Steven Duggar was one of six Falmouth Commodores on the All-League squad.
This is a few days old, but in case you missed it, the Cape League released its All-League selections for the 2014 season. The team is below. Below that, a few notes.
First Base – A.J. Murray – Chatham – Georgia Tech
Second Base – Billy Fleming – Bourne – West Virginia
Shortstop – Kevin Newman – Falmouth – Arizona
Third Base – David Thompson – Orleans – Miami
Infield Utility – Richard Martin Jr. – Bourne – Florida
Outfield – Gio Brusa – Brewster – Pacific
Outfield – Donnie Dewees Jr. – Hyannis – North Florida
Outfield – Steven Duggar – Falmouth – Clemson
Outfield – Ian Happ – Harwich – Cincinnati
Outfield – Mark Laird – Bourne – LSU
Outfield – Andrew Stevenson – Y-D – LSU
DH – Conner Hale – Falmouth – LSU
DH – Chris Shaw – Chatham – Boston College
Catcher – Jameson Fisher – Cotuit – SE Louisiana
Catcher – Anthony Hermelyn – Harwich – Oklahoma
Pitcher – Michael Boyle – Harwich – Radford
Pitcher – Zack Erwin – Harwich – Clemson
Pitcher – Matt Hall – Falmouth – Missouri State
Pitcher – Jordan Hillyer – Chatham – Kennesaw State
Pitcher – Justin Jacome – Y-D – UC Santa Barbara
Pitcher – Ryan Kellogg – Bourne – Arizona State
Pitcher – Kolton Mahoney – Orleans – BYU
Pitcher – Kevin McCanna – Falmouth – Rice
Pitcher – Andrew Naderer – Brewster – Grand Canyon
Pitcher – Kyle Twomey – Orleans – USC
Closer – Phil Bickford – Y-D – Cal State Fullerton
Closer – Adam Whitt – Cotuit – Nevada
Utility – Jake Madsen – Falmouth – Ohio
NOTES
Kevin Newman and Ryan Kellog are your lone repeat honorees. The Arizona-Arizona State rivals had terrific Cape League careers.
For the second year in a row, Falmouth had the most All-League selections with six. Lot of talent at Guv Fuller Field the last two years.
Champion Y-D with only one position player on the team. I thought that might be unusual, but it’s actually the second year in a row. Cotuit had just one All-League hitter last year, Rhett Wiseman. In the case of both Y-D and Cotuit, it speaks to the ability to play one day at a time and find a way to win, without having the stars of stars.
Snubs? Jordan Tarsovich jumps out to me. Probably the league champ’s most consistent hitter, Tarsovich hit .322 with three homers. I think Y-D’s Rob Fonseca (.315, 4 HR’s) could have been there too. And Bourne’s Blake Davey tied for second in the league in extra-base hits. A couple more possibilities, but overall, solid work, I think.
LSU leads all schools with three selections: Andrew Stevenson, Conner Hale and Mark Laird.
Seven schools have an All-League pick for the second year in a row: Arizona, USC, Arizona State, West Virginia, Florida and . . . mighty Kennesaw State. With MVP Max Pentecost last year and standout pitcher Jordan Hillyer this year, the Owls are making some Cape League noise.
How about schools that have an All-League pick for three years running? Nada. I was shocked by that.
Gio Brusa and Brewster are four points out of a playoff spot.
With the All-Star Game in the books, the Cape League now very quickly hits its stretch run, with just six days of games before the playoffs begin next Tuesday. While much of the playoff picture is already secure, at least on who will be in it, the first day of the stretch run offered a sign that there may still be some drama for the final spots.
Brewster beat Chatham 12-8 last night to get within four points of the Anglers for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East. And in the West, Wareham inched closer to fourth-place Cotuit with a 3-2 victory over Harwich. The Gatemen are now six points back.
Brewster has now won two straight going back to before the All-Star Game. It beat red-hot Y-D 13-3 and made it 25 runs in two games with the win over Chatham.
Luke Lowery (East Carolina) hit his fifth home run of the summer and knocked in two runs, while John Sansone (Florida State) homered for the second time in the last 10 days. Andrew Lee (Tennessee) added three RBI while Braden Bishop (Washington) went 3-for-3 with two RBI. Scott Kingery (Arizona), one of the hottest hitters in the league, had his ninth multi-hit game in his last 14 games. On the mound, Cody Ponce (Cal Poly Pomona) followed up his eye-catching All-Star Game performance with five solid innings. He struck out six and allowed four runs.
A.J. Murray (Georgia Tech) hit his sixth home run for Chatham, but Brewster had too much with 10 runs in the first five innings.
Wareham hosted East-leading Harwich and got one of its best pitching performances of the summer in a 3-2 victory. Liam O’Sullivan (St. Leo), who was making just his second start after opening the season in the bullpen, went eight innings and allowed just the two runs. He struck out three and scattered five hits. Sean Adler (USC) pitched a scoreless ninth for the save.
O’Sullivan was almost the hard-luck loser, as Harwich took a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth inning on an Ian Happ (Cincinnati) two-run triple. But Wareham answered right back with two runs in the bottom half. Facing Harwich starter Zack Erwin (Clemson), who struck out eight in 5.2 innings, Nick Halamandaris (California), Kyri Washington (Longwood) and Danny Rosenbaum (Louisville) all singled. John Bormann (Texas-San Antonio) followed with a two-run single to give Wareham all the runs it would need.
