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.
Parker Dunshee tossed six shutout innings as Chatham edged Orleans.
Three of the four opening-round playoff series ended in sweeps Tuesday. The one that’s going to three games is not the one you’d expect.
The fourth-seeded Chatham Anglers, who lost seven of their final eight regular-season games and dropped Monday’s opener, knocked off top-seeded Orleans 1-0 Tuesday night to push their East Division semifinal series to a decisive third game.
The Firebirds, with the best record in the league, had been shut out only once all season, in a 5-0 loss to Y-D on July 10. But Chatham’s Parker Dunshee (Wake Forest) and two of his teammates made it two shutouts, right when it counted the most.
Dunshee was as dominant as anybody has been all year against the powerful Firebirds. He allowed two hits, both singles, and struck out eight in six shutout innings. The right-hander was working on an eight-inning scoreless streak heading into the game, but six innings of two-hit baseball against these Firebirds represented a jump to a whole new level. He took a no-hitter into the fifth before Orleans notched a pair of singles, one that didn’t leave the infield.
Brandon Miller (Millersville) and Aaron McGarity (Virginia Tech) picked up where Dunshee left off, combining on three perfect innings to finish off the win.
Orleans starter Eric Lauer (Kent State) was almost as good as Dunshee, striking out nine and giving up four hits in five innings. But Chatham’s fourth-inning tally proved to be enough. Dunshee’s Wake Forest teammate Joey Rodriguez, a mid-season addition who hit just .105 in nine regular-season games, delivered the run-scoring hit. Aaron Barnett (Pepperdine), who had led off the inning with a base hit, scored the run.
The Firebirds never really threatened. The fifth-inning singles were their only hits, and Dunshee had no trouble escaping the mini-jam.
Orleans had won five straight, looking the part of the favorite. Thanks to Chatham and Parker Dunshee, the favorite quickly finds itself in a must-win game.
Y-D 7, Brewster 3
Y-D’s come-from-behind win in game one put Brewster in a tough spot, and not just because the Whitecaps faced elimination. They would also be facing Red Sox ace Ricky Thomas (Fresno State), who has quite literally been unbeatable this year. It proved to be just as tough as expected. Thomas was right on script, tossing six shutout innings with seven strikeouts as the Red Sox eliminated Brewster with a 7-3 victory. Thomas is now 8-0 on the summer. Ryan Noda (Cincinnati) homered to lead the Y-D attack, while Donnie Walton (Oklahoma State) and Chris Hudgins (Cal State Fullerton) chipped in two hits each. Y-D and Brewster both had 11 hits, but the Whitecaps were shut-out for seven innings and could muster only three runs in the eighth as they attempted a comeback. Jack Meggs (Washington) went 3-for-4 to lead Brewster. MVP Nick Senzel – Brewster’s leading hitter and run producer – missed the game with a wrist injury. The loss brings to an end a terrific season for Brewster and first-year manager Jamie Shevchik. The defending champion Red Sox move on.
Hyannis 9, Cotuit 5
Hyannis is now 8-0 against Cotuit this season, and the Kettleers won’t get another chance to change that, as the Harbor Hawks’ victory Tuesday sent them home. The West’s top seed started fast for a second straight night, scoring seven runs in the first three innings after getting six Monday. Ryne Birk (Texas A&M), who had one home run in the regular season, hit his second of the playoffs to make it a 3-0 game in the second inning. No. 9 hitter Tristan Hildebrandt (Cal State Fullerton) went 4-for-5 and knocked in three runs. Corey Bird (Marshall) went 2-for-5 and scored twice. Armed with the early lead, Vance Tatum (Mississippi State) allowed two runs in five innings for the win. Cotuit made some headway against the bullpen but would get no closer than the final four-run margin. Michael Paez (Coastal Carolina) was a bright spot for Cotuit in the loss, going 4-for-5 with two RBI. The loss sent Cotuit to its first opening-round exit since 2012. The Kettleers were league champs in 2013 and West finalists last year.
