Marc Brakeman earned Summer All-America honors from Perfect Game.
Perfect Game’s wrap-up of summer collegiate baseball continued Tuesday with the release of its Summer All-Americans. The Cape League led the way among all summer leagues with 11 players on the three-team, 48-member squad. The Northwoods League checked in second with nine.
The Cape League honorees:
First Team
Conner Hale
Kevin Newman
Ian Happ
Kolton Mahoney
Marc Brakeman
Phil Bickford
Second Team
Chris Shaw
Alex Young
Third Team
Richard Martin, Jr.
Andrew Stevenson
Justin Jacome
Perfect Game also gave an honorable mention nod to Cotuit reliever Adam Whitt.
The list is fun to check out, not just for current Cape connections, but for potential future connections. Current rising sophomores will dominate the Cape League next summer, and PG’s All-Americans include 14 rising sophomores. I would expect to see many on the Cape.
The list: Pete Alonso, Jon DuPlantier, Troy Dixon, Sheldon Neuse, Vince Fernandez, Michael Echaria, Adam McGarity, Tyler Stubblefield, Jayson Yano, Granger Studdard, Jon Escobar, Matt Diorio, Gunnar McNeill, Ronnie Dawson.
The top standout from that class is Pete Alonso of Florida. After earning Freshman All-America honors this spring, Alonso tore up the Northwoods League, slashing .354/.419/.624 with 18 home runs on his way to league MVP honors. The home run total is tied for fourth in league history.
Texas A&M pitcher Tyler Stubblefield is another name to watch. He earned Pitcher of the Year honors in Alaska with a miniscule 1.05 ERA.
Steven Duggar was one of six Falmouth Commodores on the All-League squad.
This is a few days old, but in case you missed it, the Cape League released its All-League selections for the 2014 season. The team is below. Below that, a few notes.
First Base – A.J. Murray – Chatham – Georgia Tech
Second Base – Billy Fleming – Bourne – West Virginia
Shortstop – Kevin Newman – Falmouth – Arizona
Third Base – David Thompson – Orleans – Miami
Infield Utility – Richard Martin Jr. – Bourne – Florida
Outfield – Gio Brusa – Brewster – Pacific
Outfield – Donnie Dewees Jr. – Hyannis – North Florida
Outfield – Steven Duggar – Falmouth – Clemson
Outfield – Ian Happ – Harwich – Cincinnati
Outfield – Mark Laird – Bourne – LSU
Outfield – Andrew Stevenson – Y-D – LSU
DH – Conner Hale – Falmouth – LSU
DH – Chris Shaw – Chatham – Boston College
Catcher – Jameson Fisher – Cotuit – SE Louisiana
Catcher – Anthony Hermelyn – Harwich – Oklahoma
Pitcher – Michael Boyle – Harwich – Radford
Pitcher – Zack Erwin – Harwich – Clemson
Pitcher – Matt Hall – Falmouth – Missouri State
Pitcher – Jordan Hillyer – Chatham – Kennesaw State
Pitcher – Justin Jacome – Y-D – UC Santa Barbara
Pitcher – Ryan Kellogg – Bourne – Arizona State
Pitcher – Kolton Mahoney – Orleans – BYU
Pitcher – Kevin McCanna – Falmouth – Rice
Pitcher – Andrew Naderer – Brewster – Grand Canyon
Pitcher – Kyle Twomey – Orleans – USC
Closer – Phil Bickford – Y-D – Cal State Fullerton
Closer – Adam Whitt – Cotuit – Nevada
Utility – Jake Madsen – Falmouth – Ohio
NOTES
Kevin Newman and Ryan Kellog are your lone repeat honorees. The Arizona-Arizona State rivals had terrific Cape League careers.
For the second year in a row, Falmouth had the most All-League selections with six. Lot of talent at Guv Fuller Field the last two years.
Champion Y-D with only one position player on the team. I thought that might be unusual, but it’s actually the second year in a row. Cotuit had just one All-League hitter last year, Rhett Wiseman. In the case of both Y-D and Cotuit, it speaks to the ability to play one day at a time and find a way to win, without having the stars of stars.
Snubs? Jordan Tarsovich jumps out to me. Probably the league champ’s most consistent hitter, Tarsovich hit .322 with three homers. I think Y-D’s Rob Fonseca (.315, 4 HR’s) could have been there too. And Bourne’s Blake Davey tied for second in the league in extra-base hits. A couple more possibilities, but overall, solid work, I think.
LSU leads all schools with three selections: Andrew Stevenson, Conner Hale and Mark Laird.
Seven schools have an All-League pick for the second year in a row: Arizona, USC, Arizona State, West Virginia, Florida and . . . mighty Kennesaw State. With MVP Max Pentecost last year and standout pitcher Jordan Hillyer this year, the Owls are making some Cape League noise.
How about schools that have an All-League pick for three years running? Nada. I was shocked by that.
Y-D players celebrate in a game earlier this postseason. They’re one win away from the title.
