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Showdown

Kevin Cron knocked in two runs as Falmouth topped Hyannis.

 
Hyannis has owned the West for much of this season in part because it has owned Falmouth. Though the Commodores had the flashier numbers, the Harbor Hawks won each of the first four meetings, making it tough for Falmouth to make up ground.

Hyannis still takes the seasons series thanks to those four wins, but Falmouth has won the last two.

And the division is now co-owned.

With an 8-4 victory over Hyannis last night, Falmouth moved into a 48-point tie with the Harbor Hawks atop the Western Division. Cotuit, which lost to Bourne last night, is a point back.

For Falmouth, last night’s win continued a surge that always seemed close. The Commodores have won four in a row, their first such streak of the season, and they now lead the West in wins with 24. Hyannis is 23-16-2.

Falmouth was shut out for the first three innings last night by late addition Logan Carman (Southern Maine), a D-III All-American. Hyannis needs some help with departures of starters Jeff Hoffman, Patrick Andrews and Austin Pettibone.

It looked like Carman could provide the boost, but ultimately, Falmouth’s big bats represented a tough introduction. The Commodores scored five runs in the fourth and never looked back.

Rhys Hoskins (Sacramento State) led the parade for Falmouth with four hits, including a home run and a double. Kevin Cron (TCU) went 1-for-3 with three RBI, while Kevin Newman (Arizona) and Conner Hale (State College of Florida) had two hits and an RBI apiece.

On the mound, Trey Teakell (TCU) gave up three runs, two earned, in four innings. Kevin Mooney (Maryland) got the win with two innings of relief. Donny Murray (Holy Cross), Brent Stong (Bradley) and Hunter Brothers (Lipscomb) pitched a hitless inning each and combined for five strikeouts.

While Falmouth’s win tightens things up, the division title is still going to come down to the final three games. Falmouth plays Cotuit twice in its final three, which could make things very interesting. In the meantime, Hyannis has Wareham before two straight games against East foe Y-D.

A number of scenarios could play out. For now, Falmouth has made things a little bit tighter.

 

Harwich 5, Chatham 3; Harwich 3, Chatham 1

Harwich has been treading water for about two weeks but took a big step up yesterday with a doubleheader sweep of first-place Chatham. Harwich is now back in second place in the East, a point ahead of Orleans. In game one, Aaron Bummer (Nebraska) went six strong innings, allowing just one earned run. Mason McCullough (North Carolina) worked a perfect seventh for the save. A balanced attack led the offense, with Ben Moore (Alabama), A.J. Reed (Kentucky), Ryan Lindemuth (William & Mary) and Blair DeBord (Kansas State) driving in one run each. In game two, Harwich got a home run from Gunnar Heidt (College of Charleston) to take a lead it never lost. Brett Austin (NC State) added two hits and an RBI, while Reed knocked in one. Dillon Peters (Texas) pitched three scoreless frames and Ian Tompkins (Western Kentucky) went four strong innings for the win, allowing just one run and striking out six.

 

Y-D 5, Orleans 3

The Red Sox stopped Orleans’ eight-game winning streak with a 5-3 victory and clinched the final playoff spot in the East in the process. Facing Jared Miller (Vanderbilt), who had turned in two consecutive dominant starts, Y-D scored five runs in the first four innings and made the lead stand up. Alex Blandino (Stanford) and Jose Trevino (Oral Roberts) knocked in two runs each while Taylor White (UNLV) drove in the other. Auston Bousfield (Ole Miss) had two hits and scored two runs. On the mound, Clay Smith (St. Louis) gave up three runs in six innings for the win. Alexander Katz (St. John’s) pitched 1.1 scoreless innings in his Cape debut before Kody Kerski (Sacred Heart) finished it off.

