Complete Dominance

Ryan Kellogg nearly tossed the Cape's first nine-inning, solo no-hitter since 2010. — Ryan Kellogg nearly tossed the Cape’s first nine-inning, solo no-hitter since 2010.

Before last night, there had not been a single nine-inning complete game pitching performance in the 2014 Cape Cod Baseball League season.

And now there have been two, including the best performance of the summer.

Bourne’s Ryan Kellogg (Arizona State) came within one out of a no-hitter in a 5-0 win at Chatham, settling for the aforementioned best performance of the summer – a one-hit shutout, with 11 strikeouts. In Wareham, Sean Adler (USC), who had started only one other game this summer, tossed a complete-game shutout with eight strikeouts in a 5-0 win over Cotuit.

Sometimes, teams start running out of pitching and cobbling things together as the season winds down. Clearly, not these two.

Kellogg has been a terrific Cape League pitcher, posting a 1.36 ERA last year and a 2.63 mark this season, but last night – fittingly, his final start as a Brave – was his master work. The lefty was perfect through five innings, with seven strikeouts. He issued a leadoff walk in the sixth but the runner was erased on a double play, and Kellogg kept cruising. He struck out two in the seventh and worked a one-two-three ninth. After a fly-out and a swinging strikeout, he was one out away, but Landon Cray (Seattle) reached on a slow roller to third base to break up the no-hit bid at the last possible moment.

Kellogg was bidding to become the first solo pitcher to toss a nine-inning no-hitter since Y-D’s Jordan Pries in 2010 (three of his Bourne teammates combined on one last summer and Bourne’s Jeff Thompson tossed a six-inning no-no in 2012).

Though he didn’t get it, it was still an incredible performance and Kellogg finished it – of course – with a strikeout.

Zander Wiel (Vanderbilt) hit a grand slam to lead the offense, while Brett Sullivan (Pacific) had three hits. Kellogg’s gem and the solid offensive day allowed the Braves to set a franchise record for regular-season victories with 26. With the win and a Falmouth loss, Bourne has a two-game cushion in first place, with two games to play.

Adler gives Wareham a gem

Sean Adler gave up a hit to the third batter he faced, so there was no talk of no-hitters in Wareham. But his performance was almost as good. He scattered six hits and went the distance in an efficient 104 pitches.

Adler only made his debut for Wareham in mid-July and has made just four appearances. His longest previous outing was six innings.

But as the scoreless frames piled up, Adler got better and better. He gave up two hits in an inning just once. After giving up a two-out double to Kyle Holder (San Diego) in the sixth, he struck out the next batter and didn’t allow another hit. He retired nine of 10, with the only exception coming on an error. That runner was erased on a double play.

Adler’s performance gave the Gatemen something to celebrate a night after they were eliminated from playoff contention. Kyri Washington (Longwood) and Adler’s USC teammate Blake Lacey each had a hit and two RBI to lead the Gatemen offense.

Harwich 3, Y-D 1

How good were the pitching performances? A division title plays second fiddle. Harwich clinched the regular season Eastern Division crown with a 3-1 victory over the Red Sox, coupled with an Orleans loss. The Mariners have been at the top since the very beginning of the season, when they won their first three games. Y-D and Orleans have made charges, but Harwich never faltered and is in the midst of a surge to the finish, thanks to three straight victories. Last night, James Mulry (Northeastern) – who put Harwich in first place way back on opening night – tossed 6.2 innings for the win, giving up one run and striking out five. Seth McGarry (Florida Atlantic) pitched 1.1 scoreless frames and Jacob Evans (Oklahoma) pitched a scoreless ninth for his ninth outing of zero earned runs in 10 games this season. The offense got an RBI each from Anthony Hermelyn (Virginia Tech), C.J. Hinojosa (Texas) and Angelo Amendolare (Jacksonville). Y-D, who is tied with Orleans for second place, has lost three in a row.