BUEHLERMatt Hall (Missouri State) delivered one of the better Cape League championship series pitching performances you’ll ever see for the Falmouth Commodores last night, striking out 12 in 6.2 innings.
And he lost.
That tells you all you need to know about how good the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox were.
Walker Buehler (Vanderbilt) tossed eight shutout innings and the offense steadily chipped away against Hall, scoring all its runs with two outs, as the Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in the championship series with a 5-0 victory at Guv Fuller Field.
The shutout is Y-D’s fourth in seven postseason games and it was the first championship series shutout since 2010, when the Red Sox themselves were held scoreless twice by Cotuit.
The Buehler-Hall match-up shaped up as a special one. Buehler was stellar in limited duty for the Red Sox, after helping Vanderbilt to the national championship. Hall was a mainstay all summer for Falmouth, tying for the league lead in strikeouts.
Pregame impressions were confirmed quickly – very quickly – when the first two innings took about 15 minutes. It was one of those games where you consistently found yourself looking at the innings box on the scoreboard and saying, “Already?”
Hall seemed a little better than Buehler in the early going, facing the minimum through three and stranding a runner on second in the fourth. He strike out the side in the fifth, but he also fell behind. Josh Lester (Missouri) was hit by a pitch to start the inning. After two strikeouts by Hall, Marcus Mastrobuoni (St. John’s) doubled to deep left field, plating Lester for the 1-0 lead.
Hall came back with two K’s in a scoreless sixth, but Lester doubled with one out in the seventh. After Hall struck out T.J. Wharton (Catawba), the Red Sox delivered more two-out magic, by the skin of their teeth. Hall and the rest of the Commodores thought he had a strikeout of Joey Armstrong (UNLV) when he dropped in a 2-2 curveball that must have been a little low. On the next pitch, Armstrong smacked an RBI double to make it 2-0.
Mastrobuoni followed with a single and Armstrong beat the throw home. After Hall departed to a rousing ovation, A.J. Simcox (Tennessee) reached on a ground ball that got past third, allowing Mastrobuoni to score.
It was a hard-to-swallow inning for Hall and the Commodores, who had nearly escaped with the score still 1-0.
But it may not have mattered anyway.
Buehler was on cruise control. He gave up three hits in eight innings and walked only one. If not for three hit batsmen, Falmouth would have scarcely had runners on base.
Buehler’s best work came as the lead grew. After his team’s three-run seventh inning, he gave up a leadoff double to Jake Madsen (Ohio) in the bottom half. He got Shaun Chase (Oregon) on the first pitch, then struck out Conor Costello (Oklahoma State) and Matt Eureste (San Jacinto) without throwing a ball to either of them.
In the eighth, Falmouth sent its middle of the order to the plate. Buehler got Steven Duggar (Clemson) to ground out then struck out Kevin Newman (Arizona) and Conner Hale (LSU) looking. That’s batting champion Kevin Newman and league RBI leader Conner Hale. And they were frozen.
With that, Buehler departed, giving way to William Strode (Florida State). With one more insurance run courtesy of a homer by Mastrobuoni – who had a single, a double, a homer and three RBI – Strode cruised through the ninth. He worked around a two-out walk to finish off the victory.
The teams will now get set for game two, slated for 4 p.m. today in Yarmouth. It should be another terrific pitching match-up with Kevin Duchene (Illinois) going for Y-D and Kevin McCanna (Rice) trying to keep Falmouth alive. Duchene struck out 12 in 7.1 innings of one-hit ball in his previous playoff start, Y-D’s game three win over Orleans. McCanna, a two-year Commodore, allowed one run in eight innings in a playoff start against Hyannis.
Notes
How about the bottom of Y-D’s lineup? Mastrobuoni – the eighth place batter -was the hitting star of the night with the single, the double and the homer, and two of those came against Hall. Armstrong, batting seventh, had two hits and an RBI and ninth-place hitter Simcox had a hit and an RBI.
Walker Buehler’s performance is about as good as it gets in a Cape League championship series game. The last one I remember that was this good was in 2010, when Matt Andriese tossed a complete-game shutout for Cotuit.
Buehler now has a 0.00 ERA in 15.1 postseason innings. Obviously, it’s a remarkable stat, and it holds up historically as well. Going back to 2000 – the oldest archives on the Cape League’s web site – you can find plenty of 0.00 playoff ERAs but not a single one that was earned over that many innings. Buehler has been fantastic.
Y-D didn’t need to use Phil Bickford Thursday night, and that’s bad news for Falmouth. If Duchene gets Friday’s game to the seventh with his team in the lead and Bickford takes the mound, I would not be optimistic if I were a Commodore fan.
Shout-out to Mrs. Right Field Fog an outstanding scorekeeping performance. She brought her A game for the playoffs.
Great crowd of almost 3,000 in Falmouth last night. I would bet on an even higher number jamming into the bandbox at Red Wilson Field today. Get there early.
Jeff Trundy will try to lead Falmouth to its first title since 1980.
The only good thing about Wednesday’s rainout is that it gives me a little time to get some preview thoughts down. Primary thought: It’s going to be a heck of a series.
