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Cotuit Wins It

The Cotuit Kettleers show off their championship hardware.

 
When Cotuit opened the 2013 Cape Cod Baseball League season against Orleans on June 12, Caleb Bryson was in Lima, Ohio, going 1-for-3 for the Hamilton Joes in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League. Garrett Stubbs was not far away from Cotuit, in Plymouth, going 1-for-4 for the NECBL’s Plymouth Pilgrims against the Ocean State Waves. Austin Byler was rehabbing an injury in Nevada. Jake Fincher and Logan Ratledge were on their way to Omaha. Stanford teammates Drew Jackson and Danny Diekroeger hadn’t suited up yet. Mark Payton was weighing his options after just getting drafted in the 16th round. Rhett Wiseman had just finished his season with Vanderbilt. Evan Beal was one day removed from South Carolina’s heart-breaking Super Regional loss to North Carolina. Wesley Cox and Dalton Potts were playing for the Front Royal Cardinals in the Valley League. Bradley Zimmer was in a Cotuit uniform, but he knew he’d soon be packing his bags for a summer with Team USA.

On August 15, they were all on a Cape Cod field together.

And they were celebrating.

Cotuit’s remarkable season of near-constant change ended with a Cape Cod Baseball League championship. If the Kettleers are getting rings, they’re going to need quite a few. Fifty-one players donned a Cotuit uniform this summer. Every week, they lost somebody. Every week, they gained somebody. Somehow, they were one of the league’s best teams while they rode the roster roller-coaster. Whoever was on the field – whoever wasn’t – the Kettleers found a way to play winning baseball more often than not.

They did it one last time Thursday night.

Cotuit completed a championship sweep of Orleans with a 6-1 victory at Eldredge Park, capturing its second Cape League title in four years.

It was clinched on the strength of a championship-worthy all around performance. Christian Cecilio (San Francisco) went six scoreless innings, turning in his best start of the year when Cotuit needed it most. The offense took an early lead, putting the pressure on, and pulled away late. The defense didn’t make an error. And the Kettleers had to feel like they were living right when Pat Quinn’s would-be grand slam in the seventh inning went just foul.

Cecilio allowed just four hits. Brian Miller (Vanderbilt) pitched a third of an inning and gave up three hits. He’d shut down Orleans’ comeback attempts the night before, but manager Mike Roberts didn’t hesitate to pull him. Wesley Cox (Texas San Antonio) came in, got out of a bases-loaded jam and then finished the job.

The trio held Orleans to one run, just the second time the Firebirds have scored one run since July 17.

And the pitchers had support. Facing Jared Miller (Vanderbilt), who had been fantastic late in the season, the Cotuit offense scratched and clawed. Danny Diekroeger (Stanford) knocked in a run in the third on an infield single for the 1-0 lead. The Kettleers then went two innings without a hit before another infield single, this one by Drew Jackson (Stanford), scored the second run.

Orleans had designs on a comeback, but came up empty on the bases-loaded chance in the seventh. In the next half-inning, Cotuit blew the doors off with four more runs, despite the fact that Orleans went to dominant closer Matt Troupe (Arizona) when it got into trouble. A squeeze, an error and a two-run single by Nolan Clark (Concordia) made it 6-0.

The Firebirds scored a run in the ninth but Cox finished the game by inducing a ground-out.

Cotuit celebrated.

Cape League champions often have a signature, a brand that defines their seasons or their playoff runs. For Wareham in 2012, it was late-inning magic and overwhelming power. For Y-D’s mini-dynasty from 2004 to 2007, it was terrific talent buying into a winning culture.

This Cotuit team won in many different ways, with many different people. When they lost talent, they brought in talent. When they took the field with newcomers all over the place, it didn’t matter. It turned into a positive. The Kettleers rode players who were thrilled to get a chance in the Cape League.

Their signature is their lack of signature, their ability to play good baseball – and the organization’s ability to build a good baseball team – no matter what.

On a given day, the Kettleers found a way to win that day’s game.

On August 15, with a team that was scattered across the country two months before – and with a whole other team’s worth of former players watching and rooting from Georgia and Texas and California and the New York Penn League – they won a very big one.

