Ronnie Dawson had two hits as Orleans topped Hyannis in a battle of first-place teams.

The Cape League season is about three weeks old, and in a rare feat for a league that’s always full of parity, the same two teams have been in first place in their divisions for most of that time. Hyannis has had at least a share of first since the first day of the season and has been alone at the top of the West division since day five. Orleans missed out on first in the East for a few days while Chatham and Brewster raced out, but the Firebirds have run away from the pack ever since a doubleheader sweep on the sixth day of the season.

And these two can barely get a leg up on each other. Hyannis won the first meeting between the two, while Orleans returned the favor Sunday with a 5-3 victory at Eldredge Park. The Firebirds have the best record in the league at 12-5, and Hyannis is next at 10-8.

Errol Robinson (Ole Miss) smacked the fifth pitch of Sunday’s game over the fence for a home run, staking Hyannis to the early lead, but Orleans scored five runs in the second inning – four of which were unearned – and never looked back.

The Firebirds had lost two of three, but the big inning set them up to break through. Kyle Cedotal (SE Louisiana) settled in after the leadoff home run and allowed just two more hits in six innings of work. Hyannis scored twice against the Orleans bullpen, but Sean Watkins (Loyola Marymount) and Jason Harper (Southern Connecticut) held off any further comeback attempts, with Harper notching his second save.

Five different Firebirds drove in a run to lead the attack. Ronnie Dawson (Ohio State) pushed his hitting streak to four with a two-hit, one RBI night. Trey York (East Tennessee State), who had a huge spring but was off to a slow start on the Cape, went 1-for-2 with an RBI.

Dakota Hudson (Mississippi State) was the hard-luck loser. Only one of the five runs charged to him was earned.

Y-D 7, Chatham 2

Soggy weather postponed three games, but Y-D and Chatham managed to get theirs in, with the Red Sox scoring all their runs after the sixth inning in a 7-2 win. The Anglers scored a run in the top of the first and carried the 1-0 lead into the sixth. Parker Dunshee (Wake Forest) gave up just one hit through five innings. But Y-D took the lead on a two-run homer by Ryan Noda (Cincinnati) in the sixth, then pulled away from there. Cole Billingsley (South Alabama) had three hits and two RBI to lead the way. The rally made a winner out of Ricky Thomas (Fresno State), who allowed just the first-inning run in six innings of work.

What to Watch

Wareham will carry a three-game winning streak into a home game against Chatham tonight. The Gatemen are only two points back of first-place Hyannis in the West.

The Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox surged to their fourth Cape Cod Baseball League championship in 11 years last summer, completing the run with a sweep of Falmouth in the title series. They made the run after finishing third in the East Division during the regular season and shuffling their roster regularly.

Another talented group, led by a deep pitching staff and a host of big-name freshmen, is on its way.

FIVE TO WATCH

1. Mike Shawaryn
2. J.J. Schwarz
3. Will Toffey
4. Cole Billingsley
5. Brett Adcock

NOTABLE

Maryland is headed to a Super Regional and ace Mike Shawaryn has been a big reason why. After setting a school record for wins as a freshman, Shawaryn took the leap into bona fide ace territory this year, going 13-2 with an eye-popping 133 strikeouts. This may be the first preview, but it’s hard to imagine anyone in the Cape League has a better pitching coming to town than Y-D has with Shawaryn.

Shawaryn heads a list of starting pitchers with strong track records on the Y-D roster. Brett Adcock, Brandon Bailey and Shane Bieber were workhorses this year, with Adcock and Bailey both striking out more than 90.

Y-D had the league’s most fearsome closer last year in Phil Bickford. David Ellingson may not have the same pedigree, but he’s got the numbers. The Georgetown standout saved nine games with an ERA under 1.00 this season.

The Cape League always has a few native sons in uniform. Barnstable native Will Toffey could be the best in recent memory. The Vanderbilt freshman already lit up the Futures League last year and has forced his way into the lineup for the defending College World Series champions as a freshman.

TCU’s Brian Howard stands 6’9. That is all.

