played one more inning before darkness forced an ending. Brady Smith (Florida), who has a hit in six of his seven games since arriving in Cotuit, delivered the game-tying RBI single in the ninth, plating Ryan Reynolds (Texas). Stephen Schoch (UMBC) logged his eighth consecutive scoreless relief outing to keep the game tied in the 10th. Ryan Lefner (St. Louis) was also impressive in relief with three shutout innings. Starter John Baker (Ball State) allowed two runs in five innings and struck out four. Zach Humphreys (TCU) had three hits, including a home run, for Cotuit. Isaac Collins (Creighton) had three hits for Wareham.
Chatham 5, Bourne 3
Three Chatham pitchers combined to allow just four hits and the Anglers made an early lead stand up for a win over Bourne. Austin Bergner (North Carolina) struck out eight and didn’t allow an earned run in 5.2 innings. Troy Miller (Michigan) went 2.1 hitless frames – the second time he hasn’t surrendered a hit in as many appearances – and Greg Veliz (Miami) pitched the ninth for his third save. Michael Busch (North Carolina) hit a two-run home run in the first inning to stake Chatham to the lead. Colin Simpson (Oklahoma State) and John Rave (Illinois State) added RBI.
Harwich 7, Brewster 5
Harwich racked up 13 hits in a win over Brewster. Tanner Morris led the charge, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. Ben Norman (Iowa) went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Andre Lipcius (Tennessee) went 2-for-5 with one run driven in. Jorge La Sorsa (St. John’s) earned the win with four strong innings of relief and George Kirby (Elon) picked up his first save.
What to Watch
Bourne has a chance to inch closer to Hyannis as it hosts the Harbor Hawks tonight.