Hyannis 7, Falmouth 4
Hyannis moved to the verge of clinching a playoff spot with a victory over Falmouth, and they can thank their new ace for setting them on the right path. Marc Brakeman (Stanford), who opened the season in the bullpen, has won two straight starts in dominant fashion. After striking out 11 in six scoreless in his last start, Brakeman struck out nine and went six shutout innings again. He scattered six hits and is now tied for the league lead in strikeouts with 47. He has also walked just seven batters all summer. After Falmouth made a late charge against the Hyannis bullpen, Ian Gibaut (Tulane) closed the door for his second save. Donnie Dewees (North Florida) had three hits to lead the Hyannis offense, while Sam Haggerty (New Mexico) drove in two runs. For Falmouth, Conner Hale (LSU) had three RBI and is tied for the league lead.
Y-D 5, Orleans 3
We’re back to a three-way tie atop the East standings after Harwich’s loss and another Y-D victory over Orleans. The Red Sox also beat Orleans last Friday. This time, Cody Poteet (UCLA) – making his final start of the summer – turned in one last gem with eight strong innings. He struck out eight, scattered seven hits and surrendered three runs. Phil Bickford (Cal State Fullerton) pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save and his fifth consecutive scoreless outing. The Y-D offense backed the strong pitching with two hits and two RBI each for Nico Giarratano (San Francisco) and Josh Lester (Missouri). A.J. Simcox (Tennessee) added three hits.
Bourne 7, Cotuit 1
Bourne snapped a three-game skid and increased its lead in the West to four points with a win over Cotuit. The game was scoreless until the fifth, when Bourne pushed a run across and never looked back. It scored two in the seventh and four in the eighth to pull away. Mark Laird (LSU) went 3-for-5 with an inside-the-park home run and four RBI. Richard Martin Jr. (Florida) added three hits, while Brett Sullivan (Pacific), Blake Davey (Connecticut) and Blake Allemand (Texas A&M) had two hits each. Andrew Sopko (Gonzaga) went five scoreless innings for the win. Lucas Laster (Mississippi State) and John Kuzia (St. John’s) closed it out. For Cotuit, Vincent Fiori (South Carolina) gave up three runs in six innings.
What to Watch
It seems like the third or fourth one in the last week, but we have yet another first-place showdown in the East as Harwich visits Orleans. It should be a good pitching match-up, too, with Jon Harris (Missouri State) going for Harwich against Orleans ace Kolton Mahoney (BYU).
Mark Laird, pictured earlier this summer, had an RBI as the West won 5-0.
The Friendly’s Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game dodged the rain and went off without a hitch on Sunday at Doran Park in Bourne. Work prevented me from getting over there, so you can get first-hand accounts elsewhere, but here are some notes from the West’s 5-0 victory.
The West won two of the three All-Star Games that were played at Fenway Park a few years ago, but it had been a long time since the West celebrated a victory on the Cape. Before Sunday’s win, the last time was 2002, when a West team led by Cotuit’s Bryan Snyder beat the East 4-1. The East won the next six All-Star Games before the West won in 2009 and 2010 at Fenway.
The shutout was the first since 2010, when the West won 5-0 at Fenway Park.
Ten pitchers combined on the shutout for the West team, limiting the East stars to seven hits.
Hyannis reliever Ryan Perez (Judson) officially went from curiosity to bona fide star when he struck out the side in the third inning and earned West MVP honors. Perez can pitch right-handed and left-handed, and he’s had an impressive summer. He came into the All-Star Game with a 2.05 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 26.2 innings. He struck out a formidable trio in his one All-Star inning, fanning Mikey White (Alabama), Jordan Tarsovich (VMI) and Ian Happ (Cincinnati). I hope there was a stand-off between the switch-hitting Happ and the switch-pitching Perez.
Perez is the first pitcher to earn MVP honors since Wareham’s Konner Wade in 2011. He was the first Hyannis MVP since Ben Paulsen in 2008.
Chatham’s A.J. Murray (Georgia Tech) won MVP honors with a 2-for-2 night, becoming the second Angler in as many years to win the top honor. J.D. Davis took the MVP award for the East last year.
Each team had one returning all-star. Reigning batting champ Kevin Newman (Arizona) went 1-for-2 for the West. Ian Happ (Cincinnati) was 0-for-2 for the East.
The Twitter consensus is that the pitching was better in this year’s All-Star game than last year’s. Brewster’s Cody Ponce (Cal Poly Pomona) was perhaps the most impressive.
Cody Ponce has monster stuff. 93-96 mph FB, curveball is biting at 81-83 and slider is nasty at 86-88. Filthy
According to Piliere, Wareham’s Kyle Cody (Kentucky) hit 97 on the radar gun, while Y-D’s Phil Bickford (Cal State Fullerton), a first-round pick last year, threw pitches at 94, 95, 95 in a three-pitch strikeout.
Wareham’s Chris Chinea (LSU) and Falmouth’s Cameron O’Brien (West Virginia), both playing from the catcher’s spot, hit home runs for the West. Falmouth’s Matt Eureste (San Jacinto) and Bourne’s Mark Laird (LSU) also drove in runs.
Cotuit’s Tres Barrera (Texas) won the 2014 TD Ameritrade College Home Run Derby but was limited to one in the Cape League contest. The CCBL crown went to Harwich’s Sal Annunziata (Seton Hall).
In the same week that saw Harwich finally lose its nearly season-long grip on first place in the East, that spot got even more crowded Friday night. With Y-D knocking off Orleans 6-3 and Harwich falling to Falmouth 5-3, three teams – Y-D, Orleans and Harwich – are tied for first place with 44 points each.
