Opening Weekend

Eric Lauer led the Cape League in strikeouts last summer and will be part of a marquee pitching match-up on college baseball's opening day. — Eric Lauer led the Cape League in strikeouts last summer and will be part of a marquee pitching match-up on college baseball’s opening day.

Friday is a major milestone on the march to a Cape League summer – and a great day in its own right.

Division I college baseball opens with 137 games on the schedule. Cape League stars past and future will be on diamonds across America. If you’re in the mood to watch, Watch ESPN has 13 games streaming Friday, beginning at 4 p.m.

Without further ado, some Cape League-centric notes on the opening weekend proceedings . . .

Friday’s game between Virginia and Kent State at the Caravelle Resort Tournament in Myrtle Beach could be one of the highlights of the weekend. The Cavaliers are the defending national champs, while the Golden Flashes are a perennial mid-major contender and aren’t far removed from a 2012 trip to Omaha.Friday, the Golden Flashes will send former Orleans Firebird Eric Lauer to the hill, and he figures to give them a chance. Lauer had a terrific sophomore season last year, putting up a 1.98 ERA with 103 strikeouts. He didn’t slow down much on the Cape, leading the league with 50 strikeouts while posting a 2.04 ERA. MLB Pipeline lists Lauer as the 38th-best prospect for the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.His opponent Friday is Virginia’s Connor Jones, MLB Pipeline’s 11th-best prospect. Interestingly, Lauer and Jones were slated to be teammates in Orleans, but Jones sat out the summer after a heavy workload for the CWS champ Cavaliers. (Also an initial member of the Orleans pitching staff? No. 2 draft prospect A.J. Puk of Florida. Just a crazy collection of arms had it panned out).
Lauer says he’s more confident than ever after his summer on the Cape, and he’ll need to be confident against the Cavaliers.

Lauer’s Orleans teammate Mitchell Jordan gets the start for Stetson Friday at 6:30 p.m. against Delaware. In a Stetson uniform last spring, Jordan was solid, with a 3.28 ERA. For the Firebirds, he was transcendent, posting a 0.21 ERA on his way to Cape League Pitcher of the Year honors. It’ll be interesting to see what Jordan’s big summer means for him this season. The Atlantic Sun named him a preseason all-conference pick.

The Volunteer State gets a cool baseball showcase when Tennessee and Memphis square off in Chattanooga this weekend. Tennessee will be led by a pair of 2015 Cape League standouts in infielder Nick Senzel and pitcher Kyle Serrano. Senzel earned league MVP and top prospect honors for Brewster and is projected to be one of the top players in the country this year, as well as a first-round pick. Serrano, another Orleans pitcher, will be an anchor for the Vols’ pitching staff.

Oklahoma State is ranked as high seventh in national preseason polls, and a guy who won big on the Cape is a major reason why. Donnie Walton, a key part of Y-D’s championship club, is one of seven starters back for the Cowboys. They face UT Arlington and Stephen F. Austin this weekend.

Matt Krook’s comeback started in Wareham, and it will continue Saturday when Oregon faces San Diego State. Krook was a supplemental first-round pick in 2013 who had Tommy John surgery. He missed all of the college season last spring before getting back on the mound for the first time with the Gatemen. And it could prove to be the beginning of a great comeback. Krook is MLB Pipeline’s 23rd-ranked prospect for the 2016 draft, and he was reportedly at the top of his game in Oregon’s final preseason scrimmage.

Andrew Calica’s season for UC Santa Barbara begins Friday at 5 p.m. against San Francisco, as the former Gatemen tries to build on hitting .400 on the Cape. As with the aforementioned Jordan, it’ll be very interesting what a terrific Cape League season will mean.

The series between Arizona and Rice shapes up as a good one. We’ll see if Bobby Dalbec’s ridiculous Cape League home run rate carries over to the spring.

Few players on the Cape last summer helped themselves more than Dakota Hudson in Hyannis. The Mississippi State flame-thrower delivered the production to match his projection and will be a big prospect to watch this spring. He’ll start for the Bulldogs Friday against Florida Atlantic.

Some future Orleans Firebirds will be on opposite sides when San Diego and Vanderbilt get together this weekend. San Diego catcher Riley Adams and Vandy’s Chandler Day, Donny Everett and Ethan Paul are all set to play in Orleans. Day was recently named the top freshman prospect in America by D-1Baseball.com. With a crowded staff that includes Cape playoff hero Ben Bowden, Day is likely to pitch out of the bullpen for the Commodores. Vanderbilt’s roster also features some future Cotuit Kettleers, including standout pitcher Kyle Wright and freshman infielder Alonzo Jones.