 

Bourne 2, Cotuit 0

With Jaron Long and Austin Gomber departing, the Braves are going to need some help in the starting rotation come playoff time. After last night, Jacob Lindgren (Mississippi State) may be up to the task. A starter in the spring but a reliever all summer, Lindgren made his first Cape start and dominated, tossing six shutout innings and striking out seven as the Braves shut out Cotuit. Jack English (Florida Gulf Coast) struck out four in two innings before Lindgren’s Mississippi State teammate Will Cox struck out the side in the ninth for the save. For Cotuit, newcomer Dalton Potts (Tennessee-Martin) went five strong innings but Bourne got to him for two runs that proved to be enough. Mark Laird (LSU) and Jeff Gardner (Louisville) drove in a run each.

 

Wareham 8, Brewster 1

The Gatemen pounded out 19 hits and got a strong pitching performance from Andro Cutura (Southeastern Louisana) en route to a lopsided victory. Cutura, a hard-luck loser several times, went seven innings and struck out six while allowing just a run. He also finally received some run support. Daniel Rosenbaum (Louisville) had three hits and a home run, while Trevor Podratz (Hawaii), Cole Stancil (St. Leo) and Ethan Gross (Memphis) also had three hits. Chris Chinea (LSU) had two hits and drove in two runs. With the loss and a win by Y-D, Brewster officially was eliminated from the playoff race.

 

What to Watch

Second place in the East may well be decided today as Harwich hosts a double-header with Orleans beginning at 4:30 p.m. The Mariners have a one-point edge on Orleans for second place.
 

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Too Close to Call

Leon Byrd, Jr. and Falmouth swept a doubleheader last night.

 
The Cape League’s move to an eight-team playoff structure has taken some of the fun out of regular-season playoff races. This season, for instance, the four spots in the West were already sewn up before the final week of games began.

But even without the do-or-die quests for playoff berths, the races aren’t without drama. And there’s a lot of drama in the West.

Hyannis, Cotuit and Falmouth have been at the top of the division and within just a few games of each other for pretty much the entire season. With losses by Hyannis and Cotuit, plus a doubleheader sweep by Falmouth, they’re now separated by just two points. Hyannis is in first with 46 points, Cotuit has 45 and Falmouth has 44. They all have 22 wins, with ties representing the point difference.

There have been plenty of tight races over the years in the Cape League, but rarely have they been this tight – and with three teams involved. Since 2000, the smallest point-margin between the top three teams in a division race was three. It happened in both 2001 and 2008. If the current race stays at two, Hyannis, Cotuit and Falmouth will be the most tightly-packed trio since the turn of the century.

In a race like that, any win is big. Two on one day is bigger, and that’s what Falmouth did last night. The Commodores beat Wareham 2-1 in the first game of a twin bill, getting five strong innings from Craig Schlitter (Bryant) and a save from Donny Murray (Holy Cross). Kevin Newman (Arizona) had two hits and Conner Hale (State College of Florida) drove in a run.

In game two, Falmouth looked like it was headed for a split. Wareham carried a 4-1 lead into the seventh inning, the final inning because it was a doubleheader. Instead, the Commodores scored six runs to take a lead then held off Wareham for the win.

Casey Gillaspie (Wichita State) made it 4-3 with a two-run double before Dylan Davis (Oregon State) tied the game on an RBI single. Then, with the bases loaded, Troy Stein (Texas A&M) cracked a triple to score three more runs.

Just like that, the Commodores had matched Hyannis and Cotuit with 22 wins.

And they made a close race start to look historically close.

 

Harwich 5, Hyannis 4

The Harbor Hawks nearly gained a little separation in the aforementioned raced when they broke a 0-0 tie with four runs in the top of the ninth. Harwich answered with four runs in the bottom half, though, then won the game in the 10th. Once Hyannis got the lead, it turned to league saves leader Eric Eck (Wofford), but Eck had his first rough outing of the summer as Harwich rallied. Blair DeBord (Kansas State) had an RBI single, one of four hits on the night. Brendon Hayden (Virginia Tech) followed with a two-run double, and Brett Austin (NC State) tied the game with an RBI single. Then in the 10th, Tanner English (South Carolina) brought in Branden Cogswell (Virginia) with a walk-off single, his second 10th-inning walk-off hit of the summer.