First, some points of reference for the series:
Y-D and Falmouth have met twice in the Cape League championship series, in 2004 and 2007. Y-D won both match-ups, the bookends on its dynasty run of three titles in four years. Y-D has been to the finals twice since then, losing to Cotuit in 2010 and Wareham in 2012. Falmouth made the finals in 2011 and lost to Harwich.
Falmouth owns the longest championship drought in the league. Its last title was 1980, when it beat Chatham. The next-longest drought belongs to Hyannis, whose last crown was in 1981. Chatham is the only other team without a championship this century. Its last was in 1998.
This is the fourth straight year without a No. 1 seed in the championship series. Before that, at least one No. 1 seed had made the finals for 14 consecutive years (although it was easier for the No. 1’s to make it before the playoffs expanded).
It’s hard to understate how good the playoff pitching has been for these teams. The Red Sox have had the dominant, clutch performances, but Falmouth has an even better team ERA. The Commodores have given up four runs in 36 innings for a 1.00 ERA. For Y-D, three of four wins have been shutouts.
The rainout should only help the pitching. I’d expect both teams to have things lined up almost perfectly, with the exception of Y-D having had to use Justin Jacome to get out of the East finals. Walker Buehler and Kevin Duchene should be good to go for Y-D, while Falmouth should have the trio of Matt Hall, Kevin McCanna and Alex Young ready.
If that’s the way things shake out, Falmouth might have the edge with the three big arms to Y-D’s two. In its one playoff game not started by Jacome, Buehler or Duchene, Y-D lost 9-2. Jacome could come back for a game three on Saturday, but that would be on only three days’ rest.
If the starting pitching match-ups don’t do it for you, just wait until the late innings. Falmouth’s bullpen hasn’t given up a run in the playoffs, and the back end is anchored by flamethrower Garrett Cleavinger. Y-D has been touched up a little more, but any bullpen that includes Phil Bickford is a good bullpen. Bickford, the Cape League’s Top Pro Prospect award winner, had the equivalent of his Heisman moment for that award when he struck out the side in the ninth Tuesday night to punch Y-D’s ticket to the finals.
The lowest team ERA in the Cape League playoffs last year was 2.57. Falmouth, Y-D and Harwich are all under that bar this year.
Helping the cause in the pitching department is some pretty stellar defense. Falmouth has made three errors in the postseason. Y-D – in six games – has made one.
When comparing the offenses of the two teams, extra-base hits is an interesting place to start. Y-D has seven in six games. Falmouth has nine in only four games. That jibes with a general impression that Falmouth has a little more pop.
Falmouth also gets on base at a better clip – .374 to .297.
The top three hitters in the postseason have all been eliminated, leaving a Y-D Red Sox atop the list. Andrew Stevenson, right? Jordan Tarsovich? A.J. Simcox? Try Michael Donadio. The St. John’s freshman was the Big East’s Newcomer of the Year this spring and he spent most of his summer in the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League, where he won the batting title and MVP award. He didn’t begin his CCBL career until July 31 and had a total of two hits in four regular-season games, but he has a hit in every playoff game, including a home run. He’s batting .409 in the postseason.
Marcus Mastrobuoni has been another key addition for the Red Sox. He hit .373 this spring for California State Stanislaus, and hit .313 in five regular-season games for the Red Sox. He started at catcher in the last two games of the Harwich series and went 1-for-3 in the clincher.
On the Falmouth side, Conner Hale has paced the offense, and there probably isn’t a better offensive threat in the series. Hale is slashing .375/.444/.688 in the playoffs with a homer and seven RBI. He has driven in a third of his team’s postseason runs. If you’re making bets on playoff MVP, he’s the favorite.
Hale is part of a lineup that’s just very solid at this point. Jake Madsen quietly hit .346 for the Commodores in the regular season and he’s a consistent, veteran hitter, much like Cameron O’Brien. Hale, Madsen and O’Brien, in fact, are all rising seniors. Throw in talented guys like Boomer White, Matt Eureste and Steven Duggar, plus some guys who aren’t even starting every day, and it’s a very deep lineup. And they’ve got that Newman guy too, the one who wins all the batting titles.
Mrs. RFF and I are planning to be in Falmouth for game one. Can’t wait.
I suppose it’s prediction time. It’s never an easy task and this year is no different. You have to like the way both of these teams are playing – enthusiasm, good defense, fantastic pitching. I think I like Falmouth a little more, with its veteran offense tipping the scales. Feel free to share your own picks in the comments.
Falmouth players celebrate during their series with Cotuit.
Falmouth’s Conner Hale went 0-for-11 in a playoff series loss to Cotuit last summer. It was the abrupt end of a great summer in Falmouth.
For Hale and his 2014 teammates, what a difference a year makes.
Hale went 4-for-5 with four RBI and the Commodores continued to play great baseball as they finished off a sweep of Cotuit to punch their ticket to the Cape Cod Baseball League championship series. The Commodores are now 4-0 in the playoffs and will get a day of rest while they await the winner of the East finals between Yarmouth-Dennis and Harwich.
