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First Place Duel

Kyle Freeland struck out six in two innings and combined with Jeff Hoffman on a shutout of Chatham.

 
For all the parity in the Cape Cod Baseball League this summer, there have been just four 1-0 games. Two of them have come in the budding rivalry between division leaders Hyannis and Chatham.

And knowing Hyannis’ propensity for winning close games, you can guess how they’ve gone.

The Harbor Hawks posted their second 1-0 win of the season against the Anglers last night, and this one was the most impressive. Jeff Hoffman (East Carolina) and Kyle Freeland (Evansville) combined for 16 strikeouts as the Harbor Hawks shut down the Anglers. Chatham pitchers did their part in the pitcher’s duel too, but Hyannis scored a run in the bottom of the ninth to win it.

Hyannis is now 21-12-1 and leading the West by two points over Cotuit. Chatham is 23-10-1 and has a whopping 12-point cushion on second-place Harwich in the East.

Wednesday’s match-up shaped up as a pitcher’s duel. Hoffman is perhaps the league’s top prospect while Chatham starter Tommy Lawrence (Maine) was rolling in with a 14.1 inning scoreless streak.

Neither blinked.

Hoffman is on a short leash this summer and Wednesday’s game was scheduled to be his last start. He went out with a bang, striking out 10 and allowing just four hits in seven scoreless innings. After a rough outing in his second start, Hoffman finished his short stint in Hyannis with a pair of shutout performances. He struck out 33 in 24.1 innings.

Freeland picked up where Hoffman left off. He allowed three hits in two innings but all the outs he recorded came via the strikeout. Freeland leads the league in strikeouts with 39, despite coming out of the bullpen in two of his seven appearances. Hoffman and Freeland combined to shut-out a Chatham team that had scored 39 runs in its last four games, all wins.

Lawrence kept up with the Hyannis aces, turning in his second straight quality start. He struck out four and gave up three hits in six innings. Chad Sobotka (South Carolina Upstate) worked a scoreless seventh and Kyle Funkhouser (Louisville) struck out the side in the eighth.

Just when it was looking like the battle would go on forever, though, Hyannis broke through. Tyler Spoon (Arkansas) hit a fly ball down the right-field line that was ruled fair and bounced past a diving Josh Eldridge (Old Dominion). Spoon raced to third and when the ball got away on a bad relay, he scampered home with the winning run.

Hyannis is now 3-1 against Chatham this season, with each win coming by one run. Chatham’s lone victory came by a 10-0 score.

 

Orleans 5, Bourne 4

The Firebirds edged Bourne for their fourth straight win and are suddenly just a point back of Harwich for second place in the East. I wouldn’t have expected the win streak to continue with unbeaten Jaron Long (Ohio State) on the mound for Bourne, but Orleans touched him up for two unearned runs and,with his all-star start coming Saturday, he departed after two innings. The Firebirds offense was led by Jordan Betts (Duke), who had three hits. Will Fulmer (Vanderbilt) had two hits and an RBI. On the mound, Josh Sborz (Virginia) gave up two earned in 3.1 innings before Kyle Twomey (USC) dominated. He struck out five in 3.2 innings of relief for the win. It was the best outing of the summer for the former third-round pick. Brian Clark (Kent State) and Matt Troupe (Arizona) followed him to the mound and pitched an inning each, with Troupe recording his eighth save.

 

Y-D 7, Harwich 6

The Red Sox are also making a run in the East and they’re now two points back of Harwich thanks to an 11-inning win over the Mariners. The Red Sox strung four hits together in the top of the 11th, with the last one a D.J. Stewart (Florida State) RBI single to put them in front. Darrell Hunter (Oregon) then worked a perfect bottom of the 11th for his sixth save. Dan Altavilla (Mercyhurst) picked up the victory with 3.2 scoreless innings of relief. The Red Sox offense was led by Alex Blandino (Stanford), who went 3-for-6 with a home run and two RBI.

