Small Ball, Big Play

YD13_coleperagine — Y-D's Cole Peragine makes a play at second earlier this summer.

The Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox are the league’s best hitting team, and for a while there, they were playing like a squad that was exclusively the league’s best hitting team – either turning in blowout wins or finding themselves in slugfests.

On Saturday night, they were laying down squeeze bunts and flashing the leather so well that they ended up on ESPN.

The Red Sox rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat Brewster 4-3. The tying and go-ahead runs both came home on safety squeeze bunts by Andrew Daniel. In the ninth, Trevor Mitsui (Washington) hit what looked like the game-tying home run for the Whitecaps, but Y-D center-fielder Brandon Downes (Virginia) made a leaping catch to pull it back and keep the Red Sox in front. (You can watch the catch here.)

The play by Downes was so good that ESPN picked it up for SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays. That’s the first time I can remember that a Cape League play has ended up on the Top 10. Kudos to Downes for making the play and to the Y-D broadcast crew for capturing it.

The squeeze bunts won’t be making ESPN, but they were key plays too. After the Red Sox got their first two runs on an RBI double by Taylor White (UNLV) and an RBI single by Taylor Smart (Tennessee), they went to small ball. Alex Blandino (Stanford) scored on Daniel’s bunt single in the sixth. In the eighth, with D.J. Stewart (Florida State) on third, Daniel dropped down another bunt, beat it out and watches Stewart scamper home with the go-ahead run.

The small-ball success made a winner out of reliever Darrell Hunter (Oregon), who struck out four in three spotless innings. Y-D is now 6-7-1.

Bourne 4, Cotuit 3

The hyped-up pitching match-up between Alex Haines and Ryan Kellogg ended up as a footnote when Bourne (7-7) rallied from a two-run deficit with three in the ninth and walked off with a 4-3 win. Mason Robbins (Southern Miss), who had a flair for the dramatic last summer, started the ninth with a double and came home on an error. A sac fly by Tyler Kuresa (UC Santa Barbara) brought home the tying run before Pat Kelly (Nebraska) singled home Bobby Boyd (West Virginia) with the winning run. Clint Freeman (East Tennessee State) went 2-for-3 to lead the Braves offense. Kellogg (Arizona State) struck out three and gave up one earned in five innings. Haines (Seton Hill) struck out three in four scoreless frames and still hasn’t given up a run this summer.

Chatham 8, Harwich 4

The Anglers (8-5-1) stopped Harwich’s three-game winning streak with an 8-4 victory. Matthew Gage (Siena) struck out four and gave up two runs in five innings to pick up his first win and Jacob Dorris (Texas A&M Corpus Christ) worked two scoreless innings for the save. Dante Flores (USC) led the offense, going 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Cal State Fullerton standout J.D. Davis, who was 1-for-9 since arriving on the Cape, broke out with a 2-for-4 night. Connor Joe (San Diego) and Blake Butera (Boston College) also drove in runs. Harwich (9-5) got three hits from Branden Cogswell (Virginia) but couldn’t get back into the game after falling behind early.

Falmouth 9, Wareham 1

The Commodores (9-5) stretched their win streak to three and matched Cotuit and Harwich for the league’s best record with a blowout win over the Gatemen (2-12). Falmouth has won six of seven overall. Craig Schlitter (Bryant) was dominant on the mound, striking out three and giving up just a run on three hits in seven innings. Sam Gillikin (Auburn) went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI to lead a 13-hit attack. Joseph Maggi (Arizona) also had three hits, Kevin Newman (Arizona) had two and Casey Gillaspie (Wichita State) drove in two runs.

What to Watch

Two good match-ups on tap in the West. Bourne and Cotuit will meet for the second straight night. Austin Gomber (Florida Atlantic), who was part of a combined no-hitter the last time he faced Cotuit, gets the ball again for the Braves, while Christian Cecilio (San Francisco) is slated to start for Cotuit. In Falmouth, the Commodores host 8-4 Hyannis at 5:30 p.m. John Means (West Virginia), who has a 1.86 ERA in two games, goes for Falmouth. Andrew Thome (North Dakota), who’s 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA, gets the ball for Hyannis.