This season, Falmouth may not be the loud, must-see-at-batting-practice offensive juggernaut that it was last year – when Hale, the 2014 league RBI leader, batted eighth – but quietly, Falmouth led the league in hitting, ranked third in team ERA and matched last season’s win total. And players like Hale, back in the fold, are tearing it up.
Going back to the end of the regular season, Falmouth has won six games in a row and eight of nine. Yesterday, there was a little less starting pitching but more bullpen dominance and plenty more offense.
Making only his second start of the summer, Matt Hollenbeck (Georgetown) held his own, allowing two runs in four innings. The bullpen, which had needed to pitch only five innings in the team’s first three playoff games, picked up the slack. Travis Stout (Jacksonville State), Ryan Moseley (Texas Tech), Kevin Mooney (Maryland) and Garrett Cleavinger (Oregon) combined on five scoreless innings. That’s now 10 scoreless innings for the Falmouth ‘pen in the postseason.
The offense did the rest. Trailing 2-1, Falmouth scored two runs in the fifth and two in the seventh then blew the doors off with a seven-run eighth inning.
Hale’s big day led the charge, as he knocked in the go-ahead run in the fifth, another run in the seventh and two in the eight-inning burst. Hale is now hitting .375 with seven RBI in the playoffs.
Steven Duggar (Clemson) added three hits and two RBI, while Matt Eureste (San Jacinto) and Cameron O’Brien (West Virginia) had two hits and an RBI apiece. League MVP Kevin Newman (Arizona) went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Every player in the Falmouth lineup had at least one hit.
Kyle Holder (San Diego) homered for the Kettleers but that was all the offense they would get. The loss marked the official end of Cotuit’s title defense, but just making it this far was an impressive feat for a team that had its ups and downs.
With a measure of revenge over the Kettleers, Falmouth moves into the finals for the first time since 2011. Falmouth has not won the Cape League championship since 1980, the longest drought in the league.
Harwich 9, Y-D 2
After a 7-2 loss to Y-D on Sunday, Harwich answered in resounding fashion with a 9-2 victory on Monday, forcing a decisive game three today. The Mariners greeted Y-D starter Gregory Ostner (Binghamton), who had made only one appearance this summer, with four runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back, adding five runs off the Y-D bullpen. C.J. Hinojosa (Texas) and Matt Gonzalez (Georgia Tech) both homered, while Brendon Sanger (Florida Atlantic) and Anthony Hermelyn (Virginia Tech) knocked in a run apiece. James Mulry (Northeastern) – almost the opposite of Ostner as one of the league leaders in innings pitched – gave up one earned in four innings before Ronnie Glenn (Penn) finished with a bang. Glenn pitched five scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing just four hits, thwarting any hopes of a Y-D comeback.
What to Watch
Y-D at Harwich, 7 p.m.
Y-D’s probable starter is Justin Jacome (UC Santa Barbara), so I wouldn’t expect another four-run first inning from Harwich. Jacome hasn’t given up more than two earned runs in any start this year. Harwich’s starter is TBA.
Michael Murray went seven strong innings for Y-D in Sunday’s win.
The 2014 Cape League playoffs have been defined by starting pitching, and the beat went on as the division finals got underway Sunday evening.
In Harwich, Y-D’s Michael Murray (Florida Gulf Coast) allowed two runs in seven innings as the Red Sox knocked off top-seeded Harwich 7-2. And in Falmouth, Alex Young (TCU) gave the Commodores a series lead with eight innings of one-run ball in a 3-1 victory over Cotuit.
Y-D starting pitchers have now gone at least seven innings and allowed no more than two runs in the Red Sox’ four playoff games. It’s amazing that they lost a game in that stretch, but it was only because Justin Jacome (UC Santa Barbara) was out-dueled by CCBL outstanding pitcher honoree Kolton Mahoney in game one of the East semis. After that, Walker Buehler (Vanderbilt) and Kevin Duchene (Illinois) both went seven-plus shutout innings.
On Sunday, Murray gave up a first-inning run on a Sal Annunziata (Seton Hall) sacrifice fly, ending the shutout streak but not Y-D’s chances. He retired 11 in a row before a Kenny Towns (Virginia) double led to a run in the fifth, but he righted the ship for two more scoreless frames. Dimitri Kourtis (Mercer) relieved him and gave up just one hit in two scoreless innings.
Harwich pitching had been pretty good in its own right in a series sweep of Brewster, but Y-D scored three runs in the third inning and four in the fourth to take control.
Andrew Stevenson (LSU) started it all with one swing of the bat. He smacked a three-run homer in the third to put Y-D in front for good. Stevenson, A.J. Simcox (Tennessee) and Michael Donadio (St. John’s) added RBI in a four-run fourth inning, and that was all Y-D needed.
Mrs. Right Field Fog and I were on hand in Harwich, relegated to the edge of the woods thanks to a huge crowd. The Y-D faithful was out in full force and had a lot to cheer about it. That team is having some fun, too, and is clearly riding some momentum. Harwich will need a big effort today to stay alive.