Brewster 7, Orleans 2

Don’t look now, but Brewster is making a push to the playoffs that would go down as one of the most improbable in recent memory. The Whitecaps have won four of five games – and tied the other – and with Chatham’s loss last night, they’re just one point back of the Anglers for the fourth and final playoff spot, with two games to play. Tyger Talley (Arizona), making just his third start, allowed two runs in five innings and Levi MaVorhis (Kansas State) pitched four hitless innings to seal the win. Andrew Lee (Tennessee), who has eight hits in the five-game stretch, homered and drove in two to lead the offense. Scott Kingery (Arizona) had two hits and three RBI. Bobby Dalbec (Arizona) homered for the Firebirds, who have lost four in a row. Brewster will finish the season with two games against Harwich. Chatham, as it tries to hold off the Whitecaps, has two against Orleans.

Hyannis 10, Falmouth 0

Hyannis leap-frogged Cotuit back into third place, while putting Falmouth into an uphill battle on its quest for first. Four Harbor Hawks combined on the shutout. Shaefer Shepard (Catawba) went five innings, Matt LaRocca (Akron) struck out four in two innings while Chris Mourelle (Florida International) and Lance Thonvold (Minnesota) pitched one inning each. Carl Wise (College of Charleston) hit his sixth home run to pace the offense, while Dylan Bosheers (Tennessee Tech) also homered. Daniel Kihle (Wichita State) had two hits and two RBI. For Falmouth, Kevin Newman (Arizona) went 0-for-4, putting him into a tie with Bourne’s Billy Fleming for the batting title. Newman is trying to become the first-ever two time Cape League batting champ.

What to Watch

Bourne will try to clinch the West title outright when it hosts Wareham at 6 p.m. In the suddenly interesting race for the last East playoff spot, Brewster visits Harwich at 5:30 p.m. and Chatham heads to Orleans at 7.

July 31, 2014July 31, 2014

Big Finish

Falmouth is just two points out of first place.

Kevin McCanna (Rice) made some good starts for Falmouth last year but allowed at least three runs in each of his last four starts, including seven runs in his season finale. He left the Cape with an ERA north of six.

Fresh off a good year in Houston, McCanna returned to Falmouth this year and got off to a strong start, but on July 8, he hit that unlucky seven again. McCanna surrendered seven runs in an 11-8 loss to Hyannis.

Last year, he never got a chance to rebound from his seven-run showing. This time, he did.

And he has.

Since that loss to Hyannis, McCanna has gone three consecutive starts without allowing a single run, a string that continued last night as Falmouth knocked off first-place Bourne 5-3.

He’s gone from poor finish last year to as good a finish as you could ask for in 2014. McCanna now has a 2.47 ERA and, with victories in each of his three scoreless outings, he now leads the league in wins with six.

Last night, McCanna’s performance helped Falmouth get within one game of Bourne for the top spot in the West. McCanna struck out four, walked three and scattered six hits in five scoreless innings. He found himself in trouble on a number of occasions, but wiggled out, stranding the bases loaded in the first and third innings.

His offense backed him with a 13-hit attack. Shaun Chase (Oregon) hit his fifth homer, Steven Duggar (Clemson) had three hits and Kevin Newman (Arizona) went 2-for-5 with two RBI. Four relievers followed McCanna to the mound, with Matt Eckelman (St. Louis) getting a save to finish off the victory.

Falmouth has won four of five and has now won the season series with Bourne, taking four of six. With four games left, it’ll be a sprint to the finish line as they chase the top seed.

Harwich 6, Orleans 3

The Mariners regained sole possession of first place in the East with a 6-3 victory over Orleans and a Y-D loss to Chatham. Jon Harris (Missouri State) was solid on the mound for the Mariners, allowing three runs in 5.1 innings, and Johnathan Frebis (Middle Tennessee State) pitched 3.2 scoreless innings to finish it off. It was the third save for Frebis, who has turned in seven scoreless outings in 10 total appearances. Harwich did their damage against Orleans ace Kolton Mahoney (BYU). Mahoney only allowed two earned runs but three errors behind him led to six runs total. Mahoney had not allowed more than four runs in any start this year. Joe McCarthy (Virginia) led the Harwich offense with two hits and three RBI. Matt Gonzalez (Georgia Tech) added two RBI.