June 27, 2013July 5, 2013

Week 2: Cotuit Wins Fight to Top

COT13_maxschrock — Max Schrock slides into second in Cotuit's game with Chatham.

Four teams were considered for the top spot in the second edition of the power rankings, and you could make a case for or against all of them. The Kettleers held pretty steady after a great first week and seem to have the fewest chinks in the armor.

RANK	TEAM	RECORD	THE SKINNY
1	Cotuit Kettleers	8-4	The Kettleers checked in at No. 2 on this list last week, behind only Chatham. With the Anglers hitting the skids, Cotuit edges its way to the top. It wasn’t a great week for the Kettleers, who went 2-3 – and lost to both Harwich and Chatham – but they beat Hyannis and continued to flash the steady play they’ve shown all season. They rank second in the league in hitting and have the fifth-best team ERA. Mike Ford continues to rake, high-upside outfielder Rhett Wiseman is heating up and two Cotuit starters have ERA’s under one.
2	Harwich Mariners	8-4	The Mariners were in the meat of the curve last week but promptly went 5-1 and jumped to the top of the East division standings. They lead the league in ERA and their starting pitching has been tremendous. The only thing keeping them from the top of the rankings is a consistent offense. Despite having the league’s leading hitter in Aaron Barbosa, the Mariners are hitting only .226, ninth in the league. With the bats they have in the fold, though, there’s nowhere to go but up.
3	Chatham Anglers	7-4-1	This time last week, Chatham was 6-1 and riding high. A 1-3-1 week has dropped them back to the pack, but the Anglers did finish the week better than they started it. After a 1-0 loss and a 6-1 loss, they lost in the late-innings to Orleans, beat Cotuit and tied Y-D. With Andrew McGee at the top of the rotation and the offense looking pretty consistent, I think the Anglers are poised to stay in the top half of the league all summer.
4	Hyannis Harbor Hawks	8-3	The Harbor Hawks were way down the list last week after a couple of brutal games, but they’ve since caught fire, winning five of six and sprinting to the best record in the league. The knock is that they’re not hitting that well – their .218 average is worst in the league – and they’re winning by the skin of their teeth. Six of eight wins have been by one run. The flip side of that is the Harbor Hawks might just be the kind of team that finds a way to win more often than not.
5	Falmouth Commodores	7-5	The Commodores were hot this week, too, going 4-1 to jump into third place in the West. Their only loss on the week was to division-leading Hyannis. As was the case last week, you can easily envision the Commodores being higher on this list, based on their numbers. Rhys Hoskins is probably the early MVP favorite and the pitching staff leads the league in strikeouts.
6	Orleans Firebirds	6-6	The Firebirds went 3-3 in week one and 3-3 again in week two, so it’s hard to put them anywhere but right in the middle. Orleans leads the league in home runs, and the middle of the order has been dynamic. Pitching has been a little more up-and-down, with the Firebirds holding a 3.51 team ERA.
7	Bourne Braves	5-7	Bourne has been very streaky thus far, following up a five-game winning streak with a three-game losing skid. The pitching staff has been great, with the league’s second-best ERA, and there’s potential for it to get better with the starting rotation looking as deep as any in the league. The Braves still need more production from the offense, though. They have just 13 extra-base hits.
8	Y-D Red Sox	4-7-1	Y-D leads the league in hitting, but pitching has been a pretty serious struggle. The Red Sox have a league-worst 5.85 ERA and gave up a combined 40 runs in one three-game stretch this week. They do have an ace in Erick Fedde, but until the rest of the staff settles in, it’s going to be an adventure. The Red Sox can certainly hit, though, with recent addition D.J. Stewart buttressing an already strong lineup.
9	Brewster Whitecaps	3-8	The Whitecaps have had their struggles, but a slugfest win over Y-D and a victory over Wareham push them out of the basement. They’ve shown the ability to score some runs.
10	Wareham Gatemen	1-5	It’s been a very tough go for the reigning champs, who are struggling to keep their heads above water while waiting for some reinforcements. The Gatemen went 1-5 for the second straight week and have the league’s worst record. The pitching staff ranks eighth in ERA. On the offensive side, the Gatemen have a better team batting average than two teams but continue to show very little pop. The Gatemen have only seven extra-base hits in 12 games.