Over in the West, Falmouth scored all its run on a Matt Eureste (San Jacinto) home run in the second inning and had no trouble making the lead stand up.
Young might have been in the running for CCBL Outstanding Pitcher honors if his Horned Frogs hadn’t made it to Omaha, and he pitched like it Sunday. He gave up one run on four hits and struck out eight in eight innings. Young, whose first CCBL start was on July 5, has not allowed more than two runs in any outing. He has now struck out 36 and walked four, to go with a 1.41 ERA.
Matt Eckelman (St. Louis) pitched the ninth for the save.
As for the Falmouth offense, Eureste delivered. While Kevin Newman (Arizona) was the league MVP and Conner Hale (LSU) the league RBI leaded, Eureste has been a huge key to success. He finished the regular season hitting .292. Sunday’s home run was all the offense Falmouth needed.
What to Watch
Harwich at Y-D, 4 p.m.
Falmouth at Cotuit, 4 p.m.
Starting pitchers are TBA for three of the four teams, with James Mulry (Northeastern) slotted in for Harwich. It’ll be interesting to see if Y-D can go back to the top of its rotation, or if everyone will need another day.
Brendan Hendriks is greeted in the dugout after his go-ahead home run Friday.
Higher-seeded teams owned the first games of their opening-round playoff series, and two of them held serve in game two.
We shouldn’t be surprised at the two teams that avoided sweeps. Cotuit and Y-D, winners of five of the last 10 Cape League championships, don’t go down easy.
Cotuit rallied from an early 5-0 deficit to beat top-seeded Bourne 10-7, while Y-D got a dominant performance from Walker Buehler (Vanderbilt) and broke out the bats in a 9-0 shutout of East No. 2 Orleans. Both series will conclude with game threes today.
For Cotuit, it’s been an up-and-down season, dominated by the fact that the Kettleers just don’t have much starting pitching. They have made it work by cobbling things together, and of course, with their backs against the wall yesterday, they made it work by doing it very well. Seven pitchers took the mound, and once Cotuit made its comeback, the final three pitchers combined on five scoreless innings.
The pitching contingent has been led all summer by Adam Whitt (Nevada), who was presented with the league’s outstanding relief pitcher award before Friday’s game. Whitt, unlike most recipients of that award, was not strictly a closer, often pitching two or three innings, whether his team was winning or losing. Yesterday, he went the final two innings, giving up no runs on one hit. Austin Sexton (Mississippi State) and Jackson McClelland (Pepperdine) had scoreless outings before Whitt took the hill.
The comeback made the strong relief work count. Bourne’s Richard Martin Jr. (Florida) led off the game with a home run, and Cotuit trailed 5-0 after three but quickly got back into the game with two runs in the third and one in the fourth. Bourne pulled back away at 7-3, but Cotuit got within 7-6 then scored three in the seventh and one in the eighth to take control.
Logan Taylor (Texas A&M), Jackson Glines (Michigan) and Brendan Hendriks (San Francisco) all homered for the Kettleers, with Hendriks’s two-run blast in the seventh giving them the lead for good. Kyle Holder (San Diego) added three hits.
Martin and Blake Davey (Connecticut) both homered for Bourne, but it wasn’t enough. The Braves had only two hits after the fifth inning.
Over in Yarmouth, the Red Sox cruised past Orleans 9-0 after they were shut-out 3-0 in game one. Buehler, who pitched briefly with Team USA but found his way back to the Cape, allowed just a pair of singles in 7.1 innings. He struck out five and walked only one.
Y-D’s starting rotation, even with the loss of Cody Poteet, still looks like it could be the best in the playoffs. Justin Jacome was the hard-luck loser against Orleans ace Kolton Mahoney, but Buehler got the Red Sox back on track. Drake Owenby (Tennessee) retired all five batters he faced to finish off the win.
The Y-D offense made sure no one would be a hard-luck loser this time. Jesse Jenner (San Diego) and Michael Donadio (St. John’s) had three hits each to pace a 13-hit attack. Donadio homered. Nico Giarratano (San Francisco) and Timothy Wharton (Catawba) drove in two runs each.
Harwich 5, Brewster 0
Top-seeded Harwich punched its ticket into the East finals with a shutout of Brewster. Michael Boyle (Radford) went six innings with eight strikeouts before Johnathan Frebis (Middle Tennessee State) and Jacob Evans (Oklahoma) finished off the shutout. For much of the game, Harwich needed that kind of effort, with Brewster pitchers limiting the Mariner offense to one run through the first seven innings. But Harwich scored three in the eighth and one in the ninth for a little extra breathing room. Joe McCarthy (Virginia) went 4-for-5 – and is now 7-for-10 in the playoffs – while Ian Happ (Cincinnati) had two hits and two RBI. For Brewster, Cody Ponce (Cal Poly Pomona) allowed one run in three innings and Levi MaVorhis (Kansas State) – who played a lot more outfield than he ever expected in this series – pitched three scoreless frames. The Whitecaps, who made a strong late-season run, were short-handed in the playoffs and didn’t stand much of a chance. Harwich now gets a day off before beginning play in the East finals.