Bourne 4, Wareham 0
After a 7-1 victory in game one, Bourne pitching was even better in game two, as the Braves shut-out Wareham and punched its ticket to the West finals. Keegan Akin (Western Michigan) went 4.2 innings and struck out four ahead of a dominant relief outing from Kyle Driscoll (Rutgers), who struck out six in 3.1 innings. Austin Conway (Indiana State) pitched a perfect ninth. The co-winner of the league’s top reliever award still hasn’t allowed an earned run this summer. The Bourne offense backed the strong mound work with three runs in the top of the first inning, all on a home run by C.J. Chatham (Florida Atlantic). Wareham starter Brett Hanewich (Stanford) settled in from there, but the damage was done. Chatham added an RBI single in the eighth as the Braves cruised to the victory.
What to Watch
With only one first-round series headed to a third game, everybody gets a day off Wednesday except for the Anglers and Firebirds. Game three of their set is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Eldredge Park. Corbin Burnes (St. Mary’s) was listed as the game three probable for Orleans after the series opener. Ty Damron (Texas Tech) was listed as the Chatham starter.
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.
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.
Former Harwich Mariner D.J. Lemahieu is one of eight Cape League alumni set for their first MLB All-Star Game.
The Cape Cod Baseball League has 15 alumni in the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, six more than it had last year. As top prospects continue to take the bigs by storm, that all-star number is a sign that there’s a new wave of Cape Cod talent in the majors, too.
Eight of the Cape’s All-Stars are first-time participants, bolstering the league’s ranks in MLB stardom. Chris Sale and Buster Posey had taken the torch in recent years from the Evan Longorias and Chase Utleys of the world. Now, players like Dallas Keuchel, Kris Bryant, D.J. LeMahieu and Brandon Crawford are joining them. It’s also the first All-Star Game for Yasmani Grandal, Brad Boxberger, Joe Panik and former Cape League MVP A.J. Pollock.
Keuchel, who had a 3.20 ERA for Wareham in 2007 and a 2.63 ERA in 2008, will start on the mound for the American League. The Houston Astro is 11-4 with a 2.23 ERA and 114 strikeouts on the year.
Todd Frazier is making his second All-Star appearance, but you could put the former Chatham A in the same up-and-coming category. Frazier won the Home Run Derby in style Monday and will represent the hometown Reds in the starting lineup.
Jason Kipnis and Josh Donaldson are also making their second appearances.
While the MLB season is at its halfway point, the Cape League season is about two-third of the way over. As has been the case for a while now, the most lasting team impression continues to belong to the Orleans Firebirds. At 20-8, they have the best record in the league by four games and are playing .714 baseball. If they continue at that pace, they’ll go 31-13, which would be the best mark in the league since a dominant Y-D team went 31-12-1 and won its second consecutive Cape League title.
While the return of Bobby Dalbec and Bryson Brigman from Team USA makes Orleans even stronger, it’s pitching that may really carry the day for the Firebirds. They lead the league in team ERA at 2.08 and starting pitchers Mitchell Jordan, Eric Lauer, Kyle Serrano and Corbin Burnes sure look like the league’s best starting rotation.
Orleans’ Dalbec and Kyle Lewis are tied for the league lead in home runs with five each. Interestingly, that’s not all that rare of a feat at the end of a season. In 2014, Chatham’s Chris Shaw ranked first and teammate A.J. Murray was tied for second. In 2013, Falmouth’s Casey Gillaspie led the way and Rhys Hoskins was tied for second.
Cape leaderboards are often populated by guys who get off to quick starts, even when they slow down a little. It’s always easy to miss those who have heated up more recently, like Y-D’s Tommy Edman and Falmouth’s Heath Quinn. Edman, a star in the NECBL last year, was hitting .208 a week into the Cape season but has seen his average rise steadily upward. He’s now batting .325, good for fifth in the league. And the bat is just a bonus – he has made only one error while playing mostly second base for the Red Sox. Quinn, who was at .23 after a week, is now hitting .317 with seven extra-base hits.