 

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Finals Bound

Logan Ratledge and the Cotuit Kettleers are headed to the Cape League championship series.

 
The Cotuit Kettleers needed six games and a lot of different heroes, but they’re on their way to the Cape Cod Baseball League championship series.

After beating Falmouth in three games to win their first-round series, the Kettleers rolled past Bourne in game one of the West finals but laid an egg in Sunday’s game two and lost 8-1. Monday, they were back on the horse, using three different rallies plus dominant relief work from Brian Miller (Vanderbilt) to win a classic 4-3 over Bourne.

The Braves led 1-0 and 3-1, but the Kettleers had an answer each time. They tied the game 1-1 in the third inning on an RBI single from Danny Diekroeger (Stanford). After Bourne went ahead 3-1 in the top of the sixth, Cotuit responded again, scoring two in its half of the sixth. Rhett Wiseman (Vanderbilt) and Drew Jackson (Stanford) knocked in the runs with big two-out hits.

Miller, Cotuit’s closer, came on in the seventh and made sure Bourne didn’t take another lead. He pitched the final three innings, striking out four and not allowing a run.

That set the stage, and Cotuit delivered.

Diekroeger doubled with one out in the eighth. Bourne reliever Jack English (Florida Gulf Coast) then struck out Wiseman, his fourth strikeout in just over an inning, for the second out. But Jackson, who was 2-for-19 in the playoffs before Monday, smacked a single and Diekroeger raced around with the go-ahead run.

The Kettleers needed just three more outs, and Miller got them. He worked a two-out single to pitch a scoreless ninth and clinch a championship spot for Cotuit.

It’s the franchise’s first trip to the finals since 2010, when it won the title over Y-D. Orleans awaits in the finals. It’s the first championship series meeting between the teams since 1986.

Game one is slated for today at 4 p.m. at Lowell Park in Cotuit. Orleans hosts game two on Wednesday at 7 p.m. If necessary, game three would be back in Cotuit at 4 p.m. on Thursday.

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One Away

Jake Fincher slides into second in Saturday's game.

 
After nothing but close games in the first-round of the playoffs, the division championship series got underway with two games that were a little more lopsided. Cotuit rolled past Bourne and Orleans pulled away late to hand Chatham its first playoff loss.

 

Cotuit 9, Bourne 2

The last time the Cotuit Kettleers were in the West finals and the last time they were the No. 3 seed, they won the 2010 Cape Cod Baseball League championship. They took a step in the same direction yesterday when they jumped to an early lead and cruised over Bourne 9-2 in game one of the Western Division championship series.

The Kettleers scored five runs in the second inning and never really looked back, adding to the lead as they went. Dalton Potts (Tennessee Martin), making just his second start of the summer, stranded two men in three of his five innings and held the Braves to just a run. John Hochstatter (Stanford), Joel Seddon (South Carolina) and Eric Karch (Pepperdine) finished the job.

The Cotuit offense once again got huge contributions from its late-season reinforcements. Caleb Bryson (Samford) hit his fifth home run in his sixth game to start the scoring, and Austin Byler (Nevada) blasted a two-run shot a batter later to give Cotuit the lead. Danny Diekroeger (Stanford) added two RBI, while Bradley Zimmer (San Francisco), who’s back from an injury that kept him out of part of the first-round series, went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

The Kettleers finished with 13 hits. Jake Fincher (NC State), Logan Ratledge (NC State) and Garrett Stubbs (USC) chipped in two each.

The Braves, who are playing without MVP Max Pentecost (Kennesaw State), had 10 hits of their own but scored just the two runs. That’s been an issue all year – the Braves ranked second in the league in batting average but just seventh in runs scored.

Game two is set for today at 6 p.m. at Doran Park.

 

Orleans 7, Chatham 3

The Firebirds broke open a 4-3 game with three in the eighth and three pitchers allowed just three hits en route to a victory over Chatham. Orleans, who won two straight against Chatham to end the regular season, has now won three straight.

Corey Miller (Pepperdine), who won one of those two regular-season meetings, went five strong innings for the Firebirds, allowing three unearned runs on three hits. He struck out six.