Falmouth 5, Hyannis 1
Falmouth also rode strong pitching to a sweep of Hyannis. Kevin McCanna (Rice) allowed one run in eight innings, needing just 100 pitches to get that far. He struck out six and scattered five hits. The Commodore offense did the rest. Conner Hale (LSU) and Boomer White (TCU) knocked in two runs each while Kevin Newman (Arizona) and Austin Afenir (Oral Roberts) had two hits. Falmouth scored three in the first, meaning it never trailed in the series. Donnie Dewees (North Florida) scored the lone run for Hyannis in the seventh inning. The Harbor Hawks, who overcame a mid-season slump to grab the third seed, had beaten Falmouth three straight times in the regular season, including a 10-0 win on August 1.
What to Watch
Cotuit at Bourne, 6 p.m.
Y-D at Orleans, 7 p.m.
I’ll be interested to see how the pitching match-up turns out in Orleans. The Red Sox have a solid starter going in Kevin Duchene, while Orleans is turning to Kyle Twomey, who’s been very good but has also pitched mostly out of the bullpen. His longest outing is five innings.
Kolton Mahoney’s 13 strikeouts were the most in a CCBL playoff game since 2006.
Three pitchers tied for the league lead in strikeouts this season, and all three took the ball for their teams in game one of the playoffs Wednesday night.
The strikeout king emerged.
Kolton Mahoney (BYU) struck out 13 in seven scoreless innings as Orleans blanked Y-D 3-0 to take a 1-0 lead in its East semifinal series. The 13 K’s are the most in a Cape League playoff game since 2006, when Riley Boening fanned 14 for Wareham. There have been double-digit performances since, but never more than a dozen. (The list of double-digit guys includes Chris Sale, J.J .Hoover, Mark Appel and Kyle Freeland. Good company.)
Mahoney, who was presented with the league’s Outstanding Pitcher Award before the game, was tagged for four unearned runs in his final regular-season start, but he wasn’t tagged for much of anything on Wednesday. He allowed four hits – all singles – and struck out the side twice.
In the regular season, the Red Sox finished with the second fewest strikeouts in the league, but they had faced Mahoney twice and struck out 19 times total, including his previous season-high of 11.
When Mahoney gave way to the bullpen, the onslaught continued. Bobby Poyner (Florida) struck out the side in the eighth and Reilly Hovis (North Carolina) punched out two in the ninth. That’s 18 strikeouts, of 27 outs recorded.
For much of the game, Mahoney was locked in a pitcher’s duel with Y-D ace Justin Jacome (UC Santa Barbara). The game was scoreless until the seventh, when Jerry McClanahan (UC Irvine) cracked a two-run single to give Orleans the lead. An error in the eighth allowed the third run to score.
The win was Orleans’ first playoff victory over Y-D since 2002. They haven’t matched up a ton since then, but Y-D had swept the last two series with the Firebirds.
Falmouth 3, Hyannis 0
The other two strikeout leaders squared off, and Falmouth’s pitching was a little better in a shutout of Hyannis. Matt Hall (Missouri State) went six scoreless innings, scattering five hits while striking out one. Ryan Moseley (Texas Tech) and Matt Eckelman (St. Louis) finished off the shutout. Marc Brakeman (Stanford), who hadn’t allowed a run in his last two starts, was touched up for just an unearned run in six innings, as Falmouth took a 1-0 lead on an error in the second. Falmouth added a run on a Conner Hale (LSU) home run and a Jake Madsen (Ohio) RBI single in the eighth. Madsen finished with three hits, while Steven Duggar (Clemson) and Cameron O’Brien (West Virginia) had two each.
Harwich 7, Brewster 2
In a game that didn’t begin until 9 p.m. thanks to field work after a storm, Harwich busted out quickly with three runs in the first and never looked back. Skye Bolt (North Carolina) went 2-for-4 with a home run and Ian Happ (Cincinnati) went 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBI to lead a 10-hit attack. Joe McCarthy (Virginia) added three hits. Zack Erwin (Clemson) struck out seven and gave up just two runs in six innings for the win. Seth McGarry (Florida Atlantic) was terrific in relief, striking out every batter he faced in two innings. Ronnie Glenn (Penn) struck out two more in a scoreless ninth. Brewster, which was again playing short-handed, got a home run from Luke Lowery (East Carolina) but not much else.
Cotuit at Bourne, PPD
The rain that threatened the other games completely washed out the match-up at Doran Park. The series is now set to get underway tonight at 6 p.m., back at Doran Park.
Newman takes MVP honor
In a bit of non-playoff news, Falmouth’s Kevin Newman was presented with his batting title trophy on Wednesday – and then with the MVP award. The only two-time batting champ in Cape League history also now becomes the first player to win the batting title and the MVP honor in the same season since Falmouth’s Conor Gillaspie in 2007. I was a little surprised that Newman won the MVP, since he wasn’t a big power guy (eight extra-base hits), but he was second in the league in OBP, near the top in OPS and top 15 in RBI. Plus, without a completely obvious choice behind him, I don’t have a problem with giving it to the guy who made history.