Wareham’s Andrew Calica is approaching the minimum number of plate appearances per team game to qualify for the league batting average leaderboard. If he stays anywhere near his current pace, he’ll take that list by storm. Since making his debut June 23 — two weeks into the season — Calica is hitting .469 in 15 games and has delivered nine multi-hit games.
Stat-line that I haven’t had a chance to focus on anywhere else: Harwich’s Cavan Biggio has reached base in 20 of the 22 games he’s played. He has a .420 on-base percentage.
Also very good at getting on base? Chatham’s Will Craig, who has a .390 on-base percentage despite a .208 average. He has drawn a league-best 20 walks.
Virginia Tech must have had one heck of a bullpen this spring. Hokies Luke Scherzer and Aaron McGarity rank first and third in the league in saves, while teammate Kit Scheetz leads the league in appearances and has a 2.46 ERA for Orleans.
Donnie Walton and Y-D cruised past Hyannis on Saturday.
Four Cape League teams celebrated their independence on the Fourth of July – independence from the previous day’s results.
In the second games of the annual holiday series, the team that lost Friday won on Saturday in four cases. The fifth of those series – Bourne and Wareham – ended in a 0-0 tie yesterday, so there’s even a taste of independence for the Braves.
The most impressive turnaround belonged to the Y-D Red Sox, who lost 6-2 to Hyannis on Friday but came back with a dominant 7-0 shutout Saturday.
The Red Sox scored three runs off Devin Smeltzer (Florida Gulf Coast) and added four more against the Hyannis pen. Five different Red Sox had two-hit games: Gio Brusa (Washington), Stephen Wrenn (Georgia), Donnie Walton (Oklahoma State), Cole Billingsley (South Alabama) and Ryan Noda (Cincinnati). Brusa, the 2014 All-Star with Brewster, has six hits in his last four games after scuffling out of the gate.
The offensive burst was plenty for Ricky Thomas (Fresno State), who turned in his best performance yet in picking up his league-best fourth win. Thomas allowed just three hits – all singles – in seven shutout innings. He struck out three and walked two. The lefty, who had a 3.92 ERA for Fresno, has picked up a win in each of his starts, and he’s deserved every one of them. He’s gone at least 5.2 innings and hasn’t allowed more than one run in any of his four outings.
Y-D went to 10-12 with the win and is now one of three teams in the East with 10 victories. Hyannis is 13-9.
Harwich 5, Brewster 4
Two Harwich pitchers quieted Brewster’s bats just long enough to set up a ninth-inning rally for the Mariners, who walked off on an RBI single by Nick Walker (Old Dominion) in the bottom of the ninth. Brewster had won two straight – and had pounded 28 hits in those games. The Whitecaps were limited to four hits Saturday by Scott Tully (Notre Dame) and Hunter Newman (LSU). They still managed four runs and carried a 4-2 lead into the ninth, but Harwich plated three runs for the win. Brock Deatherage (NC State) capped off a 4-for-5 night with the single to score the tying run. With the bases loaded, Thomas Hackimer (St. John’s) struck out the next two batters with the bases loaded, but Walker cracked the base hit to win it.
Orleans 4, Chatham 2
Orleans scored all the runs it needed in the third inning and topped Chatham to regain an eight-point lead in the East standings. Daniel Pinero (Virginia) and Alex Call (Ball State) knocked in runs in the big inning, with Call plating two on a double. Call is five for his last 12 and has emerged as a key piece to the Firebirds lineup. Corbin Burnes (St. Mary’s) got the win after allowing one earned run in 5.1 innings. Four relievers closed the deal, with Kit Scheetz (Virginia Tech) getting each of his four outs via the strikeouts and Jason Harper (Southern Connecticut) picking up his fourth save. For Chatham, Jake Fraley (LSU) went 2-for-5 and is 5-for-13 in three games since joining the Anglers after LSU’s run to Omaha. Fraley hit .307 and stole 23 bases for the Tigers.