 

Cotuit 5, Brewster 4

The Kettleers held off a late rally by the Whitecaps to win 5-4 and stay two points back of first-place Hyannis in the West. Evan Beal (South Carolina) was dominant on the mound, striking out seven in seven shutout innings. It was a return to form for Beal, who had given up six runs in his last outing after two straight scoreless starts. Brewster scored four in the ninth off the Cotuit bullpen, but Joel Seddon (South Carolina) eventually closed the door when he induced a double play and finished things with a strikeout. Rhett Wiseman (Vanderbilt) continued his hot streak with a 2-for-4, two RBI night. He’s 11 for his last 21. Logan Ratledge (NC State) added two hits and an RBI. And the win wasn’t the only good news for Cotuit. According to Greg Joyce of the Cape Cod Times, Bradley Zimmer (San Francisco) will be returning to Cotuit after spending most of the summer with Team USA.

 

Falmouth at Wareham, ppd. to July 30

 

What to Watch

Orleans will try for its fifth straight win as it hosts Cotuit at 7 p.m. Jared Miller (Vanderbilt) went seven shutout innings in his last start and gets the ball for the Firebirds. Cotuit counters with Christian Cecilio (San Francisco), who has turned in four solid starts in a row.
 

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Ford Tough

Mike Ford went 4-for-4 with two home runs and is now hitting .420 on the summer.

 
In a Cape Cod TimesQ&A this week, Cotuit’s Mike Ford (Princeton) said his goals for this summer were two-fold. He wants to make the Cape League All-Star team and he’d like to hook on as a free agent with a Major League club.

Both are looking well within reach, especially after last night.

Ford was already in the midst of an MVP-type campaign, and even if he had turned in a solid but unspectacular second half, he would have been one of the better performers in the league. Last night, he went the spectacular route. Ford went 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI in leading Cotuit past Hyannis 5-0.

Ford is steadily turning into one of the best stories on the Cape. He held his own last summer, then returned to school at Princeton and turned in one of the best baseball seasons the Ivy League’s ever seen when he earned league Pitcher and Player of the Year honors.

And then he didn’t get drafted. Major League teams have their reasons – Ford isn’t big and doesn’t have a clear position destination – but, after this summer, you would think someone would take a chance on the bat.

Ford is now hitting .420, best in the league, and his five home runs are tied for the league lead. His 18 RBI rank third. He also leads the league with a .510 OBP, and his triple-slash line is .420/.510/.691.

He knocked in all five of Cotuit’s runs last night, while Hunter Cole (Georgia) and Nolan Clark (Concordia) added two hits. Christian Cecilio (San Francisco) turned in five shutout innings, reliever Joel Seddon (South Carolina) worked two scoreless to keep his ERA at 0.00, and Brian Miller (Vanderbilt) finished out the game with two quick frames.

Cotuit now owns a 3-1 record against rival Hyannis, and Saturday’s win gives them the most points in the West Division.

The Kettleers have had a lot of roster turnover and a lot of different players than they expected to have. But with Mike Ford in the mix, they may just keep finding a way to win.

 

Falmouth 5, Y-D 0

The Commodores have had some rough pitching performances in July, but last night’s wasn’t one of them. Brandon Magallones (Northwestern) turned in seven innings of one-hit shutout baseball as Falmouth (15-9) blanked Y-D. Magallones had given up three runs on seven hits in his last start but was untouchable this time, taking a no-hitter into the fifth. Donny Murray (Holy Cross) and Zech Lemond (Rice) finished off the shutout inning with an inning each. Casey Gillaspie (Wichita State) homered to lead the offense, while Rhys Hoskins (Sacramento State), Dylan Davis (Oregon State) and Leon Byrd, Jr. (Rice) had two hits each.

 

Brewster 3, Harwich 0

Rain wreaked havoc on the other three games, with Bourne-Wareham getting postponed and two other games getting shortened. Brewster beat Harwich in six innings, as Dylan Toscano (Stony Brook) tossed a shutout with two strikeouts, and that goes into the book as the league’s first one-pitcher shutout of the summer. The Whitecaps got all the offense they needed from a first-inning, three-run double by David Armendariz (Cal Poly). Harwich starter A.J. Reed (Kentucky) pitched shutout ball the rest of the way, but his team didn’t get a shot at a late-innings comeback.