Consensus preseason No. 1 Florida is a little light on Cape League flavor after a ton of their rising juniors played for Team USA last summer. As for popular No. 2 pick Louisville, the Cards have plenty of Cape League roots. Brendan McKay and Nick Solak, who played for Bourne last summer, are poised for big years. Kyle Funkhouser, a Chatham Angler in 2013, is back after he was drafted in the first round by the Dodgers but didn’t sign. Louisville faces Southern Illinois-Edwardsville to open its season.

February 11, 2016February 11, 2016

Appreciating 2015

Andrew Calica's .425 season was one of the highlights of 2015. — Andrew Calica’s .425 season was one of the highlights of 2015.

In making some lists on 2015 Cape League alumni to watch this college season, I was struck by some of the standout performances of last summer. The season goes so fast and ends so abruptly that it’s easy to lose track of the season that was. And postseason top prospect lists tend to focus on the talent level, not on what the players, fans and organizations experience on the Cape’s sandy shores.

For a brief trip down memory lane, start with Andrew Calica. The Wareham outfielder didn’t qualify for the batting title until late in the season, but when he did, history was made. Calica hit .425, becoming the first Cape Leaguer to hit the .400 mark since 1990. Several had come close over the years, but no one finished it off until Calica.

Bobby Dalbec hit four home runs in the first week of the season for Orleans, left for Team USA, came back in July and hit eight more home runs, plus two in the playoffs. Dalbec hit a home run every 8.2 at-bats. And in a two-year career with Orleans, the Arizona slugger hit 19 home runs in 62 games. From that perspective, he’s a Cape League all-timer.

On the mound, Mitchell Jordan finished with a 0.21 ERA for Orleans, matching Eric Milton’s 1996 Cape League record. He allowed two earned runs the entire season. And Y-D’s Ben Bowden had a remarkable run for the Red Sox after his July arrival. In 17.1 regular season innings out of the bullpen, he didn’t allow a single run. The first time anyone scored off him was in game three of the Cape League championship series – and it didn’t much matter. The Red Sox won 8-1 and Bowden finished it off.

There were plenty more great moments, of course, but those performances really stick out. It was a fun year.

Notes

Three former Cape Leaguers spent part of their winter in the Australian Baseball League, a relatively new venture that aims to grow the game Down Under and also serve as a winter destination for players in MLB systems. Former Orleans Firebird Maxx Tissenbaum, a Tampa Bay farm-hand, was on the Brisbane team that won the ABL championship. That squad beat Dallas Gallant (Hyannis) and the Adelaide Bite in the title series. Falmouth alum Rhys Hoskins hit eight home runs for the Sydney Blue Sox.

One week before the Division I season opens, the D-II ranks will treat baseball fans to a terrific pitching match-up in California this Friday. Former Wareham Gatemen pitcher Ryan Olson of Cal Poly Pomona will square off with Tyler Wells of Cal State San Bernardino. Both hurlers will get some draft buzz. Baseball America projected as the D-II national pitcher of the year.

Cool read on Kevin Costner’s connection to Cal State Fullerton baseball.

The Southern Conference tabbed 2015 Orleans star Kyle Lewis to repeat as the league’s Player of the Year. Lewis’ Mercer team is also atop the preseason poll.

Cape Leaguers Carmen Benedetti, Brett Adcock and Evan Hill lead a Michigan team that’s been picked as the Big Ten favorite.

Wareham announced the addition of new assistant coach Don Sneddon, the longtime coach at Santa Ana College and a former manager in the Rockies’ system. He joins a new-look staff that will be headed by first-year manager Gerry Weinstein, who was hired in September.

And lastly, the 2016 season begins in 119 days. Plan accordingly.

January 31, 2016January 31, 2016

Back to baseball

Greetings! Why, yes, this is an off-season Right Field Fog post. Hopefully, the first of many.

This time last year, I was knee-deep in my first season of covering college basketball in Rhode Island, and was hibernating in an igloo, but I’ve got a little more of a handle on it now and it’s warm all of a sudden. So, you can expect some regular stuff here in the next few months — this new hot stove notebook, plus college, draft and alumni talk.

Happy New Year to you and yours. Let’s talk baseball.

It’s a bit quiet on the roster front, with only Cotuit, Harwich, Brewster andOrleans posting rosters at this point. A couple of names that caught my eye — Harwich’s Tyler Wilson was the Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year as a freshman at Rhode Island and has big-time potential. Brewster’s Brent Rooker, who had a late cup of coffee with the Whitecaps last year, was the NECBL MVP.

Circle June 10 on your 2016 calendar. That’s day one of the Cape Cod Baseball League season. Wareham visits Y-D and Orleans heads to Brewster for 5 p.m. starts, with Hyannis visiting Bourne at 6, Cotuit heading to Harwich at 6:30 and Chatham finishing things off at 7 with a home game against Falmouth. Also of note in the schedule — no more scheduled doubleheaders.