Then the bullpen took over. Luis Paula (North Carolina) and Jeremy Rhoades (Illinois State) pitched the last four innings without allowing a hit. In the playoffs, Orleans relievers have now allowed four runs in 14 innings.

The offense spotted Miller a four-run lead with two in the first and two in the second. Austin Davidson (Pepperdine) finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and Jordan Betts (Duke) knocked in two. Vince Conde (Vanderbilt) added two hits and an RBI.

Game two is slated for 7 p.m. in Orleans. Shawn O’Neill (La Salle) goes for the Firebirds. He has pitched mostly as a reliever this summer. Aaron Garza (Houston), who’s winless despite some solid starts, gets the ball for Chatham.

 

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Three Comebacks and an Ace

Chatham snapped a five-game skid at the right time, winning 6-0 in its playoff opener.

 
If all the days of the Cape Cod Baseball League playoffs are like day one, we’re in for an exciting week.

Three of the four games featured comebacks and were decided by a run. The other featured an ace pitching like one and a top team getting back on track. Chatham and Harwich were victorious in the East while Hyannis and Falmouth came out on top in the West.

Chatham 6, Y-D 0

On a night when he received the P.F.C. Whitehouse Award as the league’s Most Outstanding Pitcher, Chatham’s Lukas Schiraldi (Navarro) pitched like he deserved it. Schiraldi, who grew increasingly dominant as the summer went on, struck out six and allowed just two hits in seven scoreless innings as Chatham cruised past Y-D.

Schiraldi was kind of the last man standing among the league’s best pitchers, with Jaron Long signing, and Jeff Hoffman and Erick Fedde departing early. But Schiraldi, who did not make the all-star team, wasn’t just the best of the rest. He was tremendous, especially late in the year. He allowed just five earned runs all summer while winning the league’s ERA title. In his last two starts of the regular season, Schiraldi went 12 scoreless innings.

The streak continued in the playoffs. Schiraldi allowed a double to D.J. Stewart (Florida State), a single to Alex Blandino (Stanford) and nothing else. Mitch Merten (UC Irvine) followed him to the mound and kept it up, going two hitless innings to finish it off.

The Anglers, who lost five in a row to end the regular season, also woke up the offense. Dante Flores (USC) hit a grand slam in the second inning, and the Anglers never looked back. Connor Joe (San Diego) added a home run and Ryan Plourde (Fairfield), a recent arrival from the NECBL, drove in a run.

In game two today, Chatham sends Tommy Lawrence (Maine) to the hill against Y-D’s James Kaprielian (UCLA), one of the top freshmen pitchers in the league.

 

Hyannis 4, Bourne 3

Kyle Freeland (Evansville) and Ryan Kellogg (Arizona State) staged a pitching duel for the playoff annals, but the game came down to a late rally by the Harbor Hawks. Trailing 3-1, Hyannis scored three runs in the eighth to win 4-3. Is anyone surprised it was a one-run game? Hyannis won eight of them in the regular season.

Freeland, the Cape’s strikeout king, had pitched in relief more than he had started late in the season, but he got the ball for the opener and didn’t disappoint. Freeland struck out 10 and allowed just three hits and an unearned run in seven innings of work.

Kellogg matched him, striking out six and allowing one run in seven innings.

When Freeland and Kellogg departed, the offenses came to life. Bourne scored two in the top of the eighth to take the lead, but Hyannis answered with a decisive three-run rally. Tyler Spoon (Arkansas) doubled in Dominic Jose (Stanford), Ryan Padilla (New Mexico) scored the tying run on a wild pitch and Austin Slater (Stanford) knocked in Spoon with the go-ahead run on a base hit.

Jordan Foley (Central Michigan), who had given up the two runs in the eighth, returned to the mound in the ninth and closed the door, working around a two-out walk and striking out two to seal the victory.

Game two is slated for 6 p.m. in Bourne. Cy Sneed (Dallas Baptist), who went six scoreless in his last start, goes for Hyannis against Kyle Kubat (Nebraska), who lost his last three starts but has generally been solid.