 

Chatham 2, Orleans 1

The Anglers scored two in the top of the seventh, Orleans couldn’t answer in the bottom half and the game was called after that, giving the Anglers their league-leading 17th victory. J.D. Davis (Cal State Fullerton) hit a solo home run to tie the game in the seventh before Josh Eldridge (Old Dominion) singled and eventually came around with the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. Chad Sobotka (SC Upstate) then pitched a scoreless frame before the rain had its say. Matt Gage (Siena) got the win for Chatham with six strong innings. He struck out seven. Bobby Poyner (Florida) was the hard-luck loser for Orleans.

 

What to Watch

A pair of Pepperdine Waves will square off against each other in Brewster at 5 p.m. Corey Miller, a 16th-round pick who just announced he’ll be returning to school, will go for the Firebirds. Aaron Brown, who was drafted in the 30th round as a draft-eligible sophomore, will start for Brewster.

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Midseason Awards

The halfway point of the season always sneaks up on me. We’re roughly there now, with a couple of teams just past it and a few more right on the number.

It’s been an interesting year – not quite as eye-popping as last summer, but with some good storylines. Stars are starting to emerge, and these guys are the best of the best with 22 games in the books.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Kevin Cron, Falmouth

Cron’s teammate Rhys Hoskins has been the front-runner all season in my book, but in a 22-game sample size, one hot streak can mean a lot.

And Cron is on one.

He’s been steady all summer, with a nine-game hitting streak at one point, and in the last week, he’s been on fire.

At the halfway mark, Cron ranked fourth in the league in hitting at .367. He sat second in home runs with four. He led in RBI with 20. Cron’s triple-slash line was .367/.444/.620.

A former third-round pick, Cron had a great freshman season at TCU in 2012 but followed with a shaky sophomore year. It’s safe to say he’s back on track.

IN THE RUNNING

Rhys Hoskins, Falmouth
Dante Flores, Chatham
Mike Ford, Cotuit
Ian Happ, Harwich
Jose Brizuela, Brewster
Skyler Ewing, Hyannis
Jimmy Pickens, Chatham
Chris Marconcini, Orleans
D.J. Stewart, Y-D
Max Pentecost, Bourne

 

OUTSTANDING PITCHER

Erick Fedde, Y-D

This was the toughest of the three awards to pick. Nobody has run through the league with dominant outing after dominant outing. Fedde gets the nod with a blend of dominance, steadiness and durability.

The rising junior at UNLV delivered the best start of opening night and has kept doing it pretty much every step of the way.

In five starts, he leads the league in innings pitched with 30.2. He owns a 2.35 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP, a league-high 26 strikeouts and just eight walks. Opponents are hitting just .204 against him.

IN THE RUNNING

Aaron Bummer, Harwich
Jaron Long, Bourne
Andrew McGee, Chatham
Bobby Poyner, Orleans
Ryan Kellogg, Bourne
Justin Kamplain, Brewster
Andrew Thome, Hyannis
Chandler Shepherd, Harwich
Lukas Schiraldi, Chatham

 

OUTSTANDING RELIEF PITCHER

Matt Troupe, Orleans

Troupe is one off the league-leading saves pace of Hyannis’ Eric Eck, but Troupe has been as dominant as any pitcher in the league.

The Arizona junior has five saves to go with a 0.00 ERA. He has struck out 16 and walked four in just 8.1 innings, giving him an eye-popping K/9 ratio of 17.3.

It’s still early, so that K/9 number will probably go down. But in the last four years, among pitchers with a good amount of innings, the highest number was around 15.

However it shakes out, it’s a safe bet Troupe will continue to dominate.

IN THE RUNNING

Eric Eck, Hyannis
Trace Dempsey, Bourne
Jacob Dorris, Chatham
Darrell Hunter, Y-D
Brian Miller, Cotuit
Sarkis Ohanian, Hyannis
Joel Seddon, Cotuit
Bradley Roney, Wareham
Patrick Corbett, Cotuit
Chad Sobotka, Chatham
Ryan Riga, Wareham
 

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Closing Time

Eric Eck picked up his league-leading fifth save on Sunday.