June 26, 2013June 26, 2013

It’s a Start

HAR13_keatonhaack — Keaton Haack is one of many Harwich starting pitchers who have been dominant this year.

The Harwich Mariners lead the league with a 2.04 ERA. It’s an impressive number. Look a little deeper, and it’s even more impressive.

Harwich’s starting pitching has been unbelievably good.

Last night, Jalen Beeks (Arkansas) went six shutout innings as the Mariners cruised to a 6-1 victory over Brewster. That was the sixth time in 11 games that a Harwich starter has allowed no earned runs.

And the numbers don’t end there. In the team’s seven wins, Harwich starters have given up a total of three earned runs, and every starter has gone at least five innings. The starters’ ERA in the team’s victories is 0.67.

Even some of the losses have featured strong performances. Pat Connaughton (Notre Dame) and Chandler Shepherd (Kentucky) both had scoreless outings in losses. In fact, in 11 games, Harwich has had only one start that could be called bad – a three-inning outing by Sam Howard (Georgia Southern), who gave up four earned runs.

Aaron Bummer (Nebraska) and Shepherd have been at the head of the class. Both have made two starts without allowing an earned run. Beeks, who was a reliever at Arkansas, has done his part as well. He allowed two earned runs in his first start before dominating last night. He gave up just two hits in six innings.

With pitching like that, the offense doesn’t have to out-slug people, which is good considering Harwich’s team batting average is .218. That offense should get better as some recent arrivals settle in, but even now, the Mariners have been steadily taking control of games. Derek Fisher (Virginia) went 2-for-5 with three RBI on Tuesday, while Ian Happ (Cincinnati) drove in two and Aaron Barbosa (Northeastern) had three hits.

The bullpen got in on the act too, with three pitchers combining to allow just a run in finishing Beeks’s strong performance.

As long as that keeps up – and the Mariners keep finishing – look out.

Because it sure looks like the starts are going to be good.

Hyannis 4, Bourne 3

The league-leading Harbor Hawks (8-3) played extra-innings for the second night in a row and won again, edging the Braves (5-7) on a walk-off sacrifice fly by Skyler Ewing (Rice). Kyle Freeland (Evansville) was dominant on the mound for the Harbor Hawks, striking out eight in seven scoreless innings. The Braves made their comeback in the eighth and ninth thanks in large part to two home runs by Max Pentecost (Kennesaw State), who is the first Cape Leaguer in 2013 to hit two homers in the same game. But Hyannis came back to life in the 10th, with Landon Curry (Indiana State) singling, getting to second on an error, stealing third and scoring on Ewing’s fly ball. Hyannis has played six one-run games, and amazingly, has won all of them.

Falmouth 4, Orleans 0

Falmouth (7-5) shut down a hot Orleans (6-5) team for its fourth victory in five games. Trey Teakell (TCU) went seven shutout innings, striking out four and scattering six hits for his second win of the year. In both victories, he hasn’t given up a run. Kevin McKanna (Rice) finished the job with two scoreless innings. Kevin Cron (TCU) and Conner Hale (State College of Florida) led the offense with two hits and two RBI each. Cron hit his league-leading sixth double.

