This is not new.

The Falmouth shortstop has tallied two hits in six of his last seven games, a serious hot streak that has raised his batting average from .294 to .347, good for third in the league. He slacked off and had a one hit in the one game that wasn’t a two-hit effort, but is still hitting .481 (13-27) in this stretch.

Cruz has had two strong seasons at Rice and has strong Major League bloodlines. His dad is Jose Cruz, Jr., and his grandfather is Jose Cruz. Trei has been drafted twice, in the 33rd round out of high school and in the 37th round this year as a draft-eligible sophomore.

If he opts to return to Rice, he’ll do it off a big summer, thanks to the hot streak. The two-hit performance Tuesday helped Falmouth beat West-leading Wareham 3-1. Cruz had an RBI, as did Baron Radcliff (Georgia Tech). Caleb Wurster (UConn) earned the win in relief.

Orleans 1, Cotuit 0

Four pitchers combined on Orleans’ league-best sixth shutout of the season. Jared Shuster (Wake Forest) struck out five and allowed three hits in five innings. Isaac Esqueda (USC), Chase Wallace (Tennessee) and Connor Pellerin (Tulane) did the rest, each of them facing the minimum over the final four innings. Sean Sullivan (Cal) matched them for Cotuit, striking out six in six shutout innings but Orleans touched up the bullpen for a run in the eighth. Pinch runner Zach Daniels (Tennessee) scored it on a wild pitch.

Chatham 7, Brewster 2

There was a bluegrass flavor as Chatham kept rolling with its fourth consecutive win. Kentucky’s Cole Ayers allowed one run in 4.1 innings and Wildcat teammate Mason Hazelwood picked up the win with 2.2 scoreless innings. Zach Cable (Oklahoma State) went the final two innings. Two runs in the first inning and three in the second staked the Wildcat pitchers to a lead they never relinquished. Cooper Davis (Vanderbilt) went 3-for-5 with an RBI, Alex Toral (Miami) stayed red-hot with his third straight two-RBI game, and Saul Garza (LSU) homered.

Y-D 9, Bourne 4

Chatham is hot, but Y-D is keeping pace, winning its third straight to remain two points back in the East. The Red Sox broke a 3-3 tie with six runs in the seventh inning. A two-run single by Brad Beesley (Cal Poly) and a two-run homer by Jack-Thomas Wold (UNLV) – his second homer in as many days – powered the breakthrough. Beesley finished with three hits, as did Joseph Hall (Clemson). For Bourne, Jud Fabian (Florida) hit his fifth home run, while Zavier Warren (Central Michigan) went deep for his third.

Harwich 4, Hyannis 3

Chris Galland (Boston College) drew a bases-loaded walk in the eighth inning to snap a 3-3 tie and send Harwich on its way to the victory. Armed with the lead, Will Heflin (Tennessee) struck out the side around a walk in the ninth to finish off the win. Tommy Vail (Notre Dame) was the winner in relief after striking out eight in 3.2 innings. Galland led the offense with two RBI. Jordan Westburg (Mississippi State) had two hits for Hyannis.

What to Watch

Falmouth will try to beat Wareham for a second straight night but will face an uphill battle against West Division all-star starter Ian Bedell (Missouri). Bedell, with his 0.70 ERA, will make his sixth start.

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