Y-D’s surge was chronicled yesterday and it continued last night in a key match-up with Orleans. Michael Murray (Florida Gulf Coast) delivered his best start of the summer, allowing just one hit and an unearned run while striking out eight in five innings of work. He left with his team up 6-1. Orleans made a little run, but William Strode (Florida State) and Phil Bickford (Cal State Fullerton) didn’t let it continue. Strode struck out three in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving him 20 strikeouts in 10 appearances this summer, while Bickford struck out the side in the ninth for his league-leading seventh save.
Rob Fonseca (Northeastern) had two hits and two RBI to lead the offense, while recent arrival Timothy Wharton (Catawba) had a hit for the fifth straight game since his debut. Wharton drove in two runs and has now driven in six in his five games. For Orleans, David Thompson (Miami) hit his fourth home run.
With that result in the books, Harwich had a chance to reclaim first place but a grand slam in the seventh inning by Falmouth sealed a 5-3 victory for the Commodores.
James Mulry (Northeastern) allowed one run in 5.1 innings but Falmouth got to the bullpen with one swing of the bat. Falmouth trailed 3-1 in the seventh when Shaun Chase (Oregon) smacked a grand slam to give his team the lead in one fell swoop. Kevin Mooney (Maryland), Nicholas Cooney (Wesleyan) and Matt Eckelman (St. Louis) ran with the lead, combining to allow not a single hit in the final three innings.
Falmouth improved to 21-15-1. Harwich is 21-14-2, the same mark as Orleans. Y-D has one more win and is 22-15.
Hyannis 15, Bourne 6
Hyannis had seven hits in a seven-run fifth inning and cruised over West-leading Bourne 15-6. The rally was a merry-go-round of singles as Hyannis sent 12 men to the plate. It was part of a big offensive day overall, as Hyannis finished with 20 hits. John La Prise (Virginia) had four of them, to go with three RBI. Donnie Dewees (North Florida) and Cam Gibson (Michigan State) had three hits each, while Daniel Kihle (Wichita State) had two hits and three RBI. Chris Lanham (Yale) got the win with four innings of relief. He allowed one earned run. Nick Bates (St. Louis) finished the job in dominant fashion, striking out five of the eight batters he faced in two scoreless innings. For Bourne, Zander Wiel (Vanderbilt) homered for the third time in his 15 Cape League games. The Braves have lost two in a row, while Hyannis has held steady over its last 10 as it tries to secure a playoff spot. It has a seven-point lead on Wareham for the fourth and final spot.
Chatham 8, Brewster 3
Chatham is a ways off the pace of the trip atop the East, but the Anglers scored early and often to beat Brewster for their second straight win. Chatham scored five runs in the first, two in the second and one in the third and cruised from there. Justin Jones (UNLV), who didn’t have a hit since arriving on July 21, hit a three-run triple and a solo home run to power the fast start. Ty Moore (UCLA) and A.J. Murray (Georgia Tech) added two hits each. P.J. Conlon (San Diego) allowed two runs in four innings before Jerry Keel (Cal State Northridge) allowed just one run over the final five innings to pick up the win.
Wareham 6, Cotuit 2
In a game that featured more errors than hits, Wareham took advantage of six Cotuit miscues to score six runs on only two hits and win 6-2. John Bormann (Texas San Antonio), Anderson Miller (Western Kentucky) and Willie Calhoun (Arizona) each drove in a run for the Gatemen. Wareham scored five runs in the sixth inning and Cotuit made five errors in that frame alone. Anthony Kay (Connecticut), who relieved starter Drew Harrington (Louisville) after just an inning, ran with the opportunity and allowed just one earned run on two hits in eight innings of work.
What to Watch
Yesterday, I mistakenly said the All-Star Game was Saturday. It is, in fact, on Sunday, so today is the final day of action before the festivities. Eldredge Park will feature a rematch of last year’s Cape League championship series, when Cotuit faces Orleans at 7 p.m.
Justin Jacome tossed six scoreless innings for his fourth straight win on Thursday.
When they lost 6-3 to Orleans on June 28, the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox fell to 5-11. The next night, they got a quality start from Bryan Bonnell (UNLV) and beat Brewster 9-7.
It was just the beginning.
Y-D has won 16 of 20 games since that loss to Orleans, a stretch that has turned them into a clear contender while highlighting their biggest strength. In each of those 16 wins, Y-D starting pitchers have given up three runs or fewer.
For win No. 16 last night, a Sox starter delivered the usual, with Justin Jacome (UC Santa Barbara) going six scoreless innings as Y-D topped West-leading Bourne 7-0.
Jacome has been one of the leaders of the pitching-driven streak, along with Kevin Duchene (Illinois) and Cody Poteet (UCLA). Jacome has won four starts in a row and is now 5-0 on the year with a 1.28 ERA. In his win streak, he has gone at least five innings and allowed two runs or fewer in each start.
Duchene has won three of his last four starts and has allowed one earned run in those games. Poteet has also won three of four – and Y-D won the other game when Poteet had a no-decision. Poteet delivered the best start of all on July 11, when he struck out 10 in six scoreless innings against Harwich.
Mix in Michael Murray (Florida Gulf Coast), a spring standout who is still looking to hit his stride, and late arrival Walker Buehler (Vanderbilt), and Y-D clearly has the best starting pitching rotation in the league. The numbers are pretty astounding. In the 16 wins, Y-D starters have gone at least five innings 14 times and have allowed one or zero earned runs 11 times. Oddly, two of the four losses in the span have come in 12-1 and 13-2 games, but apart from those, the pitching has dominated.