Falmouth 4, Cotuit 1
Austin Tribby (Missouri) went six strong innings and Falmouth scored two runs in the third and fourth innings for a win over Cotuit. Tribby struck out four, scattered five hits and surrendered one run in six innings of work. He improved to 1-1, and his ERA now stands at 1.56. Andrew Frankenreider (Northern Illinois) pitched two scoreless innings of relief, keeping his ERA at 0.00 in eight appearances. Stephen Villines (Kansas) grabbed his fourth save. The Falmouth offense was led by J.B. Woodman (Ole Miss) and Logan Ice (Oregon State), who both had two hits and two RBI. Falmouth moved one game ahead of Cotuit for fourth place in the West.
Bourne 0, Wareham 0, 12 innings
Nine different pitchers took the hill at Doran Park and none of them allowed a run as Bourne and Wareham played to a 0-0 tie. Bourne threatened to walk off with a win several times, stranding two runners in the ninth and 10th innings and loading the bases but coming up empty in the 11th. Tyler Thorne (Stanford) escaped that final jam with a strikeout. For Bourne, Ryan Smoyer (Notre Dame) started and allowed four hits in six innings. Shaun Anderson (Florida) struck out six and gave up one hit in five innings for Wareham.
What to Watch
Orleans makes the Cape League’s longest trip as the Firebirds head to Wareham, but they’ll have standout Mitchell Jordan (Stetson) on the mound when they arrive. Jordan is 3-0 and hasn’t allowed an earned run in four starts. Wareham counters with Ryan Williamson (NC State), who will make his second start. He has a 5.55 ERA.
Devin Smeltzer winds up for a pitch on his way to his no-hitter of Harwich Saturday night. (Courtesy Mary K. Albis)
Devin Smeltzer finished his freshman season at Florida Gulf Coast with a 6.19 ERA, not the kind of debut the highly-touted left-hander was hoping for. His first start for Hyannis in the Cape Cod Baseball League was a big step in the right direction. He struck out nine and gave up two runs in 5.2 innings.
His second start was a giant leap. Smeltzer tossed a no-hitter in a 5-0 win over Harwich at Whitehouse Field Saturday night. I believe it’s the league’s first nine-inning, single-pitcher no-hitter since 2010, when Y-D’s Jordan Pries did it. It was the first for Hyannis since Matt Daly in 2007.
Smeltzer did it on a night when Max Scherzer threw a no-hitter for the Washington Nationals. There was also a no-hitter in the New England Collegiate Baseball League.
Smeltzer needed just 91 pitches for his feat, a remarkable number. Sometimes, at this point in the summer, as arm strength is built back up, managers might shy away from pushing a pitcher the full nine innings – in 2013, three Bourne pitchers combined on a no-hitter for that very reason – but I can’t imagine there was much concern in this case.
Smeltzer threw 60 of his 91 pitchers for strikes and walked only one batter – on a 3-2 pitch – in the seventh. That was all that kept Smeltzer from a perfect game. He struck out four and recorded 13 ground ball outs, as the defense behind him shined.
After the walk, Smeltzer retired seven batters in a row to finish the game. The last batter he faced, Virginia Tech’s Saige Jenco, worked the count to 2-2 and fouled off a pair of pitches before hitting a ground ball to shortstop. Errol Robinson (Ole Miss), who handled six grounders at short, made one last play, and the celebration was on.
Austin Hays (Jacksonville) drove in three runs to back Smeltzer, while Robinson and his college teammate Jacob Noll (Florida Gulf Coast) knocked in one apiece.
With his slim build and lefty delivery, Smeltzer has often been compared to former Florida Gulf Coast – and Y-D Red Sox – star Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox. But Smeltzer’s Cape League career now includes something Sale’s did not.
