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Up in the Air

Harwich kept Chatham from clinching a playoff spot while keeping its own hopes alive.
Harwich kept Chatham from clinching a playoff spot while keeping its own hopes alive.

A quick Daily Fog today. The biggest news? Nobody else clinched a playoff spot last night. Still four berths up for grabs.

Harwich 5, Chatham 2

Chatham scored two in the first as it tried to clinch a playoff bid but Harwich rallied for the 5-2 win. Coupled with a Y-D win, Chatham and the Red Sox are now tied for third place. Harwich is four points back of them and still in the mix. The Mariners got RBI from Sheldon Neuse (Oklahoma), Adam Pate (North Carolina) and Connor Justus (Georgia Tech) on the comeback trail. Cam Vieaux (Michigan State) settled in after giving up the two first-inning runs and went four innings. Hunter Newman (LSU) and Zach Schellenger (Seton Hall) shut-out the Anglers over the final five innings.
 

Falmouth 10, Wareham 3

The Commodores have won two straight and now find themselves just a point out of fourth place and three points out of third in the West. Five different players had two hits in a 13-hit barrage that included eight runs over the first two innings. Logan Ice (Oregon State), Evan Skoug (TCU) and Boomer White (Texas A&M) all scored twice in addition to their two hits. Joseph Camacho (Alabama State), making just his second start, gave up three runs in 6.2 innings for the win.
 

Y-D 4, Brewster 3

Y-D scored three in the sixth and held off a late push by Brewster to move into a third-place tie with Chatham. Gio Brusa (Pacific) led the Red Sox with his eighth home run, to go with two RBI. Cole Billingsley (South Alabama) and Tommy Edman (Stanford) added two hits each. Dustin Hunt (Northeastern) started for Y-D and pitched four scoreless innings with six strikeouts. Mason Kukowski (Yale) got the win in relief and Chad Hockin (Cal State Fullerton) picked up the save.
 

Hyannis 6, Cotuit 2

Hyannis finished off a six-game season sweep of Cotuit with a 6-2 victory at Lowell Park. That means more than a quarter of the first-place Harbor Hawks’ 23 victories have come against the rival Kettleers. Thomas Burrows (Alabama) gave up one run in five innings for the win. He struck out five. Marc Skinner (Troy) and Aaron Civale (Northeastern) kept Cotuit from rallying. Jake Rogers (Tulane) led the Hyannis offense with three hits and two RBI. Austin Hays (Jacksonville) added two hits. For Cotuit, Will Haynie (Alabama) hit his eighth home run.
 

Orleans 4, Bourne 1

Fresh off their division-clinching win Thursday, the Firebirds made it two wins in a row with a victory over Bourne. John Kilichowski (Vanderbilt) served notice that he might provide a major boost to a playoff rotation with 5.1 scoreless innings in his third appearance since his late arrival. He struck out seven and gave up three hits. Willie Abreu (Miami) led the Orleans offense with his second home run of the summer. Ronnie Dawson (Ohio State) added two hits and an RBI.
 

What to Watch

It’s the second-to-last day of the regular season, and literally every game features at least one team fighting for a playoff spot.
 

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Second Place Shutouts

Chatham players celebrate during a game earlier this season.
Chatham players celebrate during a game earlier this season.

 
Second place has been a distant second for much of the Cape League season, but with shutouts last night – and losses by first-place Orleans and Hyannis – second place teams Chatham and Bourne made up a bit of ground.

The Anglers cruised past Wareham 8-0 and are now four games back of Orleans, while the Braves tipped Y-D 4-0 to get within two games of Hyannis.

Chatham got five strong innings from Daniel Castano (Baylor), who struck out three and gave up just two hits. Carl Burdick (San Diego), James Mulry (Northeastern) and Andre Scrubb (High Point) finished off the shutout.

Every Chatham pitcher was on the hill with a big lead as the Anglers scored all eight of their runs in the first four innings. It was a good breakout for a team that had scored only five runs in its last five games.

Nine different Anglers had hits. Aaron Barnett (Pepperdine) and Garrett Hampson (Long Beach State) led the way with two RBI apiece. Will Craig (Wake Forest) and Jake Fraley (LSU) each scored two runs. Nate Mondou (Wake Forest) had two hits and an RBI.