What to Watch
Orleans at Y-D, 4 p.m.
Harwich at Brewster, 4 p.m.
Falmouth at Hyannis, 6 p.m.
Cotuit at Bourne, 6 p.m.
Orleans will try for the sweep of Y-D but will have to go through a very good pitcher as Y-D is slated to give the ball to Walker Buehler. The Vanderbilt righty has had quite a summer, starting with a College World Series title. He then pitched two very good games for Y-D before a brief stint with Team USA. Back on the Cape now, he carries a 1.35 ERA into today’s game. Orleans will counter with Eric Hanhold (Florida). He has a 3.42 ERA and gave up five runs in his last start – against Y-D.
Levi MaVorhis, pictured earlier this summer, was part of a cobbled-together for playoff-bound Brewster.
They had pitchers in the outfield and lost their finale 12-2. But I guess that’s what happens when you make a run this surprising.
For the Brewster Whitecaps, the run continues.
Harwich beat Brewster 12-2 in the last game of the season for both teams last night, but Chatham lost to Orleans, meaning the Whitecaps have grabbed the fourth and final playoff spot in the East.
As detailed yesterday , the Whitecaps were eight points back of Chatham with seven games to play but delivered their best baseball of the summer in a late surge. Chatham lost six of its last seven, so this is what we’re left with.
We’ll see if Brewster can put anything together in the playoffs. Pitchers Levi MaVorhis (Kansas State) and Cody Ponce (Cal Poly Pomona) were on the outfield corners last night, so the Whitecaps will hopefully get some reinforcements. Harwich pounded out 15 hits in finishing the season with a bang. The Mariners ended up with a 26-16-2 record.
The Brewster game was over well before the Chatham-Orleans game, meaning the door was open for the Anglers, but they couldn’t step through. Starting pitcher Max Tishman (Wake Forest) was touched up for five unearned runs as Chatham made four errors. Orleans then scored six runs off Kyle Davis (USC), who’s been Chatham’s best pitcher all summer. Chris Shaw (Boston College) hit his eighth home run and will likely finish as the league leader, but it wasn’t enough. David Thompson (Miami) had four hits and David Fletcher (Loyola Marymount) had three to lead the Firebirds. With the win, Orleans grabbed the No. 2 seed by a point over Y-D.
Brewster will be making its first playoff appearance since 2011, which is also the last time Chatham didn’t make it.
Bourne 5, Wareham 0
The Braves still have one game to play but have already secured the best record in the league thanks to their third straight victory, and their second straight shutout. Six pitchers combined on the shutout, with the win going to reliever Max Knutson (Nebraska). John Gorman (Boston College) and Joey Strain (Winthrop), the last two pitchers to the mound, both struck out the side in an inning each. Richard Martin Jr. (Florida) went 4-for-4 with a home run to bring his batting average to .358, which is second best in the league. Mark Laird (LSU) added three hits and Gavin Collins (Mississippi State) homered. The teams will meet again in the season finale tonight.
Falmouth 4, Cotuit 2
Falmouth beat Cotuit 4-2, which means the seedings in the West are now set. Behind Bourne and Falmouth, Hyannis will be the No. 3 seed and Cotuit will be the No. 4. With the right combination of results, Cotuit could have jumped Hyannis but is now two points back with one to play and can do no better than a tie, with Hyannis getting the tiebreaker. Five Falmouth pitchers limited Cotuit to just four hits. Ryan Moseley (Texas Tech) was credited with the win and Matt Eckelman (St. Louis) got the save. The Commodore offense was led by Kevin Newman (Arizona), who was in danger of losing his grip on the batting title and responded with a 3-for-4 night. He now has a .370 average and is in line to win his second straight crown. Conner Hale (LSU) added two hits and two RBI and he’ll likely finish as the league leader in RBI.
Y-D 3, Hyannis 2
Y-D scored a run in the eighth to finish the season with a 3-2 victory over Hyannis. Josh Lester (Missouri) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to plate what proved to be the winning run. Andrew Stevenson (LSU) and Nico Giarratano (San Francisco) had two hits each to lead the Y-D attack, while Brennon Lund (BYU) and newcomer Marcus Mastrobuoni (Cal State Stanislaus) had an RBI each. Both teams used a lot of pitchers, with Y-D’s Josh Staumont (Azusa Pacific) picking up the win and Dimitri Kourtis (Mercer) grabbing the save.
What to Watch
Two makeup games on the docket tonight to conclude the 2014 regular season. Neither game will have any bearing on playoff seedings, but keep an eye on Falmouth as Kevin Newman tries to clinch the batting title. He’s at .370. Second-place Richard Martin Jr. of Bourne is at .358 and will also likely be in action.
Sal Annunziata homered twice for Harwich in a 10-0 win over Chatham.
It seems like every successful Cape League team has a player of a certain mold. He’s usually a late addition to the roster. He’s a little older, eligible for the draft, but he later than he hopes or didn’t hear his name called at all. He’s from a school that isn’t a baseball powerhouse.