The league also announced that Veterans Field in Chatham will host the 2016 All-Star Game July 23. If I remember right, the last one in Chatham was pretty good.

Congratulations to Judy Walden-Scarafile on her retirement as Cape League president.

Y-D manager Scott Pickler has been inducted into his high school alma mater’s Athletic Hall of Fame. Considering his propensity for CCBL championships, it should come as no surprise that he won a California state baseball championship as a player.

The MLB Draft is set for June 9. Much can happen between now and then, but MLB Pipeline likes Orleans outfield-mates Kyle Lewis and Bryan Reynolds as Top 10 picks with former Firebird teammate Bobby Dalbec not far behind. Other CCBL names of note in the top 50 include Nick Senzel, Matt Krook, Jake Fraley and Ben Bowden.

Check out some alumni and college notes while you’re here. Yes, that’s 3 offseason posts!

January 31, 2016January 31, 2016

Big summer, big spring?

A breakout summer in the Cape League has served as a launching pad for many a professional baseball career. Lost in the shuffle of that trajectory is what a breakout summer on the Cape can mean for a guy before baseball becomes his full-time job.

Last season’s All-America teams were dotted with guys who followed Cape League breakouts with big springs, like Donnie Dewees, Garrett Stubbs and Andrew Stevenson.

Who are the guys poised to do it this year? D1Baseball.com’s preseason All-America teams include a host of candidates.

Kyle Lewis technically had his breakout last spring, when he hit 17 homers on his way to Southern Conference Player of the Year honors. But with a strong summer in Orleans, Lewis officially put himself on the national map. D1Baseball has him as a first-team All-American outfielder.

Also on the first team are Nick Solak and Errol Robinson, two of the Cape’s best middle infielders last summer. Solak hit .329 for Bourne while Robinson hit .312 and stole 15 bases in leading the charge for West champ Hyannis.

Reigning CCBL MVP Nick Senzel is the second baseman on the second team All America squad. I had kind of forgotten how great Senzel was for Brewster last summer. He slashed .364/.410/.558 and led the league in RBI with 33.

Bryan Reynolds and Bobby Dalbec joined Lewis in making Orleans probably the most talented team in the league last year. Both are second-team honorees.

The best breakout by a pitcher on these lists probably belongs to Dakota Hudson. A key part of Hyannis’ run to the Cape League championship series, Hudson leads the third team All-America squad.

We’ll see what the season holds, but it’s a safe bet these guys will be on target this spring. That’s the other thing about a Cape League breakout — it usually isn’t followed by a slump. If you can do it on the Cape’s sandy shores, you can do it anywhere.

August 9, 2015August 9, 2015

Beating the Best

Gio Brusa gets a high five from Scott Pickler as he rounds third base after his first-inning home run Saturday night.

The summer of 2007 was the last time a team with the best regular-season record in the Cape League went on to the league championship. Even with a team as good as the 2015 Orleans Firebirds, the streak lives on.

Defending champion Yarmouth-Dennis ousted Orleans Saturday night at Eldredge Park, riding dominant pitching for the second consecutive day to a 2-1 victory. The Red Sox, who had lost game one, also won by a 2-1 score in Friday’s game two, which went 13 innings. Orleans – which had the same record as the 2007 Y-D Red Sox, the last team to win with the best mark – is out by the narrowest of margins.

With Mitchell Jordan (Stetson) on the hill Saturday and the offense chomping at the bit after being limited for 13 innings the night before, Orleans seemed poised for a rebound. Instead, Y-D found a way.

Dustin Hunt (Northeastern), who had a 4.96 ERA this spring and began his summer in the Y-D bullpen, drew the start. He had delivered some pretty good performances and quietly struck out 33 in 22.2 innings. Saturday, he was a whole lot better than pretty good. Hunt struck out 10 and gave up just two hits in 7.2 innings. Neither of the hits went for extra bases.

And he pitched with a lead. Gio Brusa (Pacific), the third batter of the game, hit the first home run that Jordan has surrendered all summer in staking the Red Sox to the 1-0 lead. Brusa was at it again in the eighth, hitting a two-out double and scoring on a Donnie Walton (Oklahoma State) single.

Hunt struck out the first two batters in the eighth before Evan Bell (Indiana) relieved him. The Firebirds quickly started their comeback, getting a base hit by Sean Murphy (Wright State) and an error in left field that allowed him to score. Another error put runners on first and third, but Y-D escaped with a force-out at second base.

In the ninth – with the middle of the order up – Bell struck out home run king Bobby Dalbec (Arizona) and retired standout Kyle Lewis (Mercer). After a single by Willie Abreu (Miami), Chad Hockin (Cal State Fullerton) relieved Bell and ended the game with a strikeout.

It was a fitting finish – Y-D pitching allowed Orleans two runs in the last two games – all 22 innings of them – and the Red Sox are moving on because of it.