Orleans remained the hottest team in the league, topping Falmouth 3-2 for its sixth consecutive win. The Firebirds are now 9-2, best in the league. Reggie Southall (USC), who’s taking over at shortstop now that Colby Woodmansee is with team USA, went 2-for-3 with a triple and scored two runs. Kyle Lewis (Mercer) and Alex Call (Ball State) drove in runs. Corbin Burnes (St. Mary’s), making his second start, allowed one run in five innings and struck out four. Parker Bean (Liberty) and Joe Ryan (Cal State Northridge) combined on four scoreless innings of relief.
Brewster 16, Cotuit 6
On the heels of snapping its six-game losing streak, Brewster started a win streak with an offensive barrage against Cotuit. Five players had multi-hit games and the Whitecaps scored 16 runs on 17 hits for an easy win over the Kettleers. Colin Lyman (Louisville) went 4-for-5 atop the lineup and scored three runs. Nick Senzel (Tennessee) had three hits and two RBI, while Will Smith (Louisville), Robbie Tenerowicz (California) and Jack Meggs (Washington) had two hits each. Smith and Tenerowicz both homered. Pat Ruotolo (Connecticut) was credited with the win in relief for Brewster. Matt Albanese (Bryant) homered for Cotuit.
Wareham 5, Y-D 2
The Gatemen smacked 12 hits and pulled away from Y-D for a 5-2 victory. Jay Jabs (Franklin Pierce) hit his second home run of the summer, while David MacKinnon (Hartford) and Preston Grand Pre (California) had three hits apiece. Blake Fox (Rice) made his wareham debut and gave up one run in five innings for the win. Stephen Woods Jr. (Albany) picked up the save. Wareham improved to 5-6, good for a second-place tie in the West. Y-D, lost for the fourth time in a row and fell to 3-8.
Bourne 8, Chatham 2
Bourne out-hit Chatham 10-8 but built a much bigger margin on the scoreboard in an 8-2 win over the Anglers at Veterans Field. Reid Humphreys (Mississippi State) homered and four other Braves drove in one run apiece. Nick Solak (Louisville) stayed red-hot, picking up his fifth RBI and pushing his average to .438 in four games since joining the team late. On the mound, five pitchers combined for a solid showing, with the win going to reliever Ross Vance (West Virginia). For Chatham, Trenton Brooks (Nevada) and Kyle Brooks (North Florida) book-ended – or Brooks-ended, perhaps? – the lineup with two hits apiece. Bourne is now 4-6-1 since its rough start, while Chatham dropped to 6-5.
What to Watch
Maybe not much. There is supposed to be a full-slate of Fathers Day doubleheaders but rain will threaten those.
Bobby Dalbec, pictured last summer, hit a grand slam in Friday’s win.
The defending Cape League champion Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox have struggled with the bats early on in 2015, hitting .156 through four games and scoring just six runs. The Red Sox offense had a young offense anyway, and five hitters are currently in Omaha.
Friday, Y-D played a team that’s had no such trouble.
Orleans has 11 players at the College World Series, but most of them are pitchers – and the offensive standouts who are already in town have more than made up for any gaps. The Firebirds, hitting .310 as a team on they year, pounded 15 hits and three home runs in a 12-3 victory over Y-D last night at Red Wilson Field.
A quick glance at the Firebirds lineup and accompanying college statistics reveals a big-time lineup, and it hasn’t disappointed.
Bobby Dalbec (Arizona) led the Pac 12 with 15 home runs this spring and is slated to join Team USA shortly, but in the meantime, the returning Firebird blasted a grand slam as part of a 2-for-5 night Friday.
Kyle Lewis (Mercer), the Southern Conference Player of the Year, hit his second home run in four games, and is one of only two players in the league with two. He’s also tied for the league lead in hits and is hitting .412.