Cotuit 9, Wareham 2

Nobody has won more lopsided games than Cotuit, and the Kettleers (8-4) did it again with an easy victory over the Gatemen (2-10). Ben Smith (Coastal Carolina) struck out eight and gave up one earned run in six innings. His Coastal Carolina teammate Patrick Corbett did the rest, allowing just one hit in three scoreless frames. Rhett Wiseman (Vanderbilt), who started the year 0-for-6, had his third multi-hit game in the last six, going 2-for-3 with three RBI. He’s now hitting .310. Kevin Bradley (Clemson), who had been off to a rough start, matched his season total for hits with a 3-for-3, two RBI night.

Chatham 5, Y-D 5

The Red Sox (4-7-1) forced extra innings with two runs in the ninth, and the teams only got one more inning in before darkness forced the game to end in a 5-5 tie. Chatham (7-4-1) took a 5-1 lead in the sixth but watched the Red Sox get two in the sixth and the two in the ninth to tie it. D.J. Stewart (Florida State) hit a two-run homer in the ninth, his first of the year, to force extras. Taylor Smart (Tennessee) also had an RBI for the Red Sox, while Dante Flores (USC) went 4-for-4 for the Anglers.

What to Watch

Just one game on the schedule tonight as Harwich visits Orleans. Nick Howard (Virginia), a two-way player who has only hit so far, is scheduled to make his pitching debut for the Mariners. Interestingly, he’ll square off with his Virginia teammate Josh Sborz, who has a 4.15 ERA in two relief appearances for Orleans.

June 25, 2013June 25, 2013

Birds on Fire

ORL13_zachfish — Zach Fish homered last night and has been part of a huge stretch for the middle of the Orleans batting order.

This time last year, the Harwich Mariners were already well on their way to a historic season of long balls.

The 2013 Orleans Firebirds will not match them – they’re not even a third of the way to Harwich’s one-month total – but in the return of the pitcher-friendly Cape League, they’re doing their best.

The Firebirds lead the league with eight home runs, and the middle of their order is steadily emerging as the best in the league. Thanks to a home run by Zach Fish (Oklahoma State) and another solid night by the rest of the big bats, Orleans knocked off Harwich – the hottest team in the East – with a 6-2 victory. The Firebirds are now 6-4, tied with Harwich for second place and a half-game back of Chatham.

The Firebirds have won two in a row and three of four, a stretch that started with a 17-12 mauling of Y-D.

Their three biggest bats have done a lot of the damage. Over the last four games, Jordan Luplow (Fresno State), Chris Marconcini (Duke) and Fish have hit .388 with four home runs, two doubles, 11 runs scored and 19 RBI. Marconcini, who hit eight home runs for Duke this spring, has been the best of the bunch, going 9-for-18 with two homers, five runs and nine RBI. He leads the league in hitting with a .376 average. He’s tied for second in home runs and ranks second in RBI.

On Monday, he took a backseat to Fish, whose third inning two-run homer put the Firebirds in control. Luplow and Marconcini each added a hit, while Austin Davidson (Pepperdine), another key contributor went 2-for-4 with three runs scored. Recent arrival Vince Conde (Vanderbilt) chipped in two hits and an RBI.

Corey Miller (Pepperdine) got the win for the Firebirds with five strong innings.

Chatham 6, Cotuit 4

Cotuit took Chatham’s spot atop Perfect Game’s latest summer collegiate league rankings, but the Anglers got the best of the Kettleers for the second time this season. The teams now have matching 7-4 records. Chatham starter Andrew McGee (Monmouth) continued his early-season dominance, striking out eight and allowing just one earned run in seven innings. That was the first run he’s allowed all year, and he leads the league in strikeouts with 20. Connor Joe (San Diego) and Jimmy Pickens (Michigan State) each hit home runs to lead the Chatham offense. Josh Eldridge (Old Dominion) drove in two key runs in the ninth as Chatham held off a late charge by the Kettleers. Max Schrock (South Carolina) had three hits to lead Cotuit.