Y-D is slated to have three freshman catchers from powerhouse SEC programs. All have big potential, but J.J. Schwarz has made it good on more quickly than the others, with 15 homers for Florida in his debut season.

Y-D could have a very athletic outfield, with Stephen Wrenn of Georgia and South Alabama’s Cole Billingsley patrolling. Wrenn had started at center field in every game of his college career and flashed potential for Bourne last summer. Billingsley ranked 16th in the nation in stolen bases this year.

St. John’s Mike Donadio didn’t have a great sophomore year, at least compared to his Big East Rookie of the Year campaign in 2014, but he’ll be a valuable presence for the Red Sox this summer. A late addition last year, Donadio hit .367 with two home runs in the playoffs.

The Red Sox will likely have one of the youngest teams in the league, with 13 freshman ticketed for Red Wilson Field. That includes nine position players, who often struggle as freshmen on the Cape.

PITCHERS

Brett Adcock – SO – Michigan – Third-team all-Big 10 lefty K’d 95 in 90 IP, with a 3.10 ERA
Brandon Bailey – SO – Gonzaga – Strong starter for Gonzaga went 8-3 with 3.72 ERA and tied for 3rd in WCC with 91 Ks
Shane Bieber – SO – UC Santa Barbara – Dominated in West Coast League last summer and earned all-conference nod this year
Ben Bowden – SO – Vanderbilt – Native of Lynn, Mass., has been valuable bullpen arm, with 45 Ks in 34.2 IP
Gabe Cramer – JR – Stanford – Saw limited action in first two years, emerged as good reliever this year
David Ellingson – SO – Georgetown – Dominant closer had 9 saves, .75 ERA this season
Alex Faedo – FR – Florida – Late-round pick last year has been solid swing guy this spring, with 3.36 ERA
Mitch Hart – FR – USC – Jumped right into weekend rotation and posted 4.07 ERA; second on team in IP
Brian Howard – SO – TCU – Six-foot-nine righty struck out 43 in 43 innings this spring, pitching mostly out of bullpen
Dustin Hunt – SO – Northeastern – ERA ballooned near five, but righty from Andover, Mass., led Huskies in Ks
Dalton Lehnen – FR – Cincinnati – Freshman lefty led Cincy in starts but went 1-7 with 5.56 ERA
Mike Shawaryn – SO – Maryland – One of nation’s best pitchers went 13-2, had 1.66 ERA and struck out 133, 4th nationally
Ricky Thomas – FR – Fresno State – Freshman lefty had solid debut with 3.92 ERA
Chris Viall – SO – Stanford – Solid swing man on pitching staff had 4.73 ERA this season

CATCHERS

Mike Papierski – FR – LSU – 16th-rd pick in 2014 draft has hit .214 in limited action for loaded LSU team
Nathan Rodriguez – FR – Arkansas – Talented catching prospect was declared ineligible this season and did not play
J.J. Schwarz – FR – Florida – 17th-rd pick last year has had huge freshman season: .320 with 15 HR, 66 RBI

INFIELDERS

Tommy Edman – SO – Stanford – Started every game this spring, hit .296 with a homer
Dalton Guthrie – FR – Florida – Late-round pick in 2014 has started every game in debut season, posting .290 average
Ryan Lillard – FR – Arizona State – Iowa native hit .233 in 26 games as a freshman
Will Toffey – FR – Vanderbilt – Barnstable native & top prospect in Futures League last year hitting .309 in first year at VU
Connor Wong – FR – Houston – Hit .248 with six homers in first season with Cougars

OUTFIELDERS

Cole Billingsley – JR – South Alabama – Had big year after medical redshirt in 2014, batting .345 and swiping 30 bags
Luke Bonfield – FR – Arkansas – Mets’ 21st-rd pick in ’14 has hit .164 in limited duty for Razorbacks
Michael Donadio – SO – St. John’s – Big East Rookie of Year in 2014 batted .302 this year
Ryan Noda – FR – Cincinnati – Hit .230 and was second on UC to former CCBL all-star Ian Happ in HRs with 7
Stephen Wrenn – SO – Georgia – Has started all 109 games of UGA career in CF; hit .324 with 8 HR this year

Tag: Ryan Noda

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