 

Falmouth 6, Cotuit 5

Cotuit looked like it might spring the upset, but Falmouth rallied from a 5-1 deficit to win 6-5.

Rhys Hoskins (Sacramento State) went 3-for-4 with three RBI to lead the comeback charge. Dylan Davis (Oregon State) and Troy Stein (Texas A&M) also had two hits, and the Commodores took advantage of three Cotuit errors.

Cotuit got a home run from Danny Diekroeger (Stanford) on its way to the lead, but didn’t score in the final four innings. Preston Johnson (Chipola), Brent Stong (Bradley), Jared Price (Maryland), and Hunter Brothers (Lipscomb) combined on the shutout bullpen performance. Price got the win and Brothers picked up the save.

In game two this afternoon, Falmouth will start John Means (West Virginia), who’s been the team’s best pitcher. Cotuit goes with Evan Beal (South Carolina), who had four strong starts in five tries.

 

Harwich 6, Orleans 5

Third-seeded Harwich pulled off the day’s only upset when it came back from a 5-4 deficit after blowing a 4-1 lead.

Ian Happ (Cincinnati) and Tanner English (South Carolina) homered for the Mariners, with Happ going 3-for-3. English’s home run came in the sixth and turned the 5-4 deficit into a 6-5 lead.

The one-run cushion was enough for Johnathan Frebis (Middle Tennessee State), who struck out six in four scoreless innings after relieving Dillon Peters (Texas).

Orleans got a grand slam from Jordan Betts (Duke) to take its lead but didn’t score from the fourth inning on.

Bobby Poyner (Florida), who probably takes the ace label for Orleans, goes tonight at Whitehouse Field as the Firebirds try to stay alive. Nick Howard (Virginia), who’s working an 11-inning scoreless streak, starts for Harwich.

 

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Finish Line

Caleb Bryson hit his fourth home run in three games as Cotuit played spoiler with a victory over Falmouth.

 
The marathon Western Division race that’s been close almost the entire summer ended on a stormy Sunday night with a walk, rather than a sprint, to the finish line.

When Cotuit shocked Falmouth with a 9-3 victory in the earliest start of the day, it meant there would be, at worst, a tie for first place. Hyannis then lost to Y-D 2-0 after a rain delay, creating just such a tie. Hyannis and Falmouth will share the division title, the first time two teams have shared a crown in the Cape League since 2003, when Brewster and Orleans finished tied atop the East standings. Hyannis will be the top seed by virtue of a 4-2 head-to-head record against Falmouth.

The one-point margin separating Hyannis, Falmouth and Cotuit makes it the tightest three-team race since at least 2000.

The funny thing about the way it all ended is that Cotuit, the team that was eliminated from first-place contention on Saturday, still had its say. The Kettleers were going to finish in third no matter what they did Sunday, and Falmouth came to Lowell Park riding a six-game winning streak.

But Cotuit cruised, scoring four runs in the first inning and opening up a 9-0 cushion before Falmouth tacked on some runs in the late innings. Caleb Bryson (Samford), a late pick-up by the Kettleers, hit two home runs and has now hit four in three games. Danny Diekroeger (Stanford) and Rhett Wiseman (Vanderbilt) drove in two runs each and Jake Fincher (NC State) had three hits.

Vaughn Hayward (Bryant), whose brother Garrett played for Falmouth as a temp earlier in the summer, got a spot start for Cotuit and shined, going 4.2 innings without allowing a run. Josh Hochstatter (Stanford) finished the job.

The only bright spot for Falmouth was that Kevin Newman (Arizona) went 2-for-2 and coasted to the Cape League batting title. He went 10-for-12 in his last three games, shooting his average from .338 to a season-ending mark of .375.

Sunday’s results mean Cotuit and Falmouth will meet again in the playoffs, fresh off their two straight games to end the regular season.

 

Y-D 2, Hyannis 0

Three Y-D pitchers combined on a shutout to keep Hyannis from claiming an outright division title. Sam Lindquist (Stanford) allowed three hits in four innings, Graham Tebbit (Hofstra) struck out four in three innings in his Cape debut and Dan Altavilla (Mercyhurst) worked two hitless innings for the save. Brandon Downes (Virginia) went 3-for-4 with his fourth home run of the season and Matt Honchel (Miami) drove in the other run. The Red Sox finished fourth in the East.