For Orleans, it’s a tough ending. As a fan, I like to see great teams do great things. But as is often the case in the Cape League, the great things can come from anybody.

Y-D will be in the finals for the sixth time in the last 10 years, a remarkable stretch.

The championship series begins tonight at McKeon Park.

August 6, 2015August 6, 2015

Restoring Order

Bobby Dalbec hit his 13th and 14th home runs of the summer as Orleans beat Chatham.

With one swing of the bat Wednesday night, Bobby Dalbec got the Orleans Firebirds right back on track.

After a stunning 1-0 loss to Chatham in game two of their playoff series Tuesday, Dalbec made sure there was no shut-out Wednesday, smacking a three-run home run in the first inning and sending the Firebirds on their way to a 10-1 win and a spot in the East Division finals.

Dalbec added another home run later in the game – finishing with six RBI – Jeremy Martinez also went deep and Corbin Burnes (St. Mary’s) gave up one run in 6.2 strong innings as the Firebirds stayed alive.

Chatham had gotten a terrific pitching performance Tuesday in sending the Firebirds to just their second shutout all season, but lightning did not strike twice. Bryan Reynolds (Vanderbilt) led off the bottom of the first with a single, Martinez walked and Dalbec smashed the home run. Orleans never trailed and led 7-0 before Chatham got on the board.

Dalbec continued what has been a remarkable season. The slugger from Arizona led the league in home runs with 12 in the regular season. Last night’s showing makes 14. And he has played in just 30 games, thanks to a stint with Team USA in the middle of the summer.

Dalbec is hitting a home run every 7.4 at-bats this summer. For a reference point, the Major League career leader in that category, Mark McGwire, hit a home run every 10.61 at-bats.

And, as RFF commenter Orville from Orleans has noted, Dalbec also hit five home runs for Orleans last year, giving him a career total of 19. That’s believed to be a Cape League wood-bat career record. Single-season wood-bat home run kings Dave Staton and Tyler Horan hit 16. Horan added two in the playoffs in 2012.

All that aside, Dalbec’s slugging ways aren’t the only thing that makes Orleans dangerous. Martinez went 2-for-3 with a homer, while leadoff man Reynolds went 4-for-4 and scored four runs.

Burnes also delivered. The righty had a few hiccups midway through the season but was on his game Wednesday, striking out four and allowing one run on four hits. Jared Carkuff (Austin Peay) finished off the win with 2.1 scoreless innings.

Orleans moves on to the East finals, where it will match up with defending champ Y-D.

What to Watch

The division finals get underway tonight, with Hyannis hosting Bourne at 6 p.m. and Orleans welcoming Y-D at 7 p.m.

August 3, 2015August 3, 2015

Four Hundred

Andrew Calica went 1-for-3 Sunday, finishing with a .425 batting average.

Andrew Calica made his Cape Cod Baseball League debut on June 23 at Spillane Field. He batted ninth for Wareham and went 0-for-3 in a 4-0 loss.

It was not a sign of things to come.

From that beginning, Calica authored one of the best seasons at the plate in Cape League history. With a 1-for-3 night in Sunday’s regular season finale, Calica finished with a .425 batting average. Forty-eight hits in 113 at-bats. And a long list of achievements:

Calica’s average is the highest in the league since Terry Steinbach hit .431 for Cotuit in 1982 — with a metal bat.

Calica’s mark is the highest since the league switched to wood bats in 1985.

His average cracks the top five in Cape League history, ranking fifth.

Calica becomes the first player to finish with an average above .400 in 25 years, since Mark Smith hit .408 for Wareham in 1990.

In this day and age, batting average is not one of the cool stats. There are better ways to measure value. And as was the case when Miguel Cabrera’s Triple Crown took a back-seat to an MVP debate, value-driven stats tend to bury other numbers.

They shouldn’t. Hitting .400 is a big deal.

A Cape League season may be a small sample – and Calica arrived two weeks late – but if hitting .400 was easy, then it wouldn’t have taken 25 years to do it. It was reasonable to wonder if it would ever happen again.

Calica was the guy to break through. The 6’1, 190-pound outfielder hit .329 in his redshirt sophomore season at UC Santa Barbara this spring. He had hit .310 in his first full season with the Gauchos.

Following his 0-for-3 debut for Wareham, he went 3-for-4 the next night. That was a sign of a things to come.

Calica would go on to 16 multi-hit games out of 31 games played. Most of the hits were singles – 45 out of 48, to be exact, with two doubles and a homer mixed in – but Calica just kept knocking base hits.

He kept his average above .400 into mid-July, though he was off the qualifying pace for the batting title.

On July 15, Calica went 0-for-4 against Chatham. He went 0-for-4 again the next night, then 0-for-3. His average was at .371. He was human.

