It seemed odd that Harwich had more players selected to the All-Star Game than any other team. Sure, there was talent, but the Mariners were three games under .500 when the all-star rosters were announced.
It all makes sense now.
The Mariners have put it all together in the playoffs and are on an unbeaten ride that will now steam into the Cape League championship series. They clinched their spot Wednesday night with a 5-1 win over the Y-D Red Sox that secured a second consecutive series sweep. Harwich also cruised past top-seeded Chatham.
The championship appearance will be Harwich’s first since 2011, which amounted to the longest title-series drought in the league. Every other team had made a finals appearance in the interim.
Y-D stood in Harwich’s way Wednesday and jumped to a 1-0 lead in the third, becoming the first team to score off Jacob Palisch (Stanford) since July 13.
But Palisch didn’t allow another run, and his team quickly took him off the hook, scoring the game-tying run in the fourth on a home run by Cory Acton (Florida). A sacrifice fly by Patrick Winkel (UConn) broke the tie in the seventh, and an RBI single by Michael Ludowig (Wake Forest) made it a two-run game. Hal Hughes (LSU) busted things open with a two-run homer.
Harwich hasn’t scored all that much in the playoffs – they’re hitting under .200 as a team in the postseason – but they haven’t needed to. And five runs were plenty on this night. After Palisch’s strong performance – six strikeouts and just the one run in six innings – Nick Stewart (James Madison) pitched three no-hit innings to finish off the win.
It’s on to the next round for the streaking Mariners.
Hey, Hey Cotuit
We don’t have to wait long for the finals matchup to get started, as Cotuit clinched the other spot when it finished off a sweep of Falmouth in the West finals.
The Kettleers are also streaking. They dropped their first game of the postseason to Wareham but have since won four straight. The last two were particularly impressive. Falmouth, of course, had the best record in the league and weren’t far removed from their remarkable 11-game win streak. But Cotuit handled the Commodores on back-to-back nights.
This time, Falmouth jumped out early with three runs in the top of the first inning, exactly what you want if you’re a team facing elimination. But they never added to their lead, and the Kettleers steadily chipped away. An RBI groundout by Cody Pasic (Maine) in the second plated one run. Casey Schmitt (San Diego State) scored another with an RBI double in the fifth.
And then it was the MVP’s turn.
Nick Gonzales (New Mexico State) sent Cotuit to the lead with one swing of the bat in the seventh, cranking a two-run homer that made it 4-3. Parker Chavers (Coastal Carolina) followed with a solo homer in the eighth, and the Kettleers were on their way.
Kyle Nicolas (Ball State) sealed the win with two scoreless innings, the end of a fantastic – and long – showing by the Cotuit bullpen. Christopher Holcomb (Tulane) came on in the first inning and went 3.2 scoreless frames. Evan Justice (NC State) followed with three hitless frames before Nicolas finished it out.
It’s tough to see a team like Falmouth go out. The Commodores have made so many runs in recent years as they try to snap what will now be a 40-year championship drought. This group was talented and fun to follow, but ultimately not the one to break through.
Cotuit is back to the finals for the first time since 2013.
The championship series begins Thursday in Harwich.
We were lucky to see the Cotuit/Falmouth finals game last evening at Lowell Park, a gem of a college baseball field.
Unfortunately, our enjoyment was partially spoiled by the rude hand clapping of a single individual who is old enough to have known better. I never knew that an adult man could think it’s cool to act like a fatuous teenage girl, but there you have it.
Congratulations to all the teams on a fine season, and best of luck with their college games and studies!