 

Orleans 12, Chatham 3

The Firebirds held onto second place in the East with a 12-3 victory over Chatham that included a team effort to get the field in shape after a storm. Orleans scored eight runs in the first two innings and never looked back, winning for the 11th time in its last 12 games. Chris Marconcini (Duke) went 2-for-4 with four RBI, while Will Fulmer (Montevallo) had three hits and three runs scored. Jordan Luplow (Fresno State) had two hits and drove in two runs. Four pitchers combined on a solid performance, with Kyle Twomey (USC) getting the win. For Chatham, Jimmy Pickens (Michigan State) hit his seventh home run to finish second in the league, but the loss was the fifth in a row. Chatham clinched the division title last Wednesday and then didn’t win again.

 

Harwich 5, Brewster 1

Scott Heineman (Oregon) finished his terrific summer by playing every position on the field for the Whitecaps. In the meantime, Harwich finished strong with a 5-1 victory. Heineman went 0-for-4 while he was busy moving around the diamond, starting at catcher then jumping around the infield and the outfield until taking the mound and recording a strikeout for the last out of the eighth. For Harwich, Tyler Burgess (Missouri State) went five scoreless innings for the win. A couple of position players took their turns on the mound too, with Ian Happ (Cincinnati) giving up two runs and Tanner English (South Carolina) striking out two in a scoreless ninth. Happ had a double, a triple and two RBI to lead the offense.

 

Bourne vs. Wareham, Canceled

The Braves and Gatemen played three innings before rain drenched Doran Park. With the game having no impact on the standings, it was canceled.

 

What to Watch

Teams have a day off today before the playoffs begin Tuesday. Check back here for some playoff preview thoughts.

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More Magic

Jimmy Pickens hit a home run and a walk-off bunt single to lead Chatham to a division-clinching victory.

 
The Chatham Anglers have a lot going for them this season – solid starting pitching, a terrific bullpen, some ever-increasing pop in the batting order and a team on-base percentage that would make Billy Beane proud.

A little magic doesn’t hurt either.

Chatham clinched the Eastern Division title on Wednesday night with its fifth walk-off victory of the summer, a 6-5, 10-inning thriller over Y-D. The division crown is Chatham’s first since it shared the title with Y-D in 2001.

The Anglers were coming off an 8-1 loss to Brewster heading into Wednesday’s game, and they fell behind Y-D 5-0 despite having Tommy Lawrence (Maine) on the mound. Lawrence hadn’t given up a run since June, but was touched up for four in five innings.

Chatham got one back in the sixth on a Mitchell Gonsolus (Gonzaga) sacrifice fly but went to the ninth trailing 5-1. If Chatham was to deliver more heroics, it would be the toughest road yet.

The Anglers did it anyway.

Jimmy Pickens (Michigan State) smashed a two-run home run to get Chatham closer and to breathe new life into the comeback. It was the fourth home run in as many games for Pickens, who suddenly ranks second in the league in long balls.

Michael Russell (North Carolina) followed with a base hit and Gonsolus got Chatham within one on an RBI double. Brandon Sedell (Nova Southeastern) then brought home the tying run with a single.

After keeping Y-D off the board in the top of the 10th, Chatham went back to work. Blake Butera (Boston College) was hit by a pitch and Dante Flores (USC) walked. J.D. Davis (Cal State Fullerton), who was 3-for-5, was intentionally walked, bringing Pickens to the dish, with the chance to be a hero.

The way he’d been hitting, the script called for a grand slam. Pickens bunted instead, Y-D had no play and Butera sprinted home with the winning run.

Pickens finished the day 4-for-6 with three RBI, while Davis was 3-for-5 with two runs scored. The emergence of those two – they’re hitting .483 and .436 over the last two weeks – is another reason to like Chatham’s chances, but they’re not the only heroes.

Magic like Chatham’s comes from a team effort – and the Anglers are pretty good at that.