In his next five games, he went 15-for-23. That stretch included a 5-for-5 night against Hyannis on July 23. It was the moment when .400 became a true possibility.

Calica would stay well above the mark the rest of the way. When he finally reached the qualifying number for plate appearances – naturally, with a 3-for-4 night – his average was at .439 with four games to go.

He played in all four of those games and had a hit in all four. Sunday, with .400 all but secure – he would have had to go 0-for-8 to fall under .400 – Calica delivered a third-inning single for hit number 48, the finishing touch on a remarkable season.

The Cape League’s 400 club finally has a new member.

End of the Road

After pushing the teams above them to the limit, Falmouth and Harwich both bowed out of the playoff race with one-run losses Sunday.

The Commodores would have been in with a win, but lost a 10-inning heartbreaker 6-5 to Bourne. Trailing 5-4 in the ninth, Falmouth kept its season alive on a sacrifice fly by Tristan Gray (Rice), but Bourne pushed a run across in the top of the 10th. J.B. Woodman (Ole Miss) doubled with one out in the bottom half but was stranded at second by Braves reliever Nick Jensen-Clagg (Kent State).

Heading into Sunday, Harwich needed a little more help than Falmouth and got it when both Chatham and Y-D lost their finales. But Brewster scored early and often and held off a late charge for an 8-7 win over the Mariners.

Nick Senzel (Tennessee) homered, while J.C. Escarra (Florida International) and Ryan Peurifoy (Georgia Tech) delivered two hits each for the Whitecaps. The Mariners started down the comeback trail with three in the sixth but would get no closer than one run. Thomas Hackimer (St. John’s) struck out the side in the ninth to finish it off.

Thanks to those losses, playoff seedings are as follows:

East
1. Orleans
2. Brewster
3. Y-D
4. Chatham

West
1. Hyannis
2. Bourne
3. Wareham
4. Cotuit

Wareham 7, Cotuit 4

While three teams lost their finales but still clinched playoff spots, Wareham got in with a win. The Gatemen used a five-run sixth inning to break open a close game and held on from there. Kramer Robertson (LSU) and Connor Beck (TCU) had two hits and two RBI each to lead the charge. Ian Hamilton (Washington State) struck out nine in 5.1 innings for the win. Evan Hill (Michigan) went the final 3.2 innings for the save.

Orleans 8, Chatham 4

Orleans won its fourth straight to close the season and matched the 31-12-1 record of the 2007 Y-D Red Sox, the best mark of the last 15 years. Bobby Dalbec (Arizona) finished off his home run crown with his 12th (in 27 games). Tres Barrera (Texas) also homered, Willie Abreu (Miami) had three hits, and Kyle Lewis (Mercer), Alex Call (Ball State) and Bryan Reynolds (Vanderbilt) chipped in two hits each. Parker Bean (Liberty) was credited with the win in relief. Chatham finished the season on a four-game losing streak, including two in a row to Orleans. The two will meet again in the opening round of the playoffs.

Hyannis 5, Y-D 4

Hyannis completed its wire-to-wire run atop the West with a 5-4 win over Y-D. Bobby Melley (Connecticut), who had played only three games this summer and none since June 14, returned with a bang, going 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Jacob Noll (Florida Gulf Coast) homered as part of a three-hit night. Blake Quinn (Cal State Fullerton) went six strong innings for the win.

What to Watch

Teams will jump right into the playoffs tonight. The schedule:

Y-D at Brewster, 4 p.m.
Cotuit at Hyannis, 6 p.m.
Wareham at Bourne, 6 p.m.
Chatham at Orleans, 7 p.m.

July 31, 2015July 31, 2015

Back to Normal

Alex Call waits for a throw at second base against Cotuit earlier this week. The Firebirds clinched the East title Thursday.

It was back to regularly-scheduled programming in the Cape League’s East Division on Thursday night. After two losses and a tie in their previous three games, the Orleans Firebirds looked like their old selves as they clinched the regular-season division title with a 12-8 victory over Hyannis. With Brewster losing, Orleans now cannot be caught.

The Firebirds were not as sharp as usual on the mound, but their powerful offense was on target. The Firebirds hit two home runs in an eight-run second inning. They finished the night with 18 hits, five of which went for extra bases. Ten different players had at least one hit.

With All-Star Game West MVP Devin Smeltzer (San Jacinto) on the hill for Hyannis, you wouldn’t have predicted a slugfest. But after getting a run in the first, the Firebirds went wild in the second inning. Bobby Dalbec (Arizona) hit a grand slam and Kyle Lewis (Mercer) followed that with a solo shot.

Hyannis eventually found some of its offense, making it an 11-8 game in the eighth, but that was as close as it got.

Dalbec went 2-for-3 and the home run was his league-best 11th. I sound like a broken record, but his pace is incredible. Dalbec has played in 25 games. Eleven of his 26 hits are homers.