Hyannis 6, Falmouth 4

The Harbor Hawks trailed 4-1 into the sixth but rallied to tie it then won in the 11th inning and are now 7-3, a half-game ahead of Cotuit and Chatham for the best mark in the league. Skyler Ewing (Rice) doubled in the tying run in the ninth. In the 11th, Tyler Spoon (Arkansas) knocked in the go-ahead run. Eric Eck (Wofford) got the win for the Harbor Hawks and Andrew Istler (Duke) came on in the bottom of the 11th to get the save. Steve Wilkerson (Clemson), Ryan Padilla (New Mexico) and Drew Stankiewicz (Arizona State) all had two hits for the Harbor Hawks. Leon Byrd, Jr. (Rice) went 4-for-5 with two RBI and two stolen bases for the Commodores (6-5).

Y-D 9, Bourne 1

After giving up 40 runs in its last three games, Y-D (4-7) got a much-needed quality pitching performance from Erick Fedde (UNLV) in an easy win over Bourne (5-6). Fedde, who had already turned in two solid starts, gave up just one run on five hits in seven innings and struck out five. He has a 0.92 ERA and ranks second in the league in strikeouts. The Red Sox offense – which has been steady but just unable to keep up in some slugfests – did the rest, scoring five runs in the first and cruising from there. Taylor Gushue (Florida) went 2-for-5 with two RBI and Brandon Downes (Virginia) also drove in two runs. Andrew Daniel (San Diego), Robert Pehl (Washington) and D.J. Stewart (Florida State) all had two hits. Bourne had won five straight before blowout losses the last two nights.

Brewster 6, Wareham 4

The Whitecaps (3-7) and Gatemen (2-9) got together for the second straight night, but this time Brewster prevailed. Jose Brizuela (Florida State) and Keaton Aldridge (Memphis) each had three hits and two RBI for the Whitecaps, while Cole Lankford (Texas A&M) had three hits and knocked in one. Corey Taylor (Texas Tech) got his second win in three days with two scoreless innings of relief. Brad Schreiber (Purdue) picked up the save.

What to Watch

Y-D could use another solid pitching performance and may have the right guy on the hill as it hosts Chatham at 5 p.m. Jeremy Null, who ranked 17th in the nation in strikeouts at Western Carolina, will make his first start after three relief appearances. Aaron Garza (Houston) goes for Chatham.

June 22, 2013June 22, 2013

Party Like It’s 2012

ORL_chrismarconcini — Chris Marconcini had six RBI as Orleans out-slugged Y-D 17-12.

So. About that lack of offense.

As expected this year, one of the league’s early storylines is the return to typical Cape League offensive numbers after last year’s inflation. For one night, though, Orleans and Y-D didn’t get the memo. The Firebirds won 17-12 at Red Wilson Field.

The combined run total was more than the season run total of eight Cape League teams. The Firebirds and Red Sox also combined for five home runs, which is more than the season total for nine Cape League teams. And the night’s biggest star, Chris Marconcini (Duke), had six RBI, more than anyone in the league had for the season coming into last night.

It was that kind of night.

The fireworks started early. Orleans scored four runs in the top of the first on a Zach Fish (Oklahoma State) grand slam. The score was actually 4-4 going into the fifth before the Firebirds delivered two more big innings, getting five in the fifth and four in the sixth.

The Firebirds got their second grand slam from Marconcini, who finished 3-for-5 with the home run and six RBI. Jordan Betts (Duke) also homered for the second time in as many games.

Y-D did its part for the slugfest too. The Red Sox got home runs from Robert Pehl (Washington) and Taylor Gushue (Florida), while D.J. Stewart (Florida State) had two doubles and two RBI. Trailing 17-6, the Red Sox scored six runs in the ninth and the Firebirds committed three errors in the inning, but the hole was too big.

Orleans held on and for one night, celebrated a whole lot of offense.