Jacome continued the trend against Bourne on Thursday, limiting the Braves to just two hits in his six innings of work. The bullpen – which has been plenty good too – made the shutout stand up, with Parker Bugg (LSU) going two scoreless innings and Dimitri Kourtis (Mercer) finishing off the last inning.
The offense has scored 23 runs in the last three victories and knocked 12 hits in Thursday’s game. Andrew Stevenson (LSU) had three, while Josh Lester (Missouri), Jordan Tarsovich (VMI) and Timothy Wharton (Catawba) knocked in two runs apiece.
Y-D is now 21-15, just two points back of Harwich and Orleans, who are tied for first in the East.
Harwich 5, Brewster 3
A night after a loss to Orleans knocked them from first place, the Mariners took advantage of a night off for the Firebirds by beating Brewster to move back into a tie for first place in the East. Robby Kalaf (Florida International) allowed one earned run in five innings and Johnathan Frebis (Middle Tennessee State) shut the door with four scoreless innings of relief. Angelo Amendolare (Jacksonville) had two RBI to lead the offense. Brendon Sanger (Florida Atlantic) and Sal Annunziata (Seton Hall) knocked in one run each. For Brewster, Gio Brusa (Pacific) hit his fourth home run.
Chatham 4, Hyannis 3
Chatham snapped a four-game skid with a 3-2 victory over Hyannis. Garrett Williams (Oklahoma State), a former top 100 player out of high school, hadn’t pitched more than 3.1 innings in any outing this year, but broke through for six strong frames against the Harbor Hawks. He allowed one run on three hits while striking out three. A.J. Murray (Georgia Tech) and Chris Shaw (Boston College), two of the top three RBI men in the league, knocked in a run apiece, while Nick Collins (Georgetown) also had an RBI. Jordan Hillyer (Kennesaw State), who will start for the East in Sunday’s all-star game, pitched the ninth for Chatham and struck out two for the save.
Ty Moore hit a grand slam Sunday for his second homer in as many games.
The Chatham Anglers had the best record in the league last summer and picked up where they left off in their first game this year, blowing past Orleans 10-2. It’s been an interesting ride in the weeks since, not quite as smooth as last year. The Anglers scored four total runs in their next four games, looking punchless after their big debut. They’re still sorting out a solid pitching rotation. They’ve generally been pretty up-and-down.
But one thing has stabilized. The Anglers are not punchless.
Chatham won for the fourth straight time on Sunday, topping Hyannis 9-3. It was also the team’s fourth straight big night at the plate. Chatham has scored at least seven runs and hit at least one home run in each of the four victories.
The Anglers lead the league in runs scored, rank second in hits, second in home runs and third in batting average.
And they’ve got a core group that’s consistently delivering.
A.J. Murray (Georgia Tech) went 2-for-3 last night, stretching his hitting streak to 11 games. Nine of the 11 have been multi-hit games. Murray is making a strong case for league MVP honors at this point. He’s third in the league in hitting, tied for first in home runs and tied for second in RBI. He has a 1.042 OPS.
And Murray isn’t alone. Chris Shaw (Boston College) went 2-for-5 last night. He hit home runs on back-to-back days last week and is tied with Murray for the league lead. Ty Moore (UCLA) has been hot too. He hit a grand slam on Sunday, giving home runs in consecutive games, and he’s now hitting .284.
Throw in a solid leadoff man in Kal Simmons (Kennesaw State) and some big hitters who have had their moments, and it’s no wonder the Anglers are scoring. Pat Mazeika (Stetson) added two hits Sunday and Robert Baldwin (Yale) had three.
In the win over Hyannis, the pitching came through, too. Charlie Dant (Dayton), who was on a temporary contract but is now full-time, gave up three runs and struck out eight in five innings for the win. Bryan Goossens (Siena) pitched two scoreless innings and Kyle Davis (USC) delivered his seventh scoreless appearance in 10 tries to finish it off.
Chatham is now 12-9-1, one point back of Orleans for second place and just two behind Harwich for first.
Orleans 5, Wareham 1
The other budding offensive powerhouse in the East won its second straight with a strong performance against Wareham. David Thompson (Miami) led the way with a homer and four RBI. David Fletcher (Loyola Marymount) went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and is now on an eight-game hitting streak after a slow start to the summer. R.J. Ybarra (Arizona State) added an RBI. On the mound, Nathan Bannister (Arizona) made his first start after long relief stints in his first three appearances and responded with six strong innings. He struck out six and allowed one run. The Firebirds are 4-0 in games in which Bannister has pitched. Jacob Cronenworth (Michigan) picked up his fourth save.
Falmouth 9, Bourne 3
The Commodores picked up their third straight win and knocked off the Western Division leader in the process. Falmouth is now only three points out of first place. Kevin Newman (Arizona) went 4-for-6 to lead a strong offensive performance. Newman now has seven hits in three games since returning from Team USA trials. Shaun Chase (Oregon) added a home run and three RBI, Conner Hale (LSU) had two RBI and Jake Madsen (Ohio) and Conor Costello (Oklahoma State) had two hits each, with Costello also homering. Ryan Moseley (Texas Tech) allowed three runs in five innings before the bullpen cruised through the last four innings. For Bourne, Blake Davey (Connecticut) hit his third home run.