 

Orleans 8, Brewster 2

Orleans owns the 2013 season’s longest winning streak, and it just keeps going. The Firebirds stretched it to eight last night with an 8-2 victory over the Whitecaps. The Firebirds led 3-2 before scoring five in the ninth to pull away. Ross Kivett (Kansas State) went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBI to lead the offense, and four of his teammates added two hits each. On the mound, Bobby Poyner (Florida) went five shutout innings, giving up just two hits while striking out one. Conor Harber (Western Nevada CC), Jeremy Rhoades (Illinois State) and Trevor Kelley (North Carolina) pitched a scoreless inning apiece out of the bullpen.

 

Hyannis 2, Bourne 0

Cotuit and Falmouth both won, but the Harbor Hawks stayed one point ahead thanks to a shutout victory over the Braves. Cy Sneed (Dallas Baptist) delivered his best start of the summer, striking out five and allowing just four hits in six innings. Kevin Doherty (Virginia) made his Cape League debut and worked a scoreless frame before Jordan Foley (Central Michigan) finished off the shutout with a two-inning save. Chase Griffin (Georgia Southern) and Brian Anderson (Arkansas) each had two hits and scored a run to pace the offense. For Bourne, Kris Gardner (Wichita State) was the hard-luck lose after his best start of the season. He allowed just two unearned runs in seven innings.

 

Falmouth 13, Harwich 1

The Commodores won their third straight with their second 13-run performance of the summer. Facing Harwich standout Chandler Shepherd (Kentucky), Falmouth took a 2-0 lead in the first before blowing the game open and chasing Shepherd with six runs in the fifth. Casey Gillaspie (Wichita State) hit his league-best eighth home run, part of a 2-for-3, four RBI night. Troy Stein (Texas A&M) also homered and drove in two, while Kevin Cron (TCU) went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Starting pitcher John Means (West Virginia) didn’t need all the offense. He struck out seven and allowed just one hit in six innings, taking a no-hitter into the fifth. Falmouth remains two points back of Hyannis in the West.

 

Cotuit 6, Wareham 3

Cotuit also kept pace in the West race with a victory over Wareham. Christian Cecilio (San Francisco) gave up a run in 4.2 innings before the bullpen took over. Joel Seddon (South Carolina) picked up the win and Brian Miller (Vanderbilt) grabbed the save with four strikeouts in two innings. Bradley Zimmer (San Francisco) led the offense with three hits, including a triple, and two RBI. Danny Diekroeger (Stanford) also had three hits, while Austin Byler (Nevada) had two hits and an RBI. For Wareham, Sean Newcomb (Hartford) struck out seven in three innings while giving up two runs.

 

What to Watch

We’ll finally get a little separation in the West with Falmouth visiting Hyannis. The Falmouth starter is TBA, while Hyannis goes with newcomer Logan Carman (Southern Maine), a Division III All-American. In the East, Chatham is hosting a doubleheader with Harwich, beginning at 4 p.m.

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The Real Kettleers

Yale Rosen slides in safely for Cotuit during a game this week.

 
You could make a pretty good team out of players who have left Cotuit this summer. From Max Schrock, Will Remillard, Aramis Garcia and Brad Zimmer to Trevor Seidenberger and Dusty Isaacs, you’d be in good shape.

The latest loss is the biggest. Mike Ford arrived for his second summer in Cotuit coming off a draft in which he didn’t hear his name called despite a spring that will go down in Ivy League annals. Ford’s goal was to hook on with a Major League team – and he’s done it. He is expected to sign with the New York Yankees this week.

Ford, who was fresh off a 4-for-4, two home run day, was an MVP candidate. He could make the all-departed Kettleers squad a Cape League contender.

But I have a feeling the real Kettleers would still find a way.

On the day they said farewell to Ford, Cotuit beat Bourne 2-1 and took a three-point lead on Hyannis for first place in the West. The Kettleers – despite all the personnel losses, and despite having had 41 different players don their uniform – have the second-best record in the league.

On Tuesday, they got another strong pitching performance from Jared Walsh (Georgia), who continues to lead the league in ERA at 0.36. The only caveat is that Walsh hasn’t pitched deep into games – he doesn’t have a win or a loss – but he’s been so steady that he’s often set Cotuit on a path to victory.