Chatham has won two in a row and is now 18-13.

Over at Doran Park, the Braves didn’t have quite as much offense, but the pitching was just as good. Alex Robles (Austin Peay) who had taken a loss in three straight starts, went a long way in securing a victory with six shutout innings. He scattered five hits and struck out two. Cooper Hammond (Miami) and Gavin Pittore (Wesleyan) did the rest.

Pete Alonso (Florida) and Vince Fernandez (UC Riverside) drove in runs to lead the offense. National Freshman of the Year Brendan McKay (Louisville) made his Bourne debut after a Team USA stint and went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

The Braves have won two in a row and are 14-15-2.

 

Brewster 10, Orleans 6

The Whitecaps scored more runs than anybody has tallied against Orleans all year in a 10-6 victory at Eldredge Park. Corbin Burnes (St. Mary’s) was touched up for three earned runs and the Orleans bullpen didn’t have much better luck, as Brewster racked up 13 hits. Nick Senzel (Tennessee) went 2-for-5 and drove in three runs to bring his league-best RBI total to 22. Cassidy Brown (Loyla Marymount) hit his third home run. Jack Meggs (Washington) went 3-for-4 with two RBI. Robbie Tenerowicz (California) and Kel Johnson (Georgia Tech) added two hits each. For Orleans, Bobby Dalbec (Arizona) hit his league-best sixth home run and Ronnie Dawson (Ohio State) smacked his fourth, but the Whitecaps kept the Firebirds off the board over the final three innings. Starter Jordan Sheffield (Vanderbilt) allowed two earned runs in five innings for the win.
 

Harwich 6, Hyannis 1

West-leading Hyannis also went down, as Harwich raced to an early lead against Harbor Hawks ace Nick Deeg (Central Michigan) and cruised to a 6-1 win. Sheldon Neuse (Oklahoma) and Preston Palmeiro (NC State) hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the first inning, with Neuse’s going for three runs. Mike Hernandez (Nova Southeastern) hit a solo home run in the second. The Mariners had only four other hits on the day, but the early burst was enough. Cam Vieaux (Michigan State) struck out seven and gave up just one run in seven innings, his second straight very strong start. Joe Ravert (La Salle) pitched the final two innings.
 

Falmouth 5, Cotuit 2

The Commodores moved into third place in the West with a 5-2 victory over Cotuit and Wareham’s loss. Tate Blackman (Ole Miss) homered in drove in three runs while Heath Quinn (Samford) went 3-for-4 with two RBI. Boomer White (Texas A&M) added two hits. Alex Phillips (San Jacinto) allowed one run in six innings for the win and Stephen Villines (Kansas) tallied his sixth save. Falmouth improved to 13-18 while Cotuit dropped to 11-20.
 

What to Watch

Orleans’ Mitchell Jordan (Stetson) takes his 5-0 record and 0.00 ERA to Veterans Field for his first meeting of the year with Chatham. The Anglers are slated to give the ball to Ty Damron (Texas Tech), who went six innings without allowing an earned run in his last start.
 

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Harwich poised for more success

harwich 15
 
Harwich annually mines big-time programs for top young talent, and the cast will be similar this year. The pitching staff may lack a star at this point, but there’s plenty of pop in the order, with a handful of returning players ready to lead the way.

The Mariners won the Eastern Division regular-season crown last year.

FIVE TO WATCH

1. Buddy Reed
2. Sheldon Neuse
3. Saige Jenco
4. Hunter Newman
5. Cavan Biggio
 

NOTABLE

  • Harwich has some Big League bloodlines with the sons of Craig Biggio and Preston Palmeiro and a cousin of Brad Lidge. With Biggio and Lidge, it’s a particularly strong Houston Astros connection. Can we find a Bagwell somewhere?

  • Like a number of teams profiled so far, the Mariners don’t have the proven ace-type pitcher on staff. Alabama’s Geoffrey Bramblett is probably the closest, after a steady year in the Crimson Tide’s weekend rotation.

  • LSU’s Hunter Newman has been terrific in a bullpen role for the Omaha-bound Tigers this season. He has a 0.53 ERA in plenty of work.