Harwich 5, Cotuit 5 (10 innings)
Harwich and Cotuit played 10 innings at Lowell Park but still couldn’t settle things before darkness fell as they finished in a tie. Grant Kay (Louisville) and Ian Rice (Chipola) each had four hits to lead a 15-hit Cotuit attack. Jake Fincher (NC State) had three hits for the third consecutive game, raising his average from .375 to a league-best .453. On the mound, Jeff Kinley (Michigan State) kept Harwich off the board over the final two innings. For Harwich, C.J. Hinojosa (Texas) and Matt Winn (VMI) had two hits each. Zack Erwin (Clemson) pitched 5.1 innings of one-run relief.
Y-D 3, Brewster 2
Y-D got a strong start from Justin Jacome (UC Santa Barbara) and a dominant bullpen effort made a one-run lead stand up in a victory over Brewster. Jacome struck out six and allowed two runs in five innings for his third good start of the summer. William Strode (Florida State) pitched 1.1 scoreless innings before Phil Bickford (Cal State Fullerton) took over and did his usual. Bickford struck out four of the eight batters he faced in 2.2 scoreless frames. Bickford, an unsigned first-round pick last year, has three saves and has given up one total hit in those outings. At the plate, Y-D got two hits from Rob Fonseca (Northeastern). League RBI leader Hunter Cole (Georgia) tacked on one more and Jordan Tarsovich (VMI) also drove in a run. For Brewster, Gio Brusa (Pacific) had three hits, including a home run.
The East’s hottest teams and the highest scoring teams in the league will meet at Veterans Field when Chatham hosts Orleans. Two Cape League veterans who were once high draft picks out of high school are scheduled to square off. Andrew Chin (Boston College), a fifth-round pick in 2011 and a 15th-rounder this year, will make his 11th career Cape League start for Chatham. He’s had two tough outings in a row after a good start. For Orleans, 2012 third-rounder Kyle Twomey (USC), who’s made nine relief appearances after a full summer in the bullpen last year, is scheduled to make his first start of the 2014 season. He has a 2.84 ERA.
Orleans celebrates a run in one of its victories over Harwich.
The Harwich Mariners have been in first place in the Cape League’s Eastern Division since the opening night play ball, partly because they’ve cruised through a lot of their competition in the East. Harwich is 6-0 against Chatham, Brewster and Yarmouth-Dennis.
But Orleans is just a game back of Harwich, as close as anyone’s been in a while, and there’s a reason for that too. While Harwich is unbeaten against three of its division rivals, it’s winless against the fourth. Orleans moved to 3-0 against Harwich this season with a 3-1 victory on Saturday night.
The teams didn’t have their first meeting this year until two weeks in, when Orleans won 7-5 thanks to two David Thompson (Miami) home runs. Four days later, Orleans pounded 17 hits in a rare poor performance by a Harwich starting pitcher and won 15-8.
On Saturday, after the washed-out Fourth of July, Orleans sent budding ace Kolton Mahoney (BYU) to the hill and set the course for another victory. Mahoney, the league’s strikeout leader, went five scoreless innings, allowing just two singles and striking out four to pick up the win. He’s now tied for the league lead in wins, leads in strikeouts and ranks fourth in ERA.
Orleans gave him a lead with a run in the fourth and two in the fifth off Harwich starter Jason Inghram (William & Mary), who came in with a 2.35 ERA. Johnny Sewald (Arizona), David Fletcher (Loyola Marymount) and Thompson each knocked in a run. Cole Peragine (Stony Brook) added two hits. Mitchell Tolman (Oregon) went 1-for-4 and continued the league lead in on-base percentage at .509. He has reached base in every game he’s played this summer.
Armed with a lead, the Orleans bullpen cruised through the last four innings, allowing four hits in that span. Harwich didn’t have an extra-base hit in the game. Sam Moore (UC Irvine), the NCAA saves leader this year, made his fourth appearance since arriving from Omaha, and picked up his first Cape League save.
Jacob Evans (Oklahoma) was a bright spot for Harwich, striking out six in four scoreless innings of relief. He has not allowed a run in 16 innings of relief this summer.
But this night belonged to Orleans. The Firebirds are now 12-9, one game back of Harwich.
Bourne 5, Y-D 0
While Harwich went down, Bourne shut out Y-D to reclaim the best record in the league label. Travis Bergen (Kennesaw State) struck out six and allowed just two singles in six scoreless innings. Bergen had been touched up for five runs in his last start. Dylan Nelson (Radford) and Joey Strain (Winthrop) followed him to the hill and finished off the shutout. The Braves offense backed Bergen with four early runs. Richard Martin Jr. (Florida) hit his first home run of the summer while Gavin Collins (Mississippi State) had two hits. Blake Davey (Connecticut), Brett Sullivan (Pacific) and Stephen Wrenn (Georgia) drove in one run apiece. Bourne has won three in a row after dropping three straight before that.
Falmouth 14, Hyannis 3
Much like Orleans and Harwich, Falmouth has had Hyannis’ number. The Commodores picked up their third win in 10 days against the Harbor Hawks with their most lopsided victory of the season. They led 6-1 in the eighth when they exploded for eight runs to pull away. Austin Afenir (Oral Roberts) led the attack with a 4-for-4, two RBI night, and Sam Gillikin (Auburn) added three hits. Ten different players had at least one RBI. Alex Young (TCU), who had a great spring as a reliever in Fort Worth, made his first Cape League start and allowed just one run in five innings. Three relievers tossed scoreless innings, with Nicholas Cooney (Wesleyan) striking out the side in his stint. Hyannis has lost five in a row, and Falmouth is now ahead of the Harbor Hawks for second place in the West.
