Second Place Shutouts

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.

June 28, 2015June 28, 2015

Bourne Identity

A good start is great, but as so many Cape League teams have shown – especially since the playoffs expanded – a great finish is even better. And a bad start can be left completely behind.

The Bourne Braves still have a ways to go before they can think about a big finish, but the bad start has certainly been erased. With a big chunk of players still with their college teams when the Cape season began and some hard-luck losses mixed in, Bourne got off to an 0-6-1 start this summer. Once they got off the skid, they stayed and have won seven of their last nine, emerging as one of the league’s hottest teams.

Saturday, the Braves knocked off West-leading Hyannis 3-0. They were facing Devin Smeltzer (Florida Gulf Coast), who was fresh off a no-hitter, and they touched him up for 10 hits. On the other side, Ryan Smoyer (Notre Dame) tossed six shutout innings to get the Braves on their way.

Reid Humphreys (Mississippi State) led the offense with two hits and two RBI. He’s one of only four players in Saturday’s starting lineup that was also in the opening day starting nine. Those four – Humphreys, Camden Duzenack (Dallas Baptist), Ryan Boldt (Nebraska) and Corey Julks (Houston) – have been solid, and the reinforcements have helped do the rest. Guys like Nick Solak (Louisville) and Pete Alonso (Florida) are major additions that make Bourne’s lineup a whole lot better. Solak is hitting .314. Alonso made his debut Saturday and went 1-for-4 with an RBI, after hitting five homers for the Gators this spring.

Smoyer made his third start Saturday and out-dueled Smeltzer. He didn’t strike out a batter but only allowed four hits in his six scoreless innings. Bryan Baker (North Florida) and Austin Conway (Indiana State) closed out the shutout, with Conway grabbing his third save.

Hyannis remains atop the division at 10-7, but Wareham – and now the red-hot Braves – are right on their tail. The Braves’ bad start seems like a long time ago.

Falmouth 1, Harwich 0

Bourne’s win was one of three Saturday shutouts. Falmouth’s came on the shoulders of four pitchers, with Jack Finnegan (McLennan CC) getting the win in relief and Stephen Villines (Kansas) notching the save when he struck out the side around a single in the ninth. Adam Oller (Northwestern State) started and went five scoreless. The day’s only offense came in the sixth, when Boomer White (Texas A&M) knocked an RBI single. That made Harwich’s Scott Tully (Notre Dame) a very hard-luck loser. He went eight innings, struck out seven and allowed just the one run. Falmouth improved to 7-10 with the win.

Brewster 3, Chatham 0

Brewster had the other shutout, as J.D. Busfield (Loyola Marymount) and three relievers combined to quiet Chatham’s bats. Busfield, who was a terrific closer for Loyola, continued his transition to a Cape rotation with his third start, and his best yet. He went six and allowed only two hits. Anthony Arias (Fresno State), Trent Paddon (Oregon) and Thomas Hackimer (St. John’s) did the rest, with Hackimer recording the save. Chatham starter Daniel Castano (Baylor) gave up only one earned run, but three Chatham errors led to a pair of unearned tallies. Colin Lyman (Louisville) and Nico Giarratano (San Francisco) each had two hits for the Whitecaps.

Cotuit 5, Orleans 4

The Kettleers were on a seven-game skid but stopped despite having to match up with East-leading Orleans. The Firebirds rallied from a 4-3 deficit to tie the game in the top of the ninth – setting up more heartbreak for the Kettleers – but this time, Cotuit rallied and pushed the winning run across in the bottom of the ninth on the old walk-off walk by Kort Peterson (UCLA). Brett Stephens (UCLA) and Branden Berry (Cal State Northridge) went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Cotuit offense. Nick Lewis (Baylor) got the win with five strong innings of relief. He struck out five and allowed only the ninth-inning run. Kyle Lewis (Mercer) had two hits and two RBI for Orleans. He now ranks second in the league in hitting, tied for first in home runs and tied for third in RBI.

Wareham 4, Y-D 2

Wareham won its third in a row, moved one game over .500 and got within two points of first place Hyannis. Evan Hill (Michigan) went five shutout innings for the win and Ryan Olson (Cal Poly Pomona) picked up the save. Nick Cieri (Maryland) went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Andrew Calica (UC Santa Barbara) went 2-for-3 with an RBI. The Gatemen continue to lead the league in runs scored with 78 in 17 games.

What to Watch

It’s a battle of division leaders at Eldredge Park when Orleans hosts Hyannis. Kyle Cedotal (SE Louisiana), who had a great spring and has a 0.90 ERA this summer, will start for the Firebirds. Dakota Hudson (Mississippi State), who has struck out seven in each of his starts, goes for Hyannis.

June 7, 2015June 7, 2015

Veteran hitters primed to lead Anglers’ resurgence

After a first-place finish in the East two years ago, the Anglers dropped to the bottom of the division last summer. With a talented offense primed to contribute from day one, Chatham would like to ride the rollercoaster right back to the top.