  • Florida and outfielder Buddy Reed are also headed to Omaha. Reed has been one of the best hitters in a dynamic Gator offense. He was rated one of the top prospects in the Northwoods League last summer.

  • Virginia Tech’s Saige Jenco was one of the top prospects in the Futures League before he even got to Blacksburg, playing there after his senior season of high school. The outfielder has since turned into an all-ACC player.

  • Baseball America tabbed Oklahoma’s Sheldon Neuse as its preseason Big 12 Player of the Year. It didn’t quite pan out, but Neuse still earned first-team all-conference honors after hitting .275. Neuse plays shortstop and can also pitch.

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    PITCHERS

    Evan Anderson – SO – Ole Miss – Had 2.11 ERA in swing role last year but had some struggles in same spot this year, with ERA over 6
    Geoffrey Bramblett – SO – Alabama – Moved to weekend rotation this year and was solid, going 8-3 with 3.81 ERA and 69 Ks
    Williams Durruthy – SO – Florida International – Standout reliever for two years running had 2.18 ERA, 2 saves this year
    Anthony Pacillo – SO – Seton Hall – Has 3.69 career ERA over 27 appearances, mostly starts in two years with Pirates
    Joe O’Donnell – SO – NC State – Ranked second on team in appearances and posted 2.08 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 52 IP
    Sean Labsan – SO – Florida Atlantic – Two-way player focused mostly on pitching this season and had 3.61 ERA as a starter
    Luke Scherzer – SO – Virginia Tech – Closer for the Hokies since freshman year owns nine career saves, struck out 56 in 45.2 IP this year
    Spencer Trayner – SO – North Carolina – Bullpen workhorse had 4.81 ERA in 23 appearances this spring
    Cam Vieaux – SO – Michigan State – Followed solid freshman year by going 4-7 with 3.49 ERA in weekend rotation
    Hunter Williams – FR – North Carolina – Made nine solid starts as a freshman and posted 1.79 ERA
    Cory Wilder – SO – NC State – Led team in strikeouts with 79 in 64.1 innings, finished with 3.50 ERA
    Zach Schellenger – FR – Seton Hall – Big righty went 2-3 with 4.97 ERA in debut season with Seton Hall
    Jacob Hill – JR – San Diego – Former JUCO standout had ERA over seven in 20 relief appearances but struck out 30 in 28 IP
    Joe DiBenedetto – SO – Seton Hall – Grabbed closer’s spot and saved three games to go with 3.13 ERA this spring
    Hunter Newman – SO – LSU – Back after medical redshirt, has been lights-out reliever with 0.53 ERA in 33.2 IP
     

    CATCHERS

    Stevie Berman – SO – Santa Clara – Standout hitter from the catching spot batted .336 with 4 HR this year
    Ryan Lidge – SO – Notre Dame – Nephew of former MLB closer Brad hit .279 with two homers in second season with Irish
     

    INFIELDERS

    Cavan Biggio – SO – Notre Dame – Son of Craig, returning Mariner hit .258 with 9 HR as a sophomore
    Drew Ellis – FR – The Citadel – Hit only .229 as a freshman but blasted 12 HR, fourth in the nation among freshmen
    Preston Palmeiro – SO – NC State – Son of former MLB star Rafael hit .305 with 7 HRs in first season of full-time duty
    Connor Justus – SO – Georgia Tech – Standout defender at shortstop hit .251 this season
    Sheldon Neuse – SO – Oklahoma – Fourth-best prospect in Cal Collegiate League last year hit .275 with 6 HR this spring
    Danny Zardon – SO – LSU – Returning Mariner hitting .288 for Tigers as a sophomore
     

    OUTFIELDERS

    Saige Jenco – SO – Virginia Tech – Third-team all-ACC pick hit .330 with 3 HR, 27 RBI and 10 SB
    Buddy Reed – SO – Florida – Standout in Northwoods League last summer hitting .313 with 18 SB for Omaha-bound Gators
    Nick Walker – SO – Old Dominion – Tied for team lead with six home runs this year, to go with .279 average
    Brock Deatherage – NC State – Started 35 games as a freshman and hit .291, stole 7 bases