Lewis finished 4-for-5 with four RBI as he broke out of an 0-for-11 slump. Bryan Reynolds (Vanderbilt), Jeremy Martinez (USC), Daniel Pinero (Virginia) and Sean Murphy (Wright State) all chipped in two hits.

Corbin Burnes (St. Mary’s) was credited with the win in relief.

Orleans finishes its four-game season series against Hyannis with a 3-1 record. The Harbor Hawks are in line to win the West, but they aren’t there yet. In a season of Orleans success, it was fitting that the Firebirds got there first.

With three games remaining, the Firebirds could still match the record of the 2007 Y-D Red Sox, who went 31-12-1, the best record in the league in at least the last 15 years.

Y-D 2, Chatham 1

With fifth-place Harwich losing to Wareham, Y-D had a chance to get some breathing room in the East standings. A seventh-inning rally against Chatham did the trick. The Red Sox won 2-1 and moved four points ahead of Harwich for the final playoff berth and just two points back of Chatham for the third seed. The Anglers broke a scoreless tie with a run in the sixth on a Will Craig (Wake Forest) RBI double. But in the very next half-inning, Y-D pushed the tying run across on a passed ball and plated the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Gio Brusa (Pacific). Ben Bowden (Vanderbilt), who had come on in the sixth, ran with the lead, striking out seven of the 13 batters he faced in 3.2 scoreless innings of relief. Y-D is now 21-20. Chatham is 22-19.

Falmouth 11, Brewster 7

Falmouth isn’t dead quite yet. The Commodores snapped a seven-game losing streak with a victory over Brewster. Coupled with a Cotuit loss, the Commodores are only three points out of the final playoff spot in the West. J.B. Woodman (Ole Miss) went 2-for-4 with a home run to lead the offensive breakout for Falmouth. Mitch Longo (Ohio), Evan Skoug (TCU) and Tate Blackman (Ole Miss) each drove in two runs. J.J. Matijevic (Arizona) had two doubles. Conor Costello (Oklahoma State) got the win, giving up two runs in five innings. Brewster scored five runs in the seventh against the bullpen but the game was called due to darkness after that.

Wareham 5, Harwich 2

The Gatemen inched closer to a playoff spot while Andrew Calica (UC Santa Barbara) inched closer to hitting .400 for the year in a win over Harwich. Wareham now has a two-point edge on Cotuit for third place in the West and is five points in front of last-place Falmouth. As for Calica, he went 1-for-2, walked once and was hit by a pitch. It’s hard to raise a .439 average, but that line did it — Calica is now at .440 with just three games remaining. If you assume he gets 12 at-bats over those final three games, he would need just one hit in 12 at-bats to finish over .400. His teammates had a good offensive night Wednesday, as well. Jay Jabs (Franklin Pierce) went 3-for-4 with two RBI. Gavin Stupienski (UNC Wilmington) had two hits and an RBI. Brett Hanewich (Stanford) struck out eight and allowed just one earned run in five innings for the win. Shaun Anderson (Florida) pitched four innings of one-hit relief.

Bourne 10, Cotuit 7

Bourne rallied from a 5-0 deficit and won 10-7 in a game that was called after the seventh due to rain. Nick Solak (Louisville) went 3-for-5 with four RBI to spark the comeback efforts. Brendan McKay (Louisville) and Reid Humphreys (Mississippi State) knocked in two runs apiece, while Jason Delay (Vanderbilt) and Jacob Robson (Mississippi State) both had two hits and scored three runs. Joseph Christopher (St. John’s) gave up two unearned runs in 2.1 innings of relief to help set the stage for the comeback. Kyle Driscoll (Rutgers) got the win in relief. Bourne is 20-19-2 and still has a shot at the West division title. Cotuit fell to 16-25 with its second straight loss.

What to Watch

Chatham can clinch a playoff spot and clear up much of the East postseason picture if it wins tonight at Harwich.

July 29, 2015July 29, 2015

Chasing a Title

Andrew Calica is hitting .426 and should soon qualify for the batting title.

Yesterday’s games were the start of a mad dash to the finish in the Cape League, where there won’t be a day off until it’s all over. There’s much to be decided in the standings — and one very interesting race to be decided on league leaderboards.

Wareham’s Andrew Calica (UC Santa Barbara) went 2-for-6 in the Gatemen’s 12-inning, 4-4 tie with Harwich last night. The lefty-swinging outfielder is now batting .426. He has 17 hits in his last seven games. Assuming he stays hot, he looks like the favorite to win the batting title . . . as long as he gets enough plate appearances.

Calica arrived in Wareham two weeks into the season, and though he has been red-hot since the day he stepped foot on the Cape, he has yet to make an official appearance in the race for the league’s batting title. Players need a minimum of 2.7 plate appearances per team game, and Calica has yet to reach that threshold.