FIVE TO WATCH

1. Will Craig
2. Nate Mondou
3. Zack Burdi
4. Jake Fraley
5. Josh Greene

NOTABLE

Zack Burdi has followed in his brother’s footsteps at Louisville and Chatham – and in his radar gun readings. With Nick now in the Twins organization after being selected in second round of last year’s draft, Zack had the top fastball velocity in the Cape League last summer and assumed closer duties for the Cardinals this spring.

Chatham has had quite a few North Carolina aces in town over the years, and Zac Gallen joins the crew this season. Gallen struck out 74 in his sophomore season.

Thomas Jankins of Quinnipiac was the New England Collegiate Baseball League Pitcher of the Year last summer when he set a new league record in ERA at 0.40.

James Mulry had a tough season with Northeastern but he’s a Cape League veteran, having posted a 3.89 ERA for Harwich last year.

Chatham has the makings of a strong, sophomore-led offense with players on the heels of big seasons. No seasons were bigger than those of a pair of Wake Forest players who will head to Veterans Field. Will Craig earned ACC Player of the Year honors after hitting .382 with 13 homers and teammate Nate Mondou wasn’t far behind, with a .338 average and 10 homers.

LSU’s Jake Fraley hit .265 and stole 11 bases for the Anglers last summer. His potential has drawn praise from LSU coach Paul Mainieri since the start of his career and you would think he’s poised for a big summer.

The list goes on of solid offensive options, but the best news for the Anglers? Just one player – Fraley – is on a College World Series team.

PITCHERS

Zack Burdi – SO – Louisville – Flame-throwing closer, returning Angler, has excelled for Cardinals with 9 SV, 0.69 ERA
C.J. Burdick – FR – San Diego – Solid in swing role, posting 4.24 ERA and 55 K in 57.1 IP
Daniel Castano – FR – Baylor – Big 12 all-freshman pick followed with solid sophomore year as starter, with 3.61 ERA
Ty Damron – SO – Texas Tech – After quiet freshman year, started 11 games as a sophomore and had 3.58 ERA
Dane Dunning – SO – Florida – Moved to rotation after debut in bullpen last year, struck out nearly a batter an inning
Paker Dunshee – SO – Wake Forest – Has posted an ERA under 3 in two years of relief work with Demon Deacons
Gabe Friese – SO – Kennesaw State – Part of weekend rotation for two years running, had 3.57 ERA this year
Zac Gallen – SO – North Carolina – Top starter for Tar Heels went 4-3 with 2.79 ERA and 74 Ks
Jake Godfrey – JR – LSU – Power arm was 21st-round pick last year, has gone 7-1 with 4.70 ERA this year
Thomas Jankins – SO – Quinnipiac – NECBL Pitcher of the Year last summer had 3.20 ERA this spring
Aaron McGarity – SO – Virginia Tech – Pitched in relief and starting role with 4.57 ERA this season
James Mulry – JR – Northeastern – Standout with Harwich last year had up-and-down junior year, finishing with 5.71 ERA
Jeff Paschke – JR – USC – Two-way player honed in on pitching this spring and had ERA over six in 13 appearances
A.J. Puckett – SO – Pepperdine – Moved into weekend rotation as a sophomore and went 7-5 with 4.35 ERA
Cameron Stone – SO – Stony Brook – Saved 8 games as a freshman and added 6 this year with 1.04 ERA
Garrett Williams – SO – Oklahoma State – Highly ranked out of high school, returning Angler had 4.91 ERA out of pen this spring
T.J. Zeuch – SO – Pittsburgh – Grabbed full-time spot in rotation this year and struck out 90 in 88.1 IP

CATCHERS

Aaron Barnett – SO – Pepperdine – Freshman All-American last year hit .303 this season
Nick Sciortino – SO – Boston College – Started 43 games and hit .243 this spring

INFIELDERS

Kyle Brooks – JR – North Florida – Hit .303 and stole nine bases for North Florida this season
Will Craig – SO – Wake Forest – ACC Player of the Year hit .382 with .496 OBP, blasted 13 home runs, 20 doubles and knocked in 58
Garrett Hampson – SO – Long Beach State – Big West Freshman of the Year in 2014 hit .296, stole 17 bases this year
Nate Mondou – SO – Wake Forest – Part of Demon Deacons power-hitting duo with Craig, Mondou hit .338 with 10 homers
Zack Short – SO – Sacred Heart – Followed up all-conference debut with nine homers, .303 average this season

OUTFIELDERS

Trenton Brooks – SO – Nevada – Standout two-way player hit .365 and posted 3.65 ERA in 13 mound appearances
Jake Fraley – SO – LSU – Highly-touted player set to return to Chatham off .314, 2 HR, 22 SB season with Tigers
Josh Greene – SO – High Point – Built on solid freshman year by hitting .355 with 7 HR, 13 SB
Luke Persico – SO – UCLA – Started every game for Bruins and hit .285 with three homers
Bobby Stahel – JR – USC – Took leap this season with .376 average, four homers, 33 RBI on way to first-team all-conference nod