Harwich 3, Cotuit 2

Harwich (4-3) got no-hit by Cotuit’s Chris Ellis (Ole Miss) for six innings but broke out for three runs in the final three innings to knock off the Kettleers 3-2. The Kettleers (6-2) pushed one across in the ninth, but Chris Oliver (Arkansas) struck out Steven Duggar (Clemson) to end it. That made a winner out of reliever Jonathan Frebis (Middle Tennessee State). Derek Fisher (Virginia) had the first hit for Harwich, an RBI double that came after Branden Cogswell (Virginia) had reached on an error. A single, two errors and a sacrifice fly by Mark Zagunis (Virginia Tech) plated two runs in the eighth. The Kettleers made four errors, but Mike Ford (Princeton) was a bright spot, going 3-for-4. He now leads the league in hitting at .476.

Hyannis 1, Chatham 0

Just three days after losing to Chatham 10-0, Hyannis (5-2) shut down the Anglers for a 1-0 victory, handing Chatham (6-2) its second consecutive 1-0 loss. Cy Sneed (Dallas Baptist) struck out three and gave up just two hits in seven scoreless innings. Mike Gunn (Arkansas) and Sarkis Ohanian (Duke) worked the final two innings without allowing a hit. Lukas Schiraldi (Navarro College) struck out five in six innings for Chatham, but Hyannis got to him for one run that proved to be enough. Austin Slater (Stanford) knocked in the only run with one of his two hits. Jay Baum (Clemson) scored the lone run.

Bourne 3, Brewster 0

The Braves (4-4) won their fourth straight game with their second consecutive shutout. Arizona State star Ryan Kellogg didn’t disappoint in his Cape League debut, tossing six shutout innings with three strikeouts. Jack English (Florida Gulf Coast) struck out four in two innings of relief and Trace Dempsey (Ohio State) struck out two in the ninth to pick up the save. Eric Fisher (Arkansas) led the offense, going 3-for-4 with two RBI. Bobby Boyd (West Virginia) added two hits and Clint Freeman (East Tennessee State) had two RBI.

Falmouth 8, Wareham 3

The Commodores (4-4) pounded out 12 hits en route to a victory over the Gatemen (1-7). Rhys Hoskins (Sacramento State) led the big night, going 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Kevin Cron (TCU) also had two RBI, Kevin Newman (Arizona) had three hits and Casey Gillaspie (Wichita State) had two. Hunter Brothers (Lipscomb) got the win in relief for the Commodores.

What to Watch

It should be a great pitching match-up in Bourne, where the red hot Braves send Austin Gomber (Florida Atlantic) to the mound against Cotuit’s Alex Haines (Seton Hill). Gomber struck out 103 this spring, while Haines was the NECBL’s top prospect last year and a 33rd round pick of the Rockies this year.

June 20, 2013June 20, 2013

A New Streak

BOU12_jaronlong — Jaron Long, pictured last year, tossed five strong innings as the Braves knocked off Chatham on Wednesday.

On Sunday, the Bourne Braves were 0-4.

On Wednesday, they improved to 3-4 and celebrated an impressive victory. The Braves knocked off Chatham 1-0, ending the Anglers’ run of six straight wins to open the season.

Four pitchers combined to shut-out the Anglers, who lead the league in hitting and hadn’t scored fewer than four runs in any game this year. Jaron Long (Ohio State), who had a 3.46 ERA for the Braves last year, made his return and tossed five shutout innings, scattering five hits and striking out seven. Ryan Harris (Florida) allowed one hit in two innings, before Nigel Nootbaar (USC) and Trace Dempsey (Ohio State) finished it off with a hitless inning each.

Aaron Garza (Houston) pitched well for Chatham, allowing one run in five innings, but that one run was the difference. The Braves scored it in the third, when Max Pentecost (Kennesaw State) – who finished 3-for-3 – singled, stole second and raced home on a two-out RBI single by Mason Robbins (Southern Miss). Pentecost is now hitting .389.

Just like that, the Cape League has no more undefeated teams. I’m sure Chatham will be fine – no shame in ending a six-game winning streak with a 1-0 loss.