Ronnie Dawson (Ohio State), who had a big year for the Buckeyes, also homered Friday and is batting .333.
Throw in Adam Pate (North Carolina), who’s hitting .400 at the top of the lineup, Colby Woodmansee (Arizona State) and Bryson Brigman (San Diego), and it’s easy to see why the Firebirds are producing. The team is now 3-1 on the year and is averaging six runs per game.
The pitching staff – even with a potential ace in Connor Jones starting for Virginia in Omaha today – has also been very good. The Firebirds have allowed only six earned runs. Friday, starter Kyle Serrano (Tennessee) gave up two in five innings of work for the win.
It has all added up to a hot start. And the way this lineup looks, it may continue.
Cotuit 3, Falmouth 0
The Kettleers had some success in many games last year using four of five relievers for a few innings each, a kind of bullpen day almost every day. Friday, they were at it again, with four pitchers combining on a shutout of Falmouth. Austin Solecitto (ASA College) started and went 2.1 innings, Mitch Stallings (Duke) was credited with the win in 2.2 innings of relief, Cal Becker (Riverside) chipped in an inning and Matthew Kinney (Florida State) pitched the final three innings for the save, as Cotuit moved to 3-1. Will Haynie (Alabama) hit his second home run of the summer to lead the offense, while Matt Albanese (Bryant) had two hits. Falmouth, which dropped to 1-3, had eight hits but stranded 10 runners.
Wareham 4, Bourne 2
The Gatemen won their third straight since an opening night loss while Bourne remained winless. Jay Jabs (Franklin Pierce) stretched his hitting streak to four games with a 2-for-3 night and an RBI. Darryn Shepard (Baylor) added two hits. David MacKinnon (Hartford) had two hits for the second straight game. Ian Hamilton (Washington State) started on the hill and went five shutout innings. A pair of players on temporary contracts finished it off, with Stephen Woods Jr. (Albany) tossing three quiet innings of relief and Shea Spitzbarth (Molloy College) picking up the save. For Bourne, Cameron Duzenack (Dallas Baptist) had three hits.
Hyannis 3, Harwich 1
It’s a three-way tie atop the West with Hyannis joining Wareham and Cotuit at 3-1. The Harbor Hawks got three hits from Errol Robinson (Ole Miss) the early league batting leader, plus RBI from JaVon Shelby (Kentucky) and a familiar name in Bobby Melley (Connecticut). Melley is a Centerville native who’s now back with Hyannis. On the mound, Vance Tatum (Mississippi State) allowed one run in five innings. Marc Skinner (Troy) picked up the win in relief and Thomas Burrows (Alabama) had the save. Sheldon Nuese (Oklahoma) homered for Harwich, who fell to 1-3.
Brewster at Chatham, PPD
Chatham and Brewster played just over two innings Friday before the fog made its first appearance of the season and forced a postponement.
What to Watch
It’s a battle of 3-1 teams at McKeon Park as Orleans visits Hyannis. Corbin Burnes (St. Mary’s) who has already made his Cape debut in relief, is slated to start for the Firebirds. Devin Smeltzer (Florida Gulf Coast) goes for Hyannis.
Adam Whitt was the Cape League’s co-winner of the relief pitcher of the year award last year, and returned in style Tuesday night.
The players who pop up on Cape League rosters early in the season often have great stories. As teams scramble to fill gaps left by College World Series runs and Team USA invites, the fill-ins step up. They’re small-school guys looking for a chance, or kids from New England schools who were waiting by the phone. They’re young guys who might not have had a shot otherwise.
But of all those archetypes, my favorite might be the old friend.
The Cotuit Kettleers probably feel the same way.
You will not find Adam Whitt’s name on the Cotuit web site roster, but there he was on opening night, striking out all four batters he faced and getting a save in a 3-1 win. In other words, doing exactly what he did last year.