Chatham 6, Y-D 5

Chatham cannot rise any higher than the fourth seed in the East, but the Anglers must take care of business to be assured of that spot and they took a step in the right direction by holding off Y-D. Jordan Hillyer (Kennesaw State) got the win with 5.2 solid innings, and Kyle Davis (USC) kept a Y-D rally from getting off the ground for his fifth save. Nicholas Sciortino (Boston College), a reinforcement making his first appearance of the summer, went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Chris Shaw (Boston College) and Bryant Burleson (Texas Tech) added two hits and an RBI apiece. Chatham touched up Y-D starter Kevin Duchene (Illinois) for five runs in five innings. He had allowed two runs or fewer in four straight starts.

Cotuit 12, Hyannis 10

In the first of two meetings on consecutive days, Cotuit out-slugged Hyannis and moved within a point of the Harbor Hawks for third place in the West. The game was tied 10-10 heading into the top of the ninth, where Cotuit’s Jackson Glines (Michigan) knocked a two-run single to give his team the lead. That was all standout reliever Adam Whitt (Nevada) needed. The league’s ERA leader struck out two in a perfect ninth to seal the victory for Cotuit. Logan Taylor (Texas A&M) had four hits and scored three runs from the leadoff spot for the Kettleers. Drew Jackson (Stanford) added three hits, while Glines and Kyle Holder (San Diego) had two each. For Hyannis, Carl Wise (College of Charleston) had five RBI in the losing effort.

Wareham 6, Brewster 6

The two teams trying to sneak into their respective last playoff spots both helped themselves a bit as Wareham and Brewster played to a 6-6 tie after darkness ended the game in the 10th. Blake Lacey (USC) had three hits and Nick Halamandaris (California) had two RBI for the Gatemen, who scored two in the top of the ninth to force the tie. John Sansone (Florida State) drove in two runs for Brewster. Jason Richman (Georgia Southern) kept Brewster off the board with 3.1 scoreless innings of relief for Wareham. The Gatemen are seven points out of a playoff spot with four games to play. Brewster is five games out in the East.

What to Watch

Playoff implications in a lot of games. Keep an eye on two match-ups in the West. Bourne will play Orleans as it tries to hold onto first place, while Falmouth hosts Wareham as it tries to catch the Braves. The Falmouth-Wareham match-up features a good pitching match-up, with Kyle Cody (Kentucky) starting for the Gatemen against Alex Young (TCU).

June 20, 2014June 20, 2014

Out of the Gate

Chris Chinea and Wareham have been one of the best offenses in the league.

Eight games into the 2014 Cape Cod Baseball League season, the Wareham Gatemen have only one more win than they had at this juncture last year and again find themselves in the basement of the West, where they spent most of last season.

But if it was hard to imagine the Gatemen climbing out of the basement, it’s far from difficult this year.

Wareham beat Cotuit 8-3 on Thursday. They’ve now scored the second-most runs in the league, they have the second-most hits, the most total bases, the second-best batting average and the best OPS. The Gatemen have scored 34 runs in eight games. Only once last year did they score 34 in any eight-game stretch.

Those are all signs that this summer could be different for the 2012 champs, even if the record hasn’t followed suit quite yet.

Thursday’s victory over Cotuit snapped a four-game losing streak. Like Wareham’s only previous victory – a 13-3 win over Chatham – the offense shouldered the load, pounding 15 hits against four Cotuit pitchers. Unlike the night before, when Wareham had 14 hits but scored only four runs, the production was there on Thursday.

Blake Lacey (USC) went 2-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI from the nine hole. Kramer Robertson (LSU) and Andrew Knizner (NC State) had three hits each, while Charlie Warren (Rice), Anderson Miller (Western Kentucky) and John Bormann (Texas-San Antonio) had two apiece. Leadoff man Willie Calhoun (Arizona), who ranks fifth in the league in batting at .419 and leads in doubles, went 1-for-3 and scored a run. His one hit was a double, giving him six on the year. Nobody else in the league has more than three.