Chatham 7, Brewster 2
The Anglers kept pace in the tightening East race with a 7-2 victory over Brewster. Chatham is now 11-9-1, one point back of Orleans for second. Ty Moore (UCLA) homered to lead the offense, while Nick Collins (Georgetown) went 3-for-4 and Kevin Fagan (Stetson) drove in three runs. A.J. Murray (Georgia Tech) went 1-for-4 and now owns a 10-game hitting streak. On the mound for Chatham, Max Tishman (Wake Forest) turned in another solid performance, scattering eight hits and allowing one run in six innings of work. Tishman, who leads the Anglers in innings pitched, has a 2.14 ERA.
Wareham 7, Cotuit 3
Kyle Cody (Kentucky) followed up a dominant start with a very good one, striking out nine and giving up three runs in eight innings as Wareham topped Cotuit. Cody struck out six in seven scoreless innings in his last start. Cotuit touched him up for three early runs this time, but he was back to dominance after that, allowing just two hits from the fourth inning on. Scott Effross (Indiana) pitched a scoreless ninth to finish off the win. The Wareham offense got two RBI from Willie Calhoun (Arizona) and two hits and an RBI from Kramer Robertson (LSU).
What to Watch
First-place Bourne and a hot Falmouth team will meet at Doran Park at 6 p.m. Andrew Sopko (Gonzaga), who’s been strong all summer, makes his fourth start for Bourne. Falmouth trots out Ryan Moseley (Texas Tech), who allowed three runs in his only start of the summer.
Kevin Newman had two hits and a game-tying RBI in his return from Team USA.
Most of the players who left Cape Cod for the Team USA trials made the squad. Two players who didn’t get a spot made their returns to the league last night and did their part in the Cape’s patriotic traditions.
In the first game of the annual July 3 and 4 two-game sets, Falmouth’s Kevin Newman (Arizona) had two hits and a game-tying RBI in a win over Cotuit, and Bourne’s Jimmy Herget (South Florida) closed out a victory over Wareham with two scoreless innings of relief.
Newman, the defending Cape League batting champ, went 2-for-4 with an RBI in his last game before the USA trials, on June 18. He picked up exactly where he left off on Thursday, returning to the leadoff spot in the order and going 2-for-4 with an RBI again. The RBI was a big one, too. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and his team trailing 2-1, Newman smacked a single to score Sam Gillikin (Auburn) with the tying run.
Falmouth then won the game 3-2 in the 10th on a bases-loaded walk to Jake Madsen (Ohio).
Gillikin and Steven Duggar (Clemson) joined Newman with two hits apiece. Garrett Cleavinger (Oregon) got the win with two scoreless innings of relief. Starter Casey Mulholland (South Florida) allowed just an unearned run. He owns two straight starts now without an earned run allowed.
For Herget, the return to the Cape wasn’t quite so dramatic, but he gives first-place Bourne an unquestioned boost, and the Braves used it to finish off their 14-6 victory. Herget struck out three and allowed one hit in two scoreless innings. Brett Morales (Florida) got the win for the Braves with three scoreless innings of relief.
Bourne trailed 6-3 after four innings, but the offense broke out and made the shutout work of Morales and Herget count. Bourne scored 10 runs in the final four innings to blow the game open.
Mark Laird (LSU) finished with two hits and four RBI, Brett Sullivan (Pacific) had three hits and two RBI and Billy Fleming (West Virginia) had two hits and two RBI.
Bourne has won two in a row since a three-game losing streak.
Y-D 8, Hyannis 2
Y-D topped Hyannis for its fourth straight victory and continued an offensive surge. In three of the victories, Y-D has scored eight runs. In the other, nine runs. The Red Sox are now 9-11 while Hyannis dropped to 10-10. Hunter Cole (Georgia) led the offense with three hits and three RBI, giving him eight hits in the win streak. Rob Fonseca (Northeastern), A.J. Simcox (Tennessee), Josh Lester (Missouri) and Andrew Stevenson (LSU) had two hits each. On the mound, Cody Poteet (UCLA) allowed one run in five innings, a nice rebound after he gave up five runs in his previous start. Y-D has now gotten at least five innings from its starter in three of the victories in the streak. For Hyannis, John LaPrise (Virginia) went 3-for-3 in his second game since arriving from the College World Series.
Chatham 9, Orleans 7
Chatham stopped Orleans’ six-game winning streak with a late rally. Just when it seemed like the Firebirds would keep that streak going after tying the game with two runs in the top of the eighth, the Anglers answered with two in the bottom of the eighth on a Landon Cray (Seattle) RBI double and a Ty Moore (UCLA) RBI single. Kyle Davis (USC), who had allowed the home run that tied the game, then worked around a double to pitch a scoreless ninth and seal the win. Moore and Cray led the offense with two hits and two RBI, while Chris Shaw (Boston College) hit his fourth homer of the year. A.J. Murray (Georgia Tech) had two hits to stretch his hitting streak to nine games. It’s also now an eight-game streak of at least two hits. For Orleans, Johnny Sewald (Arizona) homered. David Thompson (Miami) and Brett Lang (UNC-Charlotte) had three hits each.
Harwich 10, Brewster 5
Harwich raced to a 7-0 lead and got another solid performance from a starting pitcher in a victory over Brewster. Michael Boyle (Radford) allowed three runs in six innings of work with eight strikeouts. Brewster hit two home runs off him, but the eight strikeouts were also a season-high for Boyle, who has a 1.56 ERA. The Harwich offense was led by four RBI each from Sal Annunziata (Seton Hall) and C.J. Hinojosa (Texas). Annunziata homered. Kyle Barrett (Kentucky) added three hits and three runs scored from the top of the lineup. Luke Lowery (East Carolina) and Scott Kingery (Arizona) had the Brewster home runs.