He went 4.1 scoreless innings against the Braves, striking out three and allowing just one hit. Joel Seddon (South Carolina) allowed his first run of the year in relief but kept Cotuit in front and picked up the victory. Brian Miller (Vanderbilt) turned in his third-straight two-inning stint and picked up the save.

Kyle Kubat (Nebraska) was strong in six innings of work for the Braves, but two unearned runs made the difference. Danny Diekroeger (Stanford) led the Cotuit offense with two hits, while Yale Rosen (Washington State) and Jake Fincher (NC State) had one RBI each.

Cotuit would have loved to have Mike Ford adding a home run to the victory or any of the former Kettleers chipping in. That’s not going to happen, but it sure looks like the Kettleers will be making the best of it anyway.

 

Harwich 3, Chatham 0

Chandler Shepherd (Kentucky) turned in his third scoreless start of the summer and his bullpen finished the job as the Mariners (16-13) knocked off first-place Chatham (9-9-1). Shepherd had gone six shutout innings twice before, and this one may have out-done the first two. He struck out eight and gave up just three hits against a Chatham team that’s been the best in the league. Johnathan Frebis (Middle Tennessee State) worked two scoreless innings in relief before Chris Oliver (Arkansas) struck out the side around a walk in the ninth for the save. Aaron Barbosa (Northeastern) had two hits and an RBI to lead the Mariner attack. Derek Fisher (Virginia) and Branden Cogswell (Virginia) drove in the other runs. Harwich has won three straight.

 

Orleans 6, Hyannis 5

The Firebirds had dropped five in a row and – with Brewster hot on their heels – they were in danger of falling into the East basement. They stopped the streak and avoided that drop in the most dramatic fashion possible. With his team trailing 5-4 and Hyannis closer Eric Eck (Wofford) on the mound, Jordan Luplow (Fresno State) drove in the tying and winning runs with a base hit as Orleans walked off with a 6-5 victory over a Hyannis team that generally doesn’t lose close games. The Firebirds had also rallied for two runs in the eighth after Hyannis had gone up 4-2. The rally made a winner out of Brian Clark (Kent State), who went three innings and actually gave up the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth. Collin Slaybaugh (Washington State) had four hits to lead the Firebirds, who had said goodbye to an injured Greg Allen (San Diego State) earlier in the day. For Hyannis, Tyler Spoon (Arkansas) and Skyler Ewing (Rice) both hit their fourth home runs of the season. Ewing went 4-for-5 and now ranks third in the league in hitting.

 

Falmouth 5, Y-D 1

The Commodores had gone 1-4 in their last five, with the only win coming against Y-D. They matched up with Y-D again Tuesday and used a four-run seventh to pick up another victory, snapping a two-game skid. They’re now 16-12, a point back of Hyannis for second in the West. Troy Stein (Texas A&M) went 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBI to lead Falmouth. Casey Gillaspie (Wichita State) and Leon Byrd, Jr. (Rice) drove in one run each. On the mound, John Means (West Virginia) went six innings without allowing an earned run. He struck out three. Donny Murray (Holy Cross) got the victory.

 

Brewster 5, Wareham 1

The Whitecaps (11-17) won for the fifth time in seven tries and remained two points out of fourth in the East. Brandon Leibrandt (Florida State) was dominant for a second-straight start, allowing just an unearned run on three hits in five innings. He now has a 1.59 ERA and hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last two starts. Nick Lynch (UC Davis) went 1-for-3 with three RBI to pace the offense, while Nicholas Vazquez (Pittsburgh) and Cole Lankford (Texas A&M) also drove in runs. For Wareham, Sean Newcomb (Hartford) was a bright spot. The big lefty – who started on opening night then missed a big chunk of time with illness – had his best performance since returning. He struck out five in three innings of relief.

 

What to Watch

Just two games on the schedule today. Orleans visits Hyannis and Wareham heads to Bourne. Both are 6 p.m. starts. In Hyannis, Jeff Hoffman (East Carolina) will make his third start of the summer.