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.

With Falmouth getting hot in the playoffs, it’s easy to forget that Bourne owned the West Division last year and finished with the best record in the league. A couple of guys will be back from that team, and they’ll be joined by a strong influx of talent that has the Braves looking like a top on-paper contender.

FIVE TO WATCH

1. Brendan McKay
2. Boomer Biegalski
3. Ryan Boldt
4. Nick Banks
5. Pete Alonso

NOTABLE

C.J. Chatham ends up in Bourne? We need to be better than that, people.

Florida State’s Boomer Biegalski will be among the most proven incoming CCBL starting pitchers after settling into ace duties for Florida State this year. He struck out 120, good for ninth in the country.

With Biegalski leading the way, the Braves have as impressive a collection of starters as any in the league. Keegan Akin, Matt Crohan, Ryan Keaffaber, Brendan McKay, Josh Rogers, Ryan SMoyer and Dominic Taccolini were all weekend rotation guys this year.

McKay has earned a Team USA camp invite, but if he comes to Bourne, he could be the league’s top freshman. The two-way star has a 1.77 ERA and a .314 average.

Bourne has a couple of guys with strong bullpen experience, but it will be hard for any of them to push Miami’s Bryan Garcia from the closer’s role, once he arrives from Omaha. Garcia has saved 25 career games in just two seasons with the Hurricanes.

Veteran catchers are not a bad place to start building a roster, and Bourne has a pair of returning Cape Leaguers in Jason Delay and Brian Serven.

Lots of big-time hitters on the roster, but from a purely statistical standpoint, no one was better than Lehigh’s Mike Garzillo, who hit .359 with 13 homers this spring.

Ryan Smoyer, Pete Alonso and Ryan Boldt were all Northwoods League stars last year and will be primed to follow the familiar path to Cape League stardom this year.

PITCHERS

Keegan Akin – SO – Western Michigan – Starter for most of his career, had 4.33 ERA with 75 Ks in sophomore season
Boomer Biegalski – SO – Florida State – JUCO transfer emerged as ace this year, striking out 120 in 108 IP, with 3.17 ERA
Matt Crohan – SO – Winthrop – Lefty had big sophomore season, going 7-4 with 3.05 ERA, 87 Ks on way to Big South second team nod
Bryan Garcia – SO – Miami – Set Miami freshman record for saves last year with 15, has 10 more this year with Miami off to CWS
Cooper Hammond – SO – Miami – Another key in Miami bullpen, leads team in appearances and owns 1.85 ERA
Ryan Keaffaber – SO – Indiana State – MVC Freshman of the Year after closing in 2014 had 2.73 ERA in move to rotation this year
Brendan McKay – FR – Louisville – Two-way star may be nation’s top freshman, but has also earned Team USA invite
Andy Ravel – SO – Kent State – 21st-round pick out of high school had 3.13 ERA with 55 Ks in second season at Kent State
Alex Robles – SO – Austin Peay – Two-way player had 3.31 ERA and batted .328 with three homers
Josh Rogers – SO – Louisville – Solid starter for Cards is 8-1 with 3.53 ERA after posting 3.96 ERA with Braves last summer
Cody Sedlock – SO – Illinois – Has 4.02 ERA in 21 appearances this year, mostly out of bullpen
Ryan Smoyer – SO – Notre Dame – Top prospect award winner in Northwoods League last year went 9-1 with 2.27 ERA this spring
Kirby Snead – SO – Florida – Followed busy freshman year with strong summer in Northwoods, has 3.19 ERA as reliever this year
Jacob Sparger – SO – Louisville – Solid bullpen arm has 2.08 ERA in 14 appearances for Louisville
Dominic Taccolini – SO – Arkansas – Moved to weekend rotation after strong freshman year and went 6-4 with 4.32 ERA
Robert Tyler – SO – Georgia – Freshman All-American missed most of sophomore season after an injury, returning in May

CATCHERS

Jason Delay – SO – Vanderbilt – Hit .226 for Bourne last summer and batting .301 for Commodores this season
Brian Serven – SO – Arizona State – Had some struggles in Bourne last year but returned to Tempe and hit .294 with 6 HRs this spring

INFIELDERS

Pete Alonso – SO – Florida – One of Northwoods League’s best last summer hitting .304 with three homers for Omaha-bound Gators
C.J. Chatham – SO – Florida Atlantic – Followed strong debut with breakout sophomore season, hitting .344 with 28 XBH, 43 RBI
Camden Duzenack – SO – Dallas Baptist – Helped lead DBU’s continued emergence with .286, 4 HR season
Mike Garzillo – JR – Lehigh – Second baseman had huge junior year, batting .359 with 13 HR, 54 RBI and 15 SB
Casey Golden – SO – UNC Wilmington – Freshman All-American last year hit .283 with 6 HR in second season
Reid Humphreys – SO – Mississippi State – After part-time duty last year, hit .247 and was second on team in HR with 5
Corey Julks – FR – Houston – Grabbed full-time job as season went on and hit .302 with 5 HR, 38 RBI
Nick Solak – SO – Louisville – One of top hitters for dynamic Louisville offense, batting .326 with three homers, 18 SB

OUTFIELDERS

Nick Banks – SO – Texas A&M – Led SEC in hitting for much of the year, now batting .366 with 7 HR, 47 RBI
Ryan Boldt – SO – Nebraska – Baseball America’s top prospect in the Northwoods League hit .344 in second season in Lincoln
Vince Fernandez – SO – UC Riverside – West Coast League all star last summer had breakout sophomore year with .316 average, 7 HR

Tag: Cooper Hammond

Second Place Shutouts