But it’s a number he’s steadily catching up to, and if he stays hot over the final week of the season, he could win the batting title and become the first Cape Leaguer to hit .400 since Mark Smith did it for Wareham in 1990.

Calculating plate appearances requires a bit of math (ABs + BBs + HBP + Sacrifices), so feel free to check me on this, but I’ve got Calica for 105 plate appearances as of last night (94 ABs + 6 BBs + 3 HBP + 2 Sacrifices). To qualify right now, through 39 team games, he would need 105.3 plate appearances, so he’s almost there.

If he gets three plate appearances tomorrow – a pretty good bet – he’ll be right on the number of 108 through 40 games. The end-of-season number needs to be 118.8. So Calica needs 14 plate appearances over his final five games to get above that mark.

As for the quest for .400, Calica has as good a chance as anybody I can remember. He’s averaging about 3.6 at-bats per game, which would give him 18 more at-bats this season. If he gets five hits in that span, he’ll finish at .402.

Calica’s performance Tuesday helped Wareham grab a point in the standings with the tie against Harwich. Mark Karaviotis (Oregon) and Connor Beck (TCU) also chipped in two hits, while Andrew Knizner (NC State) homered. The Gatemen trailed 4-3 in the top of the ninth but forced extras on Knizner’s home run.

Harwich got two hits and two RBI from Connor Justus (Georgia Tech). Sheldon Neuse (Oklahoma) pitched 2.1 scoreless innings of relief to keep the game tied in extras. The Mariners are 17-20-2 and the point they picked up with the tie moves them just two points out of a playoff spot.

Wareham is now 15-22-2 and is tied with Cotuit for third place in the West.

The Gatemen have yet to clinch a playoff spot, so they’ll be pushing hard over the season’s final week. Calica will be leading the charge.

Bourne 5, Y-D 3 (10 innings)

The Harwich-Wareham game was one of three extra-innings affairs on a wild night around the league. With a 10-inning victory over Y-D, Bourne clinched a playoff spot. The Braves are 19-18-2 and have won four in a row. Y-D tied last night’s game with two runs in the seventh inning, but as darkness closed in at Red Wilson Field, Bourne pushed two runs across in the 10th on consecutive bases-loaded walks to Reid Humphreys (Mississippi State) and Corey Julks (Houston). Austin Conway (Indiana State) then worked a perfect bottom of the 10th for his league-leading ninth save. Conway still hasn’t allowed an earned run all summer. Jacob Robson (Mississippi State) chipped in a home run for Bourne.

Orleans 6, Brewster 6 (12 innings)

Orleans was on the brink of clinching the outright East Division title, but second-place Brewster touched up the bullpen for four runs in the eighth and one in the ninth to force extras. The teams went on to play three more innings before the game was called in a tie. Mitchell Jordan (Stetson) allowed one unearned run in five innings, putting his season ERA at 0.21. The Firebirds staked themselves to a lead, as well, scoring all six of their runs in the first four innings. Bobby Dalbec (Arizona) hit his 10th home run and drove in three, while Daniel Pinero (Virginia) had two RBI. Brewster came to life in the eighth with a Nick Senzel (Tennessee) RBI single, a two-run triple by J.C. Escarra (Florida International) and an RBI groundout by Cassidy Brown (Loyola Marymount). Trailing by one in the ninth, Escarra plated the tying run with a base hit. Eder Erives (Arizona State) came out of the bullpen after that and slammed the door, pitching the final 3.1 innings, but the damage had been done. Had Orleans beaten Brewster, the teams would have been 12 points apart in the standings with five games left. As it is, they’re 10 points apart, which means there’s still a slim chance they could finish tied if Brewster wins its last five and Orleans loses all five.

Cotuit 6, Falmouth 1

The Kettleers won their third straight and gained a little more distance on the fading Commodores in the West Division race. Cotuit broke a 1-1 tie with four runs in the sixth inning. Spencer Gaa (Bradley) and Jeren Kendall (Vanderbilt) knocked in runs ahead of a two-run single by Will Haynie (Alabama), who finished with three RBI on the day. The rally made a winner out of Nick Lewis (Baylor), who tossed four scoreless innings of relief, striking out three and giving up no hits. Matthew Milburn (Wofford) had given Cotuit a solid start, allowing one run in five innings. Gaa, Kendall, Haynie and Branden Berry (Cal State Northridge) each had two hits to power the Cotuit offense. The Kettleers are now 16-23 and tied with Wareham for third place in the West. Falmouth, which has lost six in a row, is five points back Cotuit and Wareham.