Whitt, a former walk-on at Nevada who found his niche as a side-arming closer, was the Swiss Army Knife of pitchers last summer. Sometimes he had long outings, sometimes he closed. Whatever he did, he was terrific, leading the league in ERA at 1.00 and appearances with 19. He shared the league’s top relief pitcher award with Y-D flamethrower Phil Bickford.
The junior built on his Cape League success by saving 14 games for the Wolf Pack this spring. He’s likely to get drafted, though it didn’t happen on the event’s first two days, through 10 rounds. A third day is on tap today.
But in the meantime, Whitt is a Kettleer again. Cotuit scored two runs in the seventh last night to break a 1-1 tie with Harwich. One inning later, Whitt was in to slam the door, getting four swinging strikeouts for his fifth career Cape League save.
The win went to Jack Anderson (Penn State), who also tossed 1.1 scoreless innings. Will Haynie’s (Alabama) two-run homer was the difference on the scoreboard.
For an old friend, it was a nice welcome back.
Hyannis 5, Falmouth 3
There was free baseball – or more free baseball than usual – in Falmouth, where visiting Hyannis won 5-3 in 11 innings. Kentucky stand-out JaVon Shelby opened his Cape League career by going 3-for-5 and scoring the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th. He doubled and headed home on a sacrifice fly by Colby Bortles (Ole Miss). Returning Hawk Arden Pabst (Georgia Tech) – who didn’t have an extra-base hit in 28 games last summer – followed with an RBI double. Nolan Blackwood (Memphis), on for the final 3.2 innings, then slammed the door after getting the lead, picking up where he left off after saving 14 games with the Tigers. Pabst finished 3-for-5, while Nicholas Pappas (College of Charleston) had two RBI. Boomer White (Texas A&M) had three hits in his return to Falmouth.
Orleans 1, Bourne 0
Four Firebird pitchers combined on a one-hit shutout and the offense did just a little more damage as Orleans topped Bourne 1-0. Mitchell Jordan, who led Stetson with a 3.58 ERA this spring, started and went five innings with five strikeouts. Corbin Burnes (St. Mary’s), Kit Scheetz (Virginia Tech) and Sean Watkins (Loyola Marymount) then teamed up for four hitless innings. Jeremy Martinez (USC) had an RBI double in the seventh for all the offense Orleans needed. Bourne pitchers scattered seven hits. Babe Thomas (Winthrop) had the only hit for the Braves.
Chatham 5, Y-D 1
The Anglers got a strong start from potential ace T.J. Zeuch (Pittsburgh) and steadily pulled away from Y-D for a 5-1 win over the defending champs. Zeuch, a 6-foot-7 righty who struck out 90 this season, went 5.2 innings and allowed just an unearned run while striking out two. Three relievers finished the job without allowing a hit. Nate Mondou (Wake Forest) led the offense with three hits, while Trenton Brooks (Nevada) had two RBI. Aaron Knapp (California), the brother of former Angler Andrew Knapp, also knocked in a run.
Brewster 5, Wareham 4
The Gatemen rallied from a 4-0 deficit to tie the game in the sixth but saw Brewster break the deadlock in the next inning for the 5-4 win. Nick Senzel (Tennessee) knocked in the go-ahead run with a triple, part of a 2-for-4 night. Brandon Gold (Georgia Tech) added three hits and three RBI for the early league lead in both categories. College teammate Zac Ryan (Georgia Tech) earned the win with 3.2 scoreless innings of relief. Starter Anthony Arias (Fresno State) had an odd – but good – line, striking out 10 and not allowing a hit in 5.1 innings. Four walks and an error behind him accounted for the four runs and two earned runs he was charged with. For Wareham, Anthony Kay (Connecticut) returned off a huge season with the Huskies and gave up three runs in three innings.
What to Watch
Hyannis and Cotuit get their rivalry series off to an early start with a match-up at Lowell Field tonight. Returning Harbor Hawk Nick Deeg (Central Michigan) – a 6-foot-5 lefty – gets the ball for Hyannis.