Along with the offense, Wareham pitched fairly well. Pitching to his college battery mate Bormann, Brock Hartson (Texas-San Antonio) struck out seven and allowed three earned in six innings while picking up his first CCBL win. Anthony Kay (Connecticut) pitched three scoreless innings for the save. Kay hasn’t allowed a run in 7.2 innings this year.

Wareham is two games out of a third-place tie between Cotuit and Falmouth, who are both 4-4. Cotuit hit two home runs in the loss to Wareham, getting one from Logan Taylor (Texas A&M) and one from recent arrival Austin Byler (Nevada). Byler was a key part of Cotuit’s championship run last year and was selected by the Washington Nationals in the ninth round of this year’s draft after leading the Mountain West in home runs.

Harwich 6, Chatham 5 (10 innings)

Harwich won in extra innings for the second night in a row and ran its league-best record to 7-1. The Mariners trailed 3-0 and 5-2 but rallied with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to force extras. After Matt Gonzalez (Georgia Tech) started the rally with a two-out single, Skye Bolt (North Carolina) had an RBI single and Robert Youngdahl (Notre Dame) knocked in two with a base hit to tie the game. In the 10th, Harwich loaded the bases on two singles and a catcher’s interference call. With two outs, Alex Perez (Virginia Tech) worked a walk to force in the winning run. Bolt led the Harwich offense with three hits, while Gonzalez, Perez and Sal Annunziata (Seton Hall) had two each. Anthony Hermelyn (Oklahoma) hit Harwich’s first home run of the summer. Gavin Pittore (Wesleyan) got the win with two scoreless innings of relief. Blake Butera (Boston College) had two hits for Chatham, who dropped to 3-5.

Hyannis 8, Bourne 3

The Harbor Hawks moved into a tie for first place in the West with Bourne thanks to an 8-3 victory over the Braves. Both teams are now 5-3. Donnie Dewees Jr. (North Florida) had one of the best offensive nights the league has seen thus far, going 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI to lead the Harbor Hawks. Dewees had three hits on the season coming into the game. Daniel Kihle (Wichita State) also homered and drove in three for Hyannis. Starter Nick Deeg (Central Michigan) gave up three runs in the first inning but promptly delivered seven scoreless innings after that. He struck out five and scattered eight hits. Marcus Brakeman (Stanford) tossed a scoreless ninth to finish the win.

Brewster 4, Orleans 2

After getting shut-out by Orleans 5-0 on Wednesday, Brewster matched up with the Firebirds and won 4-2 to move to 4-4 on the year. That’s good for second-place in the East. The Whitecaps delivered 10 hits and took a lead in the fourth that they never gave up. Mikey White (Alabama) and Justin Hazard (UCLA) had two hits each, while Scott Kingery (Arizona) and John Sansone (Florida State) knocked in one run apiece. On the mound, Andrew Naderer (Grand Canyon) allowed just an unearned run in five innings. Naderer has pitched in relief and now as a starter this summer, and his three appearances have coincided with Brewster wins. Pat Ruotolo (Connecticut) pitched the final four innings for a save. He struck out five.

Y-D 6, Falmouth 3

The Red Sox trailed 1-0 but scored five runs in the sixth and never looked back. Jason Goldstein (Illinois) cleared the bases with a double in the big sixth inning, while Michael Foster (Northeastern) and Hunter Cole (Georgia) brought in the other runs. Cole, making his Y-D debut, played for Cotuit last summer and was a 26th-round pick of the Giants this year. Jordan Tarsovich (VMI) went 2-for-4 and now leads the league in hitting with a .450 batting average. He has a hit in all six games he’s played. Nicholas Kozlowski (Hofstra) was credited with the win in relief and Dimitri Kourtis (Mercer) got the save. For Falmouth, Conor Costello (Oklahoma State) had a home run and a double.

What to Watch

Can anybody slow down Harwich? Bourne, who’s tied for the West lead, gets its crack when it visits Harwich tonight at 7 p.m.