What to Watch
With Arthur bearing down, the Cape may not have any Fourth of July baseball this year, although games are still on as of this morning.
Wade Wass hit two grand slams and had nine RBI last night.
On a July night last summer, Max Pentecost delivered the season’s most memorable performance when he went 5-for-5 with two home runs. The Bourne catcher had a great summer overall, but that was the night he put himself in the MVP running and the night he cemented his burgeoning prospect status.
It remains to be seen what the rest of the 2014 summer – and beyond – holds for Brewster catcher Wade Wass (Alabama). But on a July night, Wass had the same kind of night that Pentecost had.
In a 12-5 Brewster win over Wareham at Stony Brook Field, Wass hit two grand slams and drove in nine runs.
Cape Cod Baseball League single game records are not readily available online, but I’ve got to think Wass’s performance cracks the books somewhere. In Major League Baseball history, players have two hit grand slams in a single game just 13 times. The last was in 2009. Nine RBI is a little more common at the MLB level, but in seven years of writing about the Cape League, I can’t remember a player hitting that number.
Obviously, it was a heck of a night.
Wass, a junior-college transfer, hit .302 with five homers for Alabama this spring. He was a 13th-round draft pick in 2012 out of the junior college ranks but stayed put.
This summer, he had just five hits in his first nine games but broke out with a home run on a 3-for-4, four RBI night on Saturday. After an 0-4 on Sunday, he delivered his grand performance Wednesday.
With a television audience on Fox College Sports – the crew’s first Cape broadcast of the summer – Wass came up in the third inning with the bases loaded and delivered his first grand slam. In the fifth, he doubled home a run, giving him a pretty good performance even if he had stopped there.
He did not. In the eighth, he came up again with the bases loaded and again smashed a grand slam.
Brewster won 12-5, with big nights from Braden Bishop (Washington) and Gio Brusa (Pacific) as well. Cody Ponce (Cal Poly Pomona) and Andrew Naderer (Grand Canyon) combined on a solid pitching performance.
And they would all agree the night belonged to their teammate. Wass, not surprisingly, now leads the league in RBI with 18 and is tied for second in home runs with three.
Orleans 13, Hyannis 0
The Firebirds now own the longest win streak of the summer thanks to a 13-0 shutout of Hyannis last night. Trent Thornton (North Carolina) struck out seven in five innings and combined with Cody Moffett (Arizona) and Tyler Honahan (Stony Brook) on the shutout. Thornton, who gave up five runs in his last start, allowed just three hits, all singles. The Firebirds offense gave him plenty of support, racing to a 7-0 lead after three innings. R.J. Ybarra (Arizona State) went 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Brett Lang (North Carolina) drove in three runs. Edwin Rios (Florida International) also had two RBI, giving him 16 on the year. Orleans is now 11-8, just one game back of Harwich for first place in the East. The Firebirds have scored 39 runs in their last three games and 59 in the six-game streak.
Bourne 7, Harwich 6
Losers of three straight, Bourne came to Whitehouse Field and righted the ship with a narrow victory over East-leading Harwich. The Braves are now 12-6, matching Harwich for the best record in the league. The teams combined for 29 hits in their match-up, but Bourne had a little more offense. Blake Davey (Connecticut) had three hits and two RBI, while five of his teammates knocked in one run apiece. Davey and Harrison Bader (Florida) both homered. Harwich was balanced as well, getting at least one hit from every spot in the lineup, including two from recently arrived C.J. Hinojosa (Texas). Jacob Sparger (Louisville) got the win in relief for Bourne. Joey Strain (Winthrop) picked up a save.
Chatham 7, Cotuit 2
The big night by Wass will make headlines, but nobody in the league has been hotter of later than Chatham’s A.J. Murray (Georgia Tech). He went 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBI last night as the Anglers beat Cotuit 7-2. Murray is riding an eight-game hit streak that includes seven two-hit games and three home runs. He’s batting an even .500 – 18-for-36 – in the streak. He’s tied for the league lead in homers, ranks second in RBI and is sixth in batting average. Last night, Chris Shaw (Boston College) also homered for the Anglers and Kal Simmons (Kennesaw State) added two hits. Jordan Hillyer (Kennesaw State) allowed one run in five innings, maintaining some remarkable consistency. He has gone exactly five innings and given up exactly one run in all three of his starts, and he has won them all.
Y-D 8, Falmouth 1
Kevin Duchene (Illinois) delivered the performance Y-D’s been waiting for, striking out nine in six shutout innings as the Red Sox beat Falmouth 8-1. Duchene, the former Big Ten Freshman of the Year, hadn’t yet hit his groove and sported a 6.08 ERA after three starts. But Wednesday, he didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning and gave up just two overall. The nine strikeouts vaulted him to second in the league. With Duchene pitching like that and Falmouth starting Kevin McCanna (Rice) the game shaped up as a low-scoring affair, but Y-D scored five runs – four unearned – off McCanna, who had allowed four runs all season. Jordan Tarsovich (VMI) went 3-for-4 to raise his league-best average to .413. Hunter Cole (Georgia) and Vincent Jackson (Tennessee) had two RBI apiece.
What to Watch
Today will bring the first of two games in the annual Fourth of July holiday rivalry series. Orleans and Chatham will be interesting as always, especially with the Firebirds riding their win streak. In Brewster, we’ll see what Wade Wass can do for an encore against Harwich’s Michael Boyle (Radford), who hasn’t allowed an earned run all summer.