Hyannis 4, Chatham 3

Even with Bourne surging, Hyannis still has a three-point edge at the top of the West thanks to a narrow victory over Chatham at Veterans Field last night. Jacob Noll (Florida Gulf Coast) went 3-for-3 with an RBI to lead the way, while Austin Hays (Jacksonville) had two hits and two RBI. Corey Bird (Marshall) scored two runs. Blake Quinn (Cal State Fullerton) allowed one earned run in five innings for the win. Aaron Civale (Northeastern) struck out five of the nine batters he faced in the two-inning save.

What to Watch

Orleans and Brewster will meet for the second straight night. League strikeout leader Eric Lauer (Kent State) goes for the Firebirds against Tyson Miller (California Baptist), who has a 2.11 ERA for the Whitecaps.

July 20, 2015July 20, 2015

Unofficial Derby

Bobby Dalbec has eight home runs in just 17 games this summer.

Bobby Dalbec (Arizona) will not participate in the Cape League All-Star Game’s Home Run Derby.

So the Orleans slugger simply had his own personal derby Sunday night. Dalbec blasted two, giving him a league-best eight on the summer, as the Firebirds beat Y-D 5-4.

While Ronnie Dawson (Ohio State) was the hero with a walk-off single in the ninth, Dalbec continued to carry the torch for the Firebirds’ powerful offense.

Dalbec’s eight home runs match of the end-of-season totals for the league leaders in each of the last two seasons. And of course, the amazing thing is that he has hit eight home runs in just 17 games. Dalbec started the season in Orleans and played in only nine games before departing for Team USA. He has played eight games since returning.

Because it’s fun to play the pace game, if Dalbec had not played with Team USA and continued on his current home run track, he would have somewhere around 13 right now.

Even when you don’t consider what could have been, Dalbec is having a remarkably powerful summer. He hit a two-run shot in the first inning last night then hit a solo shot in his next at-bat.

Dalbec’s bombs upped the Firebirds’ team total to 28. They have nearly doubled up their next closest competitor in that category (Y-D’s 15).

For all of Dalbec’s pop Sunday, the Firebirds found themselves in a tied game with Y-D in the ninth. Dawson came up with runners on first and third and plated the winning run with a base hit. Kit Scheetz (Virginia Tech) got the win in relief. Bryan Reynolds (Vanderbilt) went 3-for-4 and his hit in the ninth set up Dawson’s game-winner.

Orleans is now 24-9 and has a whopping 12-point lead on second-place Brewster and Chatham. Y-D fell to 17-16 with Sunday’s loss.

Falmouth 6, Hyannis 6

Hyannis trailed 6-1 in the bottom of the ninth and scored five runs to tie it before the teams played three scoreless extra innings. Austin Hays (Jacksonville) had a two-run double in the big ninth and came home with the tying run on a triple by Colby Bortles (Ole Miss). Hyannis went on to load the bases in the 11th but couldn’t push a run across. Wyatt Short (Ole Miss) and Andrew Frankenreider (Northern Illinois) handled the extra-inning pitching duties for Falmouth, while Will Stillman (Wofford) and Collin Kober (McNeese State) did the job for Hyannis. For Falmouth, J.J. Matijevic (Arizona) hit his fourth home run.

Bourne 4, Chatham 2

Bourne broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth on RBI singles by Mike Garzillo (Lehigh) and Nick Solak (Louisville) and went on to a 4-2 win over the Anglers. The key hits were part of 2-for-4 days for both Garzillo and Solak. Austin Conway (Indiana State) went 1.2 innings of relief for the win. Keegan Akin (Western Michigan) had gone five shutout innings before Chatham rallied. Luke Persico (UCLA) and Garrett Hampson (Long Beach State) both had two hits for the Anglers.

Harwich 8, Brewster 5

The Mariners stopped Brewster’s five-game winning streak with an 8-5 win at Whitehouse Field. Joe O’Donnell (NC State) tossed five shutout innings before the Whitecaps made a late surge against the Mariner bullpen that fell short. Sheldon Neuse (Oklahoma), Adam Pate (North Carolina) and Preston Palmeiro (NC State) all had three hits for the Mariners. Brock Deatherage (NC State) and Cavan Biggio (Notre Dame) each drove in two runs. Spencer Trayner (North Carolina) got the save for the Mariners, escaping a jam in the ninth.

Cotuit 5, Wareham 3

The Kettleers won for the second straight night and have now matched Wareham and Falmouth with 13 wins in the West. Cotuit trailed 3-0 into the fourth but scored all its runs from there. Jeren Kendall (Vanderbilt) went 2-for-3 with two RBI as he continues to be a major spark for the Kettleers. He’s hitting .297 since arriving from Omaha. Brett Stephens (UCLA), Tim Susnara (Oregon) and Jackson Klein (Stanford) each knocked in a run. Duncan Robinson (Dartmouth) got the win in relief and Justin Dunn (Boston College) had the save.

What to Watch

Off day around the league today. Tuesday night, second-place Bourne will try to continue its success against West-leading Hyannis at McKeon Park.