Sunday’s results cemented the playoff field for the West Division.
Cotuit beat Bourne to secure a spot and eliminate the Braves. That result also clinched a spot for Falmouth, who then won anyway and moved into a tie for second place.
Wareham and Hyannis had already clinched spots, so the four-team playoff bracket will have the Gatemen, Harbor Hawks, Commodores and Kettleers.
Cotuit had missed a chance to knock Bourne back three days earlier, when it lost a 7-5 decision to the Braves. The Kettleers rebounded with a win over Orleans then rolled past the Braves in the rematch, winning 8-2.
Peyton Burdick (Wright State) led the offensive attack. After his three-home run opening night, Burdick had gone quiet but has been hot lately. Sunday, he went 4-for-4 with a double, a triple and four RBI. Jonathan Robertson (Creighton) added three hits and two RBI, while Duke Ellis (Texas) went 3-for-5 and drove in one run.
Griffin McLarty (College of Charleston) allowed one run in four innings, and the bullpen carried the torch the rest of the way. Ryan Lefner (St. Louis) earned the win. Joseph Walsh (Boston College) and Garrett Gayle (Rice) delivered scoreless outings to short-circuit any hopes of a Bourne comeback.
Falmouth 6, Chatham 1
Falmouth trailed 1-0 for most of the game but rallied with a five-run seventh inning for a win over Chatham. The big blow was a Kyle Stowers (Stanford) three-run double. Matt Wallner (Southern Mississippi) and Cameron Cannon (Arizona) added run-scoring hits. Wallner finished 3-for-5 with two RBI. Tyler Dyson (Florida) allowed one run in four innings before a dominant relief performance by Brent Killam (Georgetown). Killam struck out seven of the 13 batters he faced in four shutout innings. Jack Little (Stanford) struck out the side in the ninth to finish off the win. For Chatham, Alek Manoah (West Virginia) struck out six in five scoreless innings before the bullpen ran into trouble. Manoah now leads the league in strikeouts with 48.
Wareham 10, Hyannis 6
Wareham pounded 15 hits and held the Harbor Hawks scoreless until the eighth inning for a key win in the race for first place. The Gatemen now hold a four-point lead over Hyannis and Falmouth, who are tied for second. Austin Shenton (Florida International) led the offense with the best day of an already tremendous summer. Shenton went 3-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI. Ryan Kreidler (UCLA) also went deep, while Jakob Goldfarb (Oregon) had three hits. Oliver Dunn (Utah) added two hits and two RBI. Making his first start after 10 relief appearances, Zach Hart (Franklin Pierce) was great for the Gatemen, allowing just two hits in five scoreless innings.
Y-D 8, Harwich 1
A night after wrapping up first place, the Red Sox kept rolling. More interesting is what one of their top players did. Noah Campbell (South Carolina) went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. He has just now accumulated enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title and he may win it – he’s now hitting .406 with three games remaining. Zach Ashford (Pepperdine) also had a big day for the Sox, going 4-for-5 with two RBI. Matthew Dyer (Arizona) added three hits and Zach Zubia (Texas) homered. Nathan Wiles (Oklahoma) allowed one run in five innings in his best start of the summer to earn the win.
Brewster 4, Orleans 3
The Whitecaps traded places with Orleans, climbing out of the basement and into playoff contention. Three runs in the seventh inning erased a 3-1 deficit for the Whitecaps. Hunter Bishop (Arizona State) delivered the big hit with a two-run homer, and Ray Alejo (Central Florida) gave the Whitecaps the lead with a home run of his own. Chris Wright (Bryant) struck out four over 2.2 scoreless innings of relief to protect the lead and seal the win. Brewster’s rally spoiled a strong start by Kevin Kelly (James Madison), who allowed one run in six innings and took over the league lead in ERA.
What to Watch
Only two games on the schedule tonight, but both will have playoff implications as the last spot in the East remains up for grabs. Brewster visits Cotuit and Orleans is at Hyannis.
Alejo’s HR was an inside-the-park job. Orleans LF Jaxx Groshans made an ill-advised attempt to catch the liner and it rolled all the way to the fence.