A.J. Murray hit a walk-off home run as Chatham beat Hyannis.
Sunday night was a big one for home runs in the Cape Cod Baseball League, with seven of 10 teams hitting at least one and those squads combining for 10 total.
They saved the biggest one for last.
In the bottom of the 12th at Veterans Field, Chatham’s A.J. Murray (Georgia Tech) hit a walk-off solo home run to give the Anglers a 5-4 victory over Hyannis.
Chatham was coming off a one-run loss to Brewster in which it was the victim of a late Whitecaps home run. This time, after tying the game in the eighth, the Anglers held Hyannis down and finally broke through in the 12th.
Murray led off the inning against Hyannis closer Ian Gibaut (Tulane), who had given up two runs – and no homers – in five appearances this summer. Murray jumped off the first pitch Gibaut threw – and made it the only pitch Gibaut would throw.
The homer was the third of the year for Murray, which puts him in a tie for the league lead.
It made a winner out of the other hero, Kyle Davis (USC), who continued to look like perhaps the most valuable pitcher in the league. He leads the league in appearances with eight, ranks second in the league in strikeouts with 20 and has a 1.35 ERA. He was at his bullpen-saving best on Sunday, coming on in the ninth and pitching four scoreless innings to keep the game tied. He allowed just one hit and struck out four. In the top of the 12th, he struck out the last two batters on four pitches each to give Chatham a little surge of momentum ahead of Murray’s blast.
Murray finished the night 3-for-4 with two RBI. Kal Simmons (Kennesaw State) added two hits. Nick Collins (Georgetown), in as a pinch-hitter, knocked in the tying run in the eighth with a single.
Hyannis got a home run from Carl Wise (College of Charleston) and four hits from Donnie Dewees Jr. (North Florida). Ryan Perez (Judson) struck out five in three scoreless innings of relief and is now tied with Davis for second in the league in K’s.
Chatham improved to 8-8-1 while Hyannis fell to 10-7.
Orleans 15, Harwich 8
No one’s been very close to first-place Harwich since the first week of the season, but the Firebirds drew within two games thanks to their fourth straight win, a blowout of the Mariners. The Firebirds (9-8) scored five runs in each of the first two innings. After Harwich (11-6) chipped away to make it 10-7 going into the eighth, Orleans delivered another five-run inning to put the game away. Bobby Dalbec (Arizona) and R.J. Ybarra (Arizona State) hit back-to-back home runs to account for the five runs in the eighth. Dalbec finished with four RBI. Geoff DeGroot (Rutgers), Edwin Rios (Florida International) and Mitchell Tolman (Oregon) all had three hits. For Harwich, Angelo Amendolare (Jacksonville) had three hits and Ian Happ (Cincinnati) had three RBI.
Wareham 7, Cotuit 6
Cotuit (8-9) joined in the home run party with two, but the Gatemen (6-11) had a little more offense in the end in a 7-6 victory. Jake Little (Memphis) homered for the Gatemen, his third of the year, while Willie Calhoun (Arizona) went 2-for-4 with his 12th double. Charlie Warren (Rice) added two hits while Corey Ray (Louisville) had two RBI. Wareham finished with 10 hits and now leads the league in team batting average. The Gatemen bullpen also delivered, with four pitching combining on 6.1 innings of one-run ball. Nick Fuller (UMass-Dartmouth) was credited with the win and Ryan Olson (San Diego) picked up the save. For Cotuit, Logan Taylor (Texas A&M) and Austin Byler (Nevada) each hit their third home run of the summer.
Falmouth 8, Bourne 3
The Commodores touched up Bourne standout Andrew Sopko (Gonzaga) for three runs then really broke out against the bullpen and pulled away for an 8-3 victory. Sopko had struck out 13 and given up one run in 10 innings thus far, but Falmouth got a leadoff home run from Sam Gillikin (Auburn) in the first inning and tacked on single runs in the second and fourth innings. Sopko departed in the sixth, and Austin Afenir (Oral Roberts) – who went 4-for-4 – broke a 3-3 tie with an RBI single. Cameron O’Brien (West Virginia) delivered an RBI double in the seventh. In the eighth, Afenir doubled home a run and Nicholas Ramos (Indiana) knocked in two with a base hit. The late surge made a winner out of reliever Kyle Zimmerman (Wayne State), who went two scoreless innings. Bourne still leads the West with an 11-6 record. Falmouth improved to 8-8-1.
Y-D 9, Brewster 7
Y-D held off a late charge by Mikey White (Alabama) and Brewster to snap a two-game skid. The Red Sox (6-11) led 9-4 going into the ninth before the Whitecaps (7-10) made it interesting. After a sacrifice fly by Wade Wass (Alabama), White hit his second home run of the game – a two-run shot – to get his team within two runs. But with a runner on first, Phil Bickford (Cal State Fullerton) came out of the Y-D bullpen and struck out Andrew Lee (Tennessee) to end the game. The win went to starter Bryan Bonnell (UNLV), who allowed three runs in six innings. The Y-D offense was led by Andrew Stevenson (LSU) and Josh Lester (Missouri), who had two hits each. Jason Goldstein (Illinois) had one hit and four RBI, while Rob Fonseca (Northeastern) drove in two.
What to Watch
The league leaders in ERA among qualified starting pitchers will square off as Falmouth visits Hyannis. Matt Hall (Missouri State), who has a 0.56 ERA, will go for the Commodores against Hyannis and Tate Scioneaux (SE Louisiana), who has a 1.56 ERA.