 
When a team wins a lot of close games, there’s an element of good fortune at play.

But it also helps to have a great closer – and the Hyannis Harbor Hawks have that taken care of.

Eric Eck (Wofford) picked up his league-leading fifth save last night as the Harbor Hawks knocked off Cotuit 5-2. With the win, Hyannis moved into sole possession of first place in the West, with a 13-6 record. Cotuit, which had won the first two games of the Barnstable Patriot Cup series, dropped to 12-9.

Patrick Andrews (Clemson) got the win with seven strong innings. Jordan Foley (Central Michigan) pitched a scoreless inning before Eck closed it out. Jay Baum (Clemson) and Austin Slater (Stanford) each drove in two runs.

The three-run win was another in a long-line of close wins for the Harbor Hawks. In their 13 wins, the largest margin was four runs, and that happened once. They’ve won three three-run games, three two-run games and an amazing six one-run games.

Eck has handled the back end of a lot of those games. And he’s done it very well.

Eck has pitched in eight games this summer, and Hyannis has won each of those. He owns two victories to go with the five saves and he has a 1.68 ERA. He’s given up four hits in 10.2 innings.

The 6’4 righty is no stranger to summer success. He starred in the New York Collegiate Baseball League last year, earning top prospect honors from Baseball America. When his season ended, he made a brief stop in Hyannis, pitching in three games late in the season.

Eck struck out seven in seven innings during his stay in Hyannis last summer, and that set the tone for this year. He had 10 saves for Wofford this spring and is well on his way to a similar number this summer.

With their propensity for narrow margins, the Harbor Hawks are happy to have him.

 

Chatham 4, Brewster 3

Chatham (14-6-1) stayed hot, winning its fourth straight in dramatic fashion. With the score knotted at 3-3 in the bottom of the 10th, Landon Lassiter (North Carolina) hit a walk-off single to score Blake Butera (Boston College), who had opened the inning with a base hit. It was Chatham’s third walk-off win of the season. Butera led the offense, going 4-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. Lassiter also had two RBI. On the mound, Andrew Chin (Boston College) allowed just two unearned runs in five innings. Chad Sobotka (SC Upstate) gave up a run in three innings and Mitch Merten (UC Irvine) struck out two in two scoreless frames for the win. Brewster, who had won three in a row, dropped to 6-14.

 

Harwich 10, Orleans 0

The Mariners (12-9) scored six runs in the first inning and never looked back en route to an easy victory over Orleans (9-11). Gunnar Heidt (College of Charleston) led the big offensive night, going 2-for-3 with four RBI. Heidt has an average under .200, but now owns a four-RBI and a five-RBI day on the season. Aaron Barbosa (Northeastern) also had two hits while A.J. Reed (Kentucky) had two RBI. The offense was more than enough for Harwich starter Aaron Bummer (Nebraska). He had given up his first runs of the season in his last start, but got back to his scoreless ways on Sunday, working six shutout innings with a season-high six strikeouts. Tyler Burgess (Missouri State) and Jake Drossner (Maryland) finished off the shutout.

 

Y-D 4, Wareham 3

The Gatemen (4-17) led 2-0 into the seventh, but Y-D (10-10-1) scored one in the seventh and three in the eighth for the comeback win. Andrew Daniel (San Diego) had an RBI single in the seventh before Jose Trevino (Oral Roberts) smacked a two-run double to power the eighth inning rally. Kevin McAvoy (Bryant) picked up the win in relief and Darrell Hunter (Oregon) got the save. Brandon Downes (Virginia) and Cole Peragine (Stony Brook) each had two hits to lead the Red Sox. Trey Killian (Arkansas) gave Wareham six shutout innings. Power arm Sean Newcomb (Hartford) made his first appearance since the season opener and took the loss.