 

Orleans 2, Cotuit 0

The Firebirds won for the seventh straight time with a shutout of Cotuit. Trent Szkutnik (Michigan) scattered five hits in five scoreless innings before giving way to an increasingly dominant Orleans bullpen. Kyle Twomey (USC), Luis Paula (North Carolina), Brian Clark (Kent State) and Matt Troupe (Arizona) combined to allow just one run the rest of the way while pitching an inning each. Troupe struck out the side in the ninth for his ninth save. The pitchers got all the support they needed in a two-run fifth inning. Jordan Betts (Duke) homered and Vince Conde (Vanderbilt) drove in the other run. For Cotuit, Evan Beal (South Carolina) struck out six in 6.2 innings but was the hard-luck loser.

 

Bourne 2, Y-D 1

Bourne is reportedly saying goodbye to ace Jaron Long, according to Perfect Game’s Frankie Piliere, as Long is set to sign with the New York Yankees. The Braves picked up a victory, though, breaking a 1-1 tie with a run in the ninth to win 2-1. Michael Costello (Radford), who was making his first start after pitching in relief all summer, tossed five shutout innings. Hawtin Buchanan (Ole Miss) got the win in relief and Clint Freeman (East Tennessee State), a two-way guy who’s been more position player than pitcher this summer, picked up the save. Max Pentecost (Kennesaw State) went 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored the go-ahead run on an errant pickoff throw.

 

Brewster 8, Chatham 1

The Whitecaps snapped a season-long winless streak against Chatham with an 8-1 victory over the first-place Anglers. Justin Kamplain (Alabama) struck out six in five innings of no-hit baseball. The Anglers managed just one hit against the Brewster bullpen. In the meantime, the Whitecaps broke open a close game with five runs in the eighth. Cole Lankford (Texas A&M) led the attack with two hits and two RBI, while Scott Heineman (Oregon) had two hits and one run driven in.

 

What to Watch

Chatham’s Tommy Lawrence (Maine) dueled Jeff Hoffman in his last start and should give the fans another good tilt when Y-D and Daniel Savas (Illinois State) visit Veterans Field tonight. Lawrence has not allowed a run since his first outing, on June 25. Savas is 3-0 and two starts ago, he struck out 12 in eight innings.

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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.

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Ford Tough

Mike Ford went 4-for-4 with two home runs and is now hitting .420 on the summer.

 
In a Cape Cod TimesQ&A this week, Cotuit’s Mike Ford (Princeton) said his goals for this summer were two-fold. He wants to make the Cape League All-Star team and he’d like to hook on as a free agent with a Major League club.

Both are looking well within reach, especially after last night.

Ford was already in the midst of an MVP-type campaign, and even if he had turned in a solid but unspectacular second half, he would have been one of the better performers in the league. Last night, he went the spectacular route. Ford went 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI in leading Cotuit past Hyannis 5-0.

Ford is steadily turning into one of the best stories on the Cape. He held his own last summer, then returned to school at Princeton and turned in one of the best baseball seasons the Ivy League’s ever seen when he earned league Pitcher and Player of the Year honors.

And then he didn’t get drafted. Major League teams have their reasons – Ford isn’t big and doesn’t have a clear position destination – but, after this summer, you would think someone would take a chance on the bat.

Ford is now hitting .420, best in the league, and his five home runs are tied for the league lead. His 18 RBI rank third. He also leads the league with a .510 OBP, and his triple-slash line is .420/.510/.691.

He knocked in all five of Cotuit’s runs last night, while Hunter Cole (Georgia) and Nolan Clark (Concordia) added two hits. Christian Cecilio (San Francisco) turned in five shutout innings, reliever Joel Seddon (South Carolina) worked two scoreless to keep his ERA at 0.00, and Brian Miller (Vanderbilt) finished out the game with two quick frames.

Cotuit now owns a 3-1 record against rival Hyannis, and Saturday’s win gives them the most points in the West Division.

The Kettleers have had a lot of roster turnover and a lot of different players than they expected to have. But with Mike Ford in the mix, they may just keep finding a way to win.