The real takeaway is that Bourne is in a surge of its own – and could be primed for more. In their three straight wins, the Braves have pounded 39 hits. Their pitching staff, which already ranks second in ERA, is about to get better, with Austin Gomber (Florida Atlantic) and Ryan Kellogg (Arizona State) scheduled to make their first starts in the next two games. Gomber went 8-4 with a 2.97 ERA and 103 strikeouts for Florida Atlantic this spring. Kellogg, a freshman, was 11-1 with a 3.15 ERA for the Sun Devils.

Look out for the Braves.

Cotuit 6, Orleans 3

While Chatham saw its streak end, Cotuit kept winning. The Kettleers have won five in a row and now own the same 6-1 record as the Anglers. Ben Smith (Coastal Carolina) went five strong innings for the win and Brian Miller, the Vanderbilt closer this spring, picked up his first save of the summer. At the plate, Mike Ford (Princeton) continued his tremendous start with a 3-for-5 day. He’s now hitting .412. Elliott Caldwell (Spartanburg Methodist), who’s headed to South Carolina next year, made his second start of the year and blasted a home run. Hunter Cole (Georgia) and Rhett Wiseman (Vanderbilt) each had two hits. Cole has four multi-hit games this summer, most in the league. In a losing effort, Orleans (3-3) actually hit three home runs, the first time this summer that a team has hit more than one homer in a game. Will Fulmer (Montevallo), Jordan Luplow (Fresno State) and Jordan Betts (Duke) hit the homers.

Brewster 7, Hyannis 0

The Whitecaps (1-5) broke into the win column with a shutout of the Harbor Hawks, who have been shut-out twice in a row after their 3-0 start. Justin Kamplain (Alabama) was dominant for the Whitecaps, striking out eight and giving up just two hits in six innings. His Alabama teammate Jonathan Keller added two scoreless frames and Brad Schreiber (Purdue) finished it off with a scoreless ninth. The seven runs were a season-high. Trevor Mitsui (Washington), Joe Chavez (UC Riverside) and Chris Mariscal (Fresno State) had a hit and an RBI each. Austin Bailey (San Diego) went 2-for-3.

Harwich 5, Wareham 1

Harwich (3-3) scored three in the first and never looked back en route to a win over the Gatemen (1-5). Making his final start before returning to South Bend, Notre Dame two-sport star Pat Connaughton struck out seven and gave up just one run in five innings for the win. Sean Fitzgerald (Notre Dame) and Ian Tompkins (Western Kentucky) finished it off. C.J. Hinojosa (Texas), who now has a four-game hitting streak, went 1-for-3 with two RBI. Tanner English (South Carolina) and Ben Moore (Alabama) drove in one run each. Derek Fisher (Virginia), the Northwoods League top prospect last summer, made his Cape debut and drove in a run.

Y-D 8, Falmouth 4

In a battle of teams that have been up-and-down, the Red Sox (3-4) broke out with all eight of their runs over the final four innings to beat the Commodores (3-4). Wayne Taylor (Stanford), who had only one hit in his first three games, led the charge by going 4-for-4 with an RBI. Cole Peragine (Stony Brook) went 2-for-3 and also knocked in a run. Matt Honchel (Miami of Ohio), Brandon Downes (Virginia) and Kyle Wood (Purdue) all had two hits each, while Florida State standout D.J. Stewart had a hit and a run scored in his Cape League debut. On the mound, Dan Altavilla (Mercyhurst) got the win in relief. Max Murphy (Bradley) knocked in two runs for the Commodores. Rhys Hoskins (Sacramento State) saw his season-long hitting streak come to an end with an 0-for-5.

What to Watch

Just one game on the schedule tonight as Hyannis hosts Wareham at 6 p.m. The Harbor Hawks will send UC Santa Barbara standout Austin Pettibone to the hill. He ranked 12th in the nation in innings pitched this spring and had a 2.98 ERA. The Wareham starter is TBA.