 

What to Watch

Ben Smith (Coastal Carolina), who ranks fourth in the league in strikeouts, gets the start for Cotuit as the Kettleers host Harwich in a battle of second-place teams. Dillon Peters (Texas), who had a tremendous spring in Austin, will make his first start for the Mariners after two scoreless innings of relief in his debut.

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Off to the Races

There’s a whole lot of baseball to be played this summer, but the 2013 Chatham Anglers have already made a little history. Chatham beat Y-D 8-5 on Sunday to improve to 4-0. That start is the franchise’s best since at least 2001, a span that included some pretty good years.

We’ll see what it means for the future. In both 2009 and 2010, Chatham started 3-0 but finished the year under .500.

But for now, the Anglers should feel pretty good.

Win number four came on the strength of the best offensive day any team in the league has had this season. The eight runs came on 11 hits, and three Anglers had multi-hit performances. Three also drove in two runs.

Blake Butera (Boston College), who was 1-for-9 coming in, broke out with a 4-for-5 day. He hit two doubles and knocked in two runs. Richard Prigatano (Long Beach State) also drove in two, and is tied for the early league lead in RBI with five. Brandon Sedell (Nova Southeastern) had two RBI as well.

The eight and nine hitters, A.J. Murray (Georgia Tech) and Dante Flores (USC), had two hits each and scored two runs.

The offense was enough for a quartet of pitchers. After starter Matt Gage (Siena) allowed three runs in 4.2 innings, Chad Sobotka (South Carolina Upstate) – who had blown a save the night before – worked 2.1 scoreless frames and got the win. Joe Goodman (High Point) picked up the save.

Sal Annunziata (Seton Hall) had three hits for Y-D and Auston Bousfield (Ole Miss) hit a home run. The Red Sox dropped to 2-3.

 

Wareham 2, Bourne 1

Defending champ Wareham got into the win column with a 2-1 victory over Bourne, who remained winless at 0-4. The Gatemen fell behind 1-0 but scored a run in the fourth and another in the fifth to jump in front and kept the score there the rest of the way. Cole Stancil (St. Leo) drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth. Kentucky freshman Kyle Cody gave Wareham a quality start, allowing just an unearned run on two hits in six innings. With the Gatemen in front, Tucker Simpson (Florida) and Ryan Riga (Ohio State) worked perfect innings and Christopher Huffman (James Madison) got the save after stranding runners on first and second in the ninth. For Bourne, Clinton Freeman (East Tennessee State) had two hits and Nigel Nootbaar (USC) pitched three perfect innings of relief, for his second scoreless outing.

 

Hyannis 4, Harwich 0

After a win in its delayed season opener, Hyannis made it two in a row with a shutout of Harwich (2-2). Andrew Thome (North Dakota) scattered five hits in seven scoreless innings and Sarkis Ohanian (Duke) sealed the deal with two innings of one-hit ball. The Harbor Hawks were shut-out for six innings by Kentucky’s Chandler Shepherd, who struck out six and allowed just one hit, but they pushed across four runs over the final three innings against the Harwich bullpen. Levi Borders (South Florida) went 2-for-4 with an RBI while Landon Curry (Indiana State) and J.C. Coban (Penn State) knocked in one each. Mark Zagunis (Virginia Tech) and C.J. Hinojosa (Texas) continued hot starts for Harwich with two hits each.

 

Cotuit 7, Falmouth 1

The Kettleers (3-1) posted their second straight win and their most lopsided of the summer so far. It was a 1-0 game most of the way before Cotuit scored six runs in the late innings. Connor Castellano (Sante Fe CC) hit a home run and drove in three, while Mike Ford (Princeton) went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles. Alex Haines (Seton Hill), the NECBL’s top prospect last year, struck out seven in four scoreless innings. Christian Cecilio (San Francisco) picked up the win with 3.2 scoreless innings of relief. Falmouth starter Craig Schlitter (Bryant) allowed just a run in five innings, but the bullpen gave up six runs.