 

Falmouth 5, Y-D 0

The Commodores have had some rough pitching performances in July, but last night’s wasn’t one of them. Brandon Magallones (Northwestern) turned in seven innings of one-hit shutout baseball as Falmouth (15-9) blanked Y-D. Magallones had given up three runs on seven hits in his last start but was untouchable this time, taking a no-hitter into the fifth. Donny Murray (Holy Cross) and Zech Lemond (Rice) finished off the shutout inning with an inning each. Casey Gillaspie (Wichita State) homered to lead the offense, while Rhys Hoskins (Sacramento State), Dylan Davis (Oregon State) and Leon Byrd, Jr. (Rice) had two hits each.

 

Brewster 3, Harwich 0

Rain wreaked havoc on the other three games, with Bourne-Wareham getting postponed and two other games getting shortened. Brewster beat Harwich in six innings, as Dylan Toscano (Stony Brook) tossed a shutout with two strikeouts, and that goes into the book as the league’s first one-pitcher shutout of the summer. The Whitecaps got all the offense they needed from a first-inning, three-run double by David Armendariz (Cal Poly). Harwich starter A.J. Reed (Kentucky) pitched shutout ball the rest of the way, but his team didn’t get a shot at a late-innings comeback.

 

Chatham 2, Orleans 1

The Anglers scored two in the top of the seventh, Orleans couldn’t answer in the bottom half and the game was called after that, giving the Anglers their league-leading 17th victory. J.D. Davis (Cal State Fullerton) hit a solo home run to tie the game in the seventh before Josh Eldridge (Old Dominion) singled and eventually came around with the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. Chad Sobotka (SC Upstate) then pitched a scoreless frame before the rain had its say. Matt Gage (Siena) got the win for Chatham with six strong innings. He struck out seven. Bobby Poyner (Florida) was the hard-luck loser for Orleans.

 

What to Watch

A pair of Pepperdine Waves will square off against each other in Brewster at 5 p.m. Corey Miller, a 16th-round pick who just announced he’ll be returning to school, will go for the Firebirds. Aaron Brown, who was drafted in the 30th round as a draft-eligible sophomore, will start for Brewster.

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Saving the Day

Cotuit's Brian Miller picked up his third save on a night in which every winning team got a save.

 
Tuesday featured a night of close games in the Cape Cod Baseball League. Three one-run games, one two-run game and – the largest margin – one three-run game.

It was a good night to be a closer.

The league’s best were on display, with Eric Eck (Wofford) picking up his league-best sixth save for Hyannis, Matt Troupe (Arizona) getting his fifth for Orleans and Cotuit’s Brian Miller (Vanderbilt) and Brewster’s Brad Schreiber (Purdue) each picking up their third.

While Eck has been the saves leader for a week or so, Troupe has been the most dominant. He struck out one in a quick 15-pitch ninth inning last night as Orleans shut out Harwich 3-0.

Interestingly, for a team that doesn’t have terrific pitching numbers – Orleans has the league’s fifth-best ERA – it was the fourth shutout of the season for the Firebirds.

It helps to have Troupe. He’s pitched at the back end of each of those shutouts, accounting for four of his five saves. And when he’s come in, the shutouts are not in doubt.

Troupe has allowed no earned runs this season and just one unearned. In 8.1 innings, he has struck out 16, walked four and allowed just three hits. Opponents are hitting .111 against him.

As a freshman in 2012, Troupe had six saves in Arizona’s College World Series championship season. He then pitched briefly for Orleans last summer and saved nine more games this spring for the Wildcats.

This summer, he wasted no time establishing himself as the closer – despite being in a bullpen full of closers. Troupe struck out the side in his first two appearances. He has cruised from there.

The Firebirds, meanwhile, have been up-and-down, with a perfectly even 11-11 record. Last night, they got a dominant performance from Trent Szkutnik (Michigan), who went six shutout innings five days after pitching the first leg of another shutout. Chris Marconcini (Duke) drove in a run to lead the offense. Brian Clark (Kent State) and Trevor Kelley (North Carolina) pitched a scoreless inning each.

And as usual, Troupe finished it all off.