All those characteristics become motivation, and he delivers a big summer.
Harwich has a guy like that.
Sal Annunziata (Seton Hall) blasted two home runs last night, his fourth and fifth of the season, as the Mariners hammered Chatham 10-0 to move to the brink of an Eastern Division title.
Harwich has an MVP candidate in Ian Happ, all-stars in Kyle Barrett and Anthony Hermelyn, hyped-up guys like Skye Bolt and C.J. Hinojosa, and the son of a former Major Leaguer in Cavan Biggio.
Annunziata has been as important as all of them. He hit .330 this spring with five homers and led Seton Hall in RBI with 49. In June, he went undrafted but hooked on with Harwich and has been solid.
He’s hitting .265 and leads the Mariners with five home runs. He’s third on the team in RBI with 20. In a stretch in early-July, when Orleans and Y-D were charging hard at Harwich, Annunziata had a nine-game hitting streak as the Mariners kept a grip on first place at all times. Annunziata then went on and won the home run derby at the Cape League All-Star Game.
Last night, with Orleans and Y-D losing, Harwich took a four-point lead at the top of the division and Annunziata set the course. With the game against Chatham scoreless in the fifth, he smacked a solo home run. In the next inning, he hit a two-run shot and his Mariners never looked back, adding six runs in the seventh inning to pull away.
Robby Kalaf (Florida International) went five scoreless innings for the Mariners and three relievers combined to finish off the shutout. Harwich won all six games it played against Chatham this summer.
Annunziata finished with three RBI and four runs scored – and another big game in his big summer.
Bourne 6, Orleans 2
While Falmouth won again, Bourne did too and kept its tenuous two-point hold on first place in the West intact. Jimmy Herget (South Florida), who has had some rough outings recently, delivered in a big spot, striking out seven and giving up just one hit in six scoreless innings. Dylan Nelson (Radford) and Joey Strain (Winthrop) finished the job. The Bourne offense got a home run from Blake Davey (Connecticut), his fifth. Zander Wiel (Vanderbilt) added two RBI and Brian Serven (Arizona State) had two hits.
Falmouth 11, Wareham 2
Falmouth kept pace with Bourne and officially eliminated Wareham from playoff contention with a lopsided victory. The Gatemen are eight points out of fourth, with only three games to play, meaning Hyannis and Cotuit will be safely into the playoffs. For Falmouth, Alex Young (TCU), was dominant, striking out 10 and giving up one run in seven innings. A late arrival after the College World Series, Young has been a huge addition. He owns a 1.50 ERA, has struck out 28 and walked just three, and Falmouth has won every game he’s pitched in. Conner Hale (LSU) led the Falmouth offense with three hits and three RBI, keeping him atop the league RBI leaderboard with 35. Jake Madsen (Ohio) and Nicholas Ramos (Indiana) also had three hits each, while Boomer White (TCU) and Sam Gillikin (Auburn) had two RBI each.
Cotuit 8, Hyannis 0
Cotuit dropped the first three games in the Barnstable Patriot Cup season series with Hyannis, but won the last three, finishing it off with an 8-0 shutout last night. The win also moved Cotuit one point ahead of Hyannis in the West standings. Jeff Kinley (Michigan State) gave Cotuit one of its best starting pitching performances of the summer, going six scoreless with three strikeouts. Jackson McClelland (Pepperdine) and Adam Whitt (Nevada) finished off the shutout. The offense was led by Jackson Glines (Michigan), who had three hits and four RBI, giving him seven hits in the last three games. Jameson Fisher (SE Louisiana), Kyle Holder (San Diego) and Jeremy Taylor (East Tennessee State) had two hits each.
Brewster 14, Y-D 3
Brewster stayed alive in the East race with a lopsided victory over Y-D. The Red Sox started Justin Jacome (UC Santa Barbara), who had won his last four starts in impressive fashion, but his defense let him down this time as the Whitecaps scored seven runs off him, five of which were unearned. Credit to Brewster, too, though, as they took full advantage of the miscues in reaching their season-high in runs. Zach Gibbons (Arizona), who was hitting .233 entering the game, went 4-for-5 with a home run and seven RBI. Gio Brusa (Pacific) homered and drove in three, Kyle Overstreet (Alabama) went 5-for-6 and Braden Bishop (Washington) went 3-for-3. In its last three wins, Brewster has scored 39 runs. Yesterday, the Whitecaps also got strong pitching as Andrew Lee (Tennessee) went six scoreless innings. The Whitecaps are now three points out of the last playoff spot in the East. Hurting the cause is the fact that they have to play one game against second-place Orleans and two against first-place Harwich to finish the year.
What to Watch
Just a few days after a three-way tie in the East, Harwich could clinch the title outright with a win tonight and an Orleans loss. The Mariners host Y-D at 7 p.m., with James Mulry (Northeastern) on the mound. Mulry started against Y-D on opening night and got Harwich’s season off on the right foot with seven shutout innings.