 

Orleans 4, Brewster 3

Orleans (2-1) rallied past Brewster (0-3) for a 4-3 victory. The Firebirds trailed 3-0 but scored a run in the third, two in the seventh and one in the eighth to grab the lead. Jordan Betts (Duke) scored the eventual winning run on an error in the eighth. Austin Davidson (Pepperdine) had two hits and two RBI to lead the Firebirds and Zach Fish (Oklahoma State) also drove in a run. On the mound, the Firebirds used six pitchers. Garrett Cole (UMass-Lowell) was credited with the win, and Matt Troupe (Arizona) picked up his second save with a second straight dominant outing. Troupe has recorded six outs in his two saves, all by strikeout.

 

What to Watch

Chatham will try to make it five in a row when it hosts Falmouth at 7 p.m. Andrew Chin (Boston College), a fifth-round pick out of high school, is slated to get the start for the Anglers. He pitched three scoreless innings of relief and got the win on opening night. Falmouth counters with John Means, who had a solid season for West Virginia.

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Perfect Early

Chatham's Erich Weiss runs for third base in last night's game.
Rain still had its say on day three of the Cape Cod Baseball League season, with two games getting postponed due to field conditions. Hyannis still hasn’t played a game, in fact.

But the sun was out long enough for three games to get in – and for two teams to move to 2-0.

Chatham walked off with a 5-4 win over Cotuit after blowing a 4-2 lead, while Falmouth put up its second six-spot of the season in a 6-0 shutout of Bourne

The Anglers took a lead with a three-run third inning and seemed to be cruising. Even when Cotuit loaded the bases in the seventh, Joe Goodman (High Point), a potential stand-out setup man who had an ERA under 1.00 this spring, wiggled out. He then worked a scoreless eighth. But Cotuit got to Chatham’s Chad Sobotka (South Carolina-Upstate) with two runs. Connor Castellano (Santa Fe CC) drew a walk and eventually scored on a passed ball. Hunter Cole (Georgia) also walked and scored on a groundout.

But that just set the stage for some magic. Joshua Eldridge (Old Dominion) led off the bottom of the ninth with his second hit of the night in his first start. After a strikeout, Brandon Sedell (Nova Southeastern) walked, putting the winning run in scoring position. Sheehan Planas-Arteaga (Barry) delivered, knocking a 2-0 pitch for a walk-off single to score Eldridge. It was the second big hit in as many games for Planas-Arteaga, who drove in two runs in the eighth inning on opening night.

Chatham is now 2-0 for the first time since 2010. Eldridge also had an RBI for the Anglers, and Richard Prigatano (Long Beach State) drove in two in his season debut.

Cotuit’s Yale Rosen (Washington State) hit the league’s first homer of the season.

 

Falmouth 6, Bourne 0

Four Falmouth pitchers combined on a two-hit shutout as the Commodores improved to 2-0. Trey Teakell (TCU), one of the top prospects in the Alaska League last summer, started this summer with a bang, allowing just one hit in six innings. Garrett Hayward (Duke), Jared Price (Maryland) and Jim Ploeger (Arkansas Pine Bluff) each pitched an inning to close it out. The offense was led by the middle of the Falmouth order, which is shaping up as the best in the league at this early stage. Rhys Hoskins (Sacramento State) went 2-for-4 with an RBI, Casey Gillaspie (Wichita State) went 1-for-4 with an RBI, and Kevin Newman (Arizona) followed up his three-hit opening night with another hit and an RBI.

 

Y-D 5, Brewster 2

The only team to play all three of its games, Y-D could be 3-0 if not for Thursday’s rally that wasn’t. In general, the Red Sox have made the most of the action, though, and improved to 2-1 with the win over the Whitecaps. Samuel Coonrod (Southern Illinois) allowed just an unearned run in five innings and Jeremy Null (Western Carolina) picked up the save. Andrew Daniel (San Diego) led the charge at the plate with two hits and three RBI. Returning all-star Robert Pehl (Washington) had his first hit of the summer and drove in a run.

 

What to Watch For

Falmouth will try to improve to 3-0 as it visits a Hyannis team that will be playing its first game. Daniel Koger is slated to get the ball for Falmouth. Hyannis’ starter is TBA.