 

Hyannis 4, Chatham 3

The save by Eck came in an impressive victory for Hyannis (14-7), who held off a first-place Chatham team that had won five straight overall and two straight games on walk-offs. The Anglers fell to 15-7-1. Austin Slater (Stanford) and Jake Hernandez (USC) led the Hyannis offense with an RBI apiece. Dominic Jose (Stanford) and Steve Wilkerson (Clemson) had two hits each. Cy Sneed (Dallas Baptist) picked up the win with five strikeouts in five strong innings. Chatham got two runs off reliever Mike Gunn (Arkansas) to put another rally in play, but Hyannis slammed the door. Sarkis Ohanian (Duke), who’s emerging as one of the best setup men in the league, struck out two in two scoreless frames before Eck worked around a two-out single to pitch a scoreless ninth. For Chatham, Michael Russell (North Carolina) had two hits and two RBI.

 

Brewster 1, Y-D 0

Brandon Leibrandt (Florida State) went seven shutout innings as the Whitecaps (7-15) edged Y-D 1-0. Liebrandt, who starred for the Seminoles this spring, had made one relief appearance and one short start this summer. He broke out in a big way Tuesday, allowing just four hits and striking out three while pitching seven full. Evan Rutter (Rice) and Schreiber finished off the shutout. Brewster got just enough offense to back Leibrandt and company, with Austin Bailey (San Diego) delivering an RBI single in the third inning. Y-D ace Erick Fedde (UNLV) gave up just the one run in four innings but took the loss. Alex Blandino (Stanford) had two hits for the Red Sox, who dropped to 10-12-1.

 

Cotuit 2, Wareham 1

The Gatemen got one of their best pitching performances of the season but ended up on the wrong end of the scoreboard. Andro Cutura (Southeastern Louisiana) allowed two runs on four hits in eight innings but those two runs were enough for a Cotuit victory. Yale Rosen (Washington State) delivered both runs with a third-inning single, and the Kettleers got a strong pitching performance of their own. Chris Ellis (Ole Miss), who gave up four runs in his last start, was back on track, surrendering just an unearned run in six innings. Reliever Joel Seddon (South Carolina) turned in his sixth zero-earned run start of the summer before Miller came on for the save. Cotuit remains in a three-way tie with Falmouth and Hyannis for first place in the West.

 

Falmouth 5, Bourne 3

The Commodores (14-8) won for the third straight time, using a big third inning to beat Bourne (9-13). Surprisingly, Falmouth did not hit any home runs, but had enough offense anyway. Troy Stein (Texas A&M), who’s been kind of an unsung hero behind the team’s power bats, went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Casey Gillaspie (Wichita State) and Dylan Davis (Oregon State) also knocked in runs. Leon Byrd, Jr. (Rice) and Rhys Hoskins (Sacramento State) each had a double. John Means (West Virginia) was solid on the mound, striking out three and giving up two runs in six innings. Donny Murray (Holy Cross) struck out four in two innings and Hunter Brothers (Lipscomb) struck out the side in the ninth for his first save. Bourne got a big night from Max Pentecost (Kennesaw State), who went 3-for-4 with his third home run.

 

What to Watch

Great match-up in Falmouth. Top prospect Jeff Hoffman (East Carolina) will make his second start of the summer for Hyannis, and it will come against the league’s most powerful team in the Commodores. Trey Teakell (TCU), who’s been Falmouth’s best starter, will oppose Hoffman. The teams are tied for first place in the West.
 

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Armed and Ready

Chris Ellis turned in his third strong start of the summer for Cotuit on Thursday.

This is the time of year when hitters in the Cape Cod Baseball League usually start to settle in, but at least for a few teams, last night belonged to the pitchers. The five winning teams on the Cape slate combined to allow just three runs. Nobody allowed more than one run.

Two of the victories were shutouts that continued hot starts for the guys who helped author them.

In Bourne, Jaron Long (Ohio State) made his second start and was just as dominant as he was the first time. After going five shutout innings in his first start, he went six scoreless this time as the Braves rolled over Hyannis 9-0. Long gave up three hits and struck out six. For the season, Long has now allowed just eight hits in two starts – and amazingly, all the hits have been singles.

