Cotuit’s Nick Gonzales (New Mecixo State) was named the Cape League’s MVP award winner before Saturday’s playoff game against Wareham.
If we’re picking an MVP of the ensuing game, Gonzales would have to share it with a lot of his teammates.
The Kettleers smashed Wareham 22-2 at Lowell Park, tying their best of three divisional round series at one game apiece and doing so in emphatic fashion. Cotuit had 18 hits, 10 of which went for extra bases. Four players homered and every player in the starting lineup had at least one RBI. Eleven of the 12 hitters who played for Cotuit scored a run.
The 22 runs are the highest total in the league this season.
Matthew Mervis (Duke), Casey Schmitt (San Diego State), Parker Chavers (Coastal Carolina) and hometown kid Cody Pasic (Maine), with Pasic and Mervis driving in three runs each and Chavers and Schmitt knocking home two. Oraj Anu (Wallace CC) didn’t homer but had two doubles and finished 3-for-4 with five RBI. Donta Williams (Arizona) added three hits and three RBI. And, oh yeah, the MVP had a hit, an RBI and two runs scored.
A day after giving up eight runs in a game-one loss, Cotuit pitchers didn’t need 22 runs of support. Sean Sullivan (Cal) scattered eight hits and allowed one run in five innings for the win.
Harwich 4, Chatham 2
Late in the regular season, Harwich won two straight games against Chatham, part of a strong finish. And now they’ve won two in a row over the Anglers again, with this round earning them a sweep into the East Division finals. The Mariners scored all the runs they would need in a four-run second inning. Riley Tirotta (Dayton) and Dylan Neuse (Texas Tech) delivered the offense with two-run singles in the big inning. Antonio Menendez (Wake Forest) made the most of the early lead, striking out seven in six innings of one-hit, shutout ball. Chatham, which had been no-hit in game one, finally found its offense with a Cooper Davis (Vanderbilt) RBI double in the eighth and a Kaden Polcovich (Northwest Florida) home run in the ninth, but the comeback stopped there. Connor Sechler (Missouri State) stranded the tying runs on base to seal the win. This marks the second consecutive year that the East No. 1 seed has been ousted in the first round. Y-D lost to Brewster last year.
Y-D 11, Orleans 7
Another sweep in the East and another lower-seeded team moving on as No. 3 Y-D beats No. 4 Orleans. The Firebirds led the league in ERA in the regular season but just didn’t have it in this series as Y-D totaled 18 runs in two games. The Red Sox actually trailed 4-0 after two innings in the clincher but surged from there. Brad Beesley (Cal Poly) led the way with three hits, four runs scored and two RBI. Noah Cardenas (UCLA) added four hits and an RBI, Riley King (Georgia) had three hits and an RBI and Tate Samuelson (Cal Poly) knocked two hits and two RBI. Late addition Jack Jett (Hofstra), making just his second appearance of the summer, allowed one run in five innings of relief to keep Orleans at bay.
Bourne 3, Falmouth 1
Two sweeps in the East. Two game threes in the West. Bourne toppled top-seed Falmouth to stay alive, rallying from a 1-0 hole with three runs in the sixth inning and somehow allowing just the one run despite giving up 10 hits. An error by Falmouth allowed two runs to score in the sixth, and Joshua Madole (UNC Greensboro) added an insurance run with an RBI single. Jared Poland (Louisville) and Kieran Shaw (Harvard) combined on four shutout innings of relief. Mac Lardner (Gonzaga) allowed one run on nine hits (!) in five innings. Falmouth left at least one runner on base in six of nine innings.
What to Watch
Game three in Falmouth is at 6 p.m., and the decisive game in Wareham is at 6:30.