Bourne and Orleans won’t be in the playoffs, but both gave their home fans a lot to cheer about in their final games of the summer Thursday.
The Braves scored three runs in the eighth for a 7-6 win over first-place Wareham at Doran Park, while Orleans walked off with a 9-8 victory over Chatham in 10 innings at Veterans Field.
Bourne had lost five in a row and had to get past the division-leading Gatemen – who were still battling for seeding – to avoid a sixth. Trailing 6-4, they rallied with one swing of the bat, as Tyler Fitzgerald (Louisville) smashed a three-run homer to put his team ahead in the eighth. Jacob Wallace (UConn) then struck out the side around a single in the ninth to finish off the win.
It was fitting finish for those two Braves, in particular. Fitzgerald had two good summers in Bourne, leading the Braves’ playoff run last year and hitting .298 with two homers and 20 RBI this year. He went 3-for-5 in his final game.
Wallace finished the summer with a 0.00 ERA – and without even an unearned run crossing the plate. He saved six games while striking out 25 in 13.2 innings.
Wareham still ended up clinching first place thanks to a loss by Hyannis.
Orleans had been having an even tougher time than Bourne, riding a seven-game slide. Thursday, they fell behind 7-6 in the eighth but tied the game on an Eddie McCabe (Georgetown) RBI single. After Chatham went ahead again in the top of the 10th, J.J. Bleday tied the game on an RBI base hit, and Matt Fraizer (Arizona) won it with an RBI single.
Pat DeMarco (Vanderbilt) had four hits to lead the Firebirds, while McCabe – a late signee who will end up playing in just one Cape League game – went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.
Aaron Ochsenbein (Eastern Kentucky) earned the win in relief, ending a strong summer in which he struck out 43 in 23.2 innings. Kevin Kelly (James Madison) tossed two scoreless innings of relief, which earned him the league ERA title.
Y-D 9, Hyannis
The league’s top team flexed its muscle one last time before the postseason, mashing 13 hits against nine different Hyannis pitchers and getting some dominant pitching on their side. Andrew Daschbach (Stanford) went 3-for-5 with four RBI and Christian Koss (UC Irvine) had two RBI to lead the attack. Making just his second start, Brady Batten (Houston Baptist) went six shutout innings for the win. The loss wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the West for Hyannis. Matthew Barefoot (Campbell) went 1-for-3 for the Harbor Hawks to clinch the Cape League batting title. He finished with a .379 average.
Cotuit 5, Falmouth 4
Cotuit stopped Falmouth’s four-game winning streak and hit the playoffs on a high note. Michael Toglia (UCLA) went 2-for-2 with his seventh home run and Adam Oviedo (TCU) also went deep. Jonathan Robertson (Creighton) went 3-for-5. Joseph Walsh (Boston College) earned the win in relief, while Michael Young (Stonehill) tossed two scoreless innings in his first appearance for the Kettleers.
Harwich 7, Brewster 2
Harwich scored early and often and rode a strong start from their top reliever to a win over Brewster. Tanner Morris (Virginia) had three hits, Andre Lipcius (Tennessee) hit his fourth home run and Alex Tappen (Virginia) went 2-for-3 with two RBI in his first game with the Mariners. All-star reliever Andrew Misiaszek (Northeastern), who had a 0.93 ERA in 16 relief outings, allowed one run on two hits over five innings in his first start of the summer.
What to Watch
After a league-wide day off Friday, the playoffs get underway Saturday. It’ll Y-D vs. Brewster and Chatham vs. Harwich in the East. In the West, it’s Wareham vs. Cotuit and Hyannis vs. Falmouth.