Long is back for his second summer on the Cape. He was solid last year, but this year he’s taken it to a new level.

Josh Laxer (Ole Miss) followed Long to the hill and didn’t let the shutout slip. He struck out four and didn’t give up a hit in three innings. The Bourne offense did the rest, with all nine starters getting a hit. Jeff Gardner (Louisville) and Tim Caputo (Rhode Island) each had two hits and an RBI.

In Cotuit, the Kettleers didn’t have quite as much offense as Bourne – but they didn’t need it. Chris Ellis (Ole Miss) turned in his third great outing in as many tries as Cotuit eased past Wareham 3-0. Ellis went six scoreless, striking out one and scattering four hits. He’s now given up one earned run on eight hits in 14 innings.

Joel Seddon (South Carolina) finished the job for Ellis, going three innings for the save. He gave up two hits and stretched his season-long scoreless innings streak to 8.2

Wareham starter Fred Shepard (Amherst) was solid for the third time this season, giving up three earned and striking out five in seven innings, but the Kettleers got to him just enough to grab control. Will Remillard (Coastal Carolina) and Tim Kiene (Maryland) both hit their first home runs of the year and that was all the offense Cotuit needed.

 

Harwich 2, Chatham 1

The best individual pitching performance of the night belonged to Harwich’s Johnathan Frebis (Middle Tennessee State), who went five no-hit innings against the Anglers. It looked like Harwich might waste it when Chatham tied the game in the sixth off reliever Gunner Carroll (Army), but Carroll avoided further damage and Sean Fitzgerald (Notre Dame) kept the game tied with four scoreless innings of work. That set the stage for Tanner English (South Carolina), who came up with one out in the 10th, fell behind 0-2, worked it full and then cracked a walk-off home run to give Harwich (9-4) its third straight win. English was 1 for his last 16 coming into that at-bat but he picked a good time to break out of the slump. Fitzgerald got the win for the Mariners. Ian Happ (Cincinnati) had the other RBI while Derek Fisher (Virginia) went 2-for-3. Aaron Barbosa (Northeastern) went 1-for-4 and stayed atop the batting average leaderboard with a .405 mark. He also stole three bases to take over the league lead with 10. Chatham (7-5-1) got five strong innings from Lukas Schiraldi (Navarro College).

 

Y-D 8, Orleans 1

The Red Sox (5-7-1) were finally on the right side of a lopsided score as they cruised past Orleans (6-7). Alex Blandino (Stanford), Brandon Downes (Virginia) and Auston Bousfield (Ole Miss) each drove in two runs to pace the offense while Andrew Daniel (San Diego) and Taylor White (UNLV) had two hits each. The pitching staff, which was struggling mightily this time last week, got a quality start from Kyle Wood (Purdue), who struck out two and gave up just a run on four hits in 5.2 innings. In its five victories, Y-D has out-scored the opposition 32-8.

 

Falmouth 4, Brewster 1

The Commodores (8-5) got solid performances from three pitchers and broke a 1-1 tie with three runs in the seventh to beat Brewster (3-9). Brandon Magallones (Northwestern) gave up just an unearned run in 5.2 innings, while Jared Price (Maryland) got the win with 1.1 scoreless innings. Donny Murray (Holy Cross) also pitched a scoreless frame, as did Zech Lemond (Rice), who was making his Cape League debut after a big spring as the Owls’ closer. Kevin Cron (TCU) led the Falmouth offense, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and his league-leading seventh double. He’s now carrying an eight-game hitting streak. Casey Gillaspie (Wichita State) added two hits and an RBI.

 

What to Watch

The top two teams in the league are set to meet in Cotuit at 5 p.m. as the Kettleers host the Harwich Mariners. The clubs have matching 9-4 records. Alex Haines (Seton Hill), who has struck out 14 and hasn’t allowed a run in two starts, is scheduled to start for Cotuit. Keaton Haack (Alabama), who went 5.1 strong innings in a Harwich win over Cotuit, is slated to get the ball again for the Mariners.