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Catching Fire

Brian Miller had three hits as Orleans won its fourth straight game.
Brian Miller had three hits as Orleans won its fourth straight game.

 
All of a sudden, the best team in the league since day one has somebody hot on its tail.

Harwich lost 4-2 to Chatham for its third straight defeat last night. In the meantime, Orleans shut out Hyannis 4-0 for its fourth straight win. The Firebirds are now just a game back of the Mariners for first place in the East.

Orleans was 7-8 when its win streak began, and the streak has followed a pretty classic good baseball formula – three runs or fewer allowed in each game, at least nine hits and only two errors total across the four-game stretch.

The pitching was at its best in Saturday’s win. Joe Ryan (Cal State Northridge), who has allowed a run or less in each of his four starts, went five strong innings, giving up four hits and striking out three. The bullpen then held up its end of the bargain in dominant fashion. Eli Morgan (Gonzaga), Zach Willeman (Kent State) and Zach Logue (Kentucky) didn’t surrender a hit in teaming up for the final four innings.

At the plate, Keegan McGovern (Georgia) hit his second home run in the win streak, a pinch-hit solo shot in the eighth. Brian Miller (North Carolina) drove in the other three runs for the Firebirds with a 2-for-5 night. Riley Adams (San Diego), Justin Jones (Georgia State) and Will Golsan (Ole Miss) scored a run apiece.

Success on the mound and at the plate in the win streak has put Orleans in third place in both team ERA and team batting average – making them the most balanced team in the league by that measure. A few more wins, and the Firebirds could become the best in the league by another measure.

 

Y-D 3, Falmouth 1

The Red Sox aren’t far behind Orleans for label of hottest team in the league. They topped Falmouth for their third straight win Saturday, rallying from a 1-0 deficit with a run in the seventh and two in the ninth despite finishing with only four hits. Mikey Diekroeger (Stanford) knocked an RBI single to tie the game in the seventh. In the ninth, Will Toffey (Vanderbilt) delivered an RBI double to plate the go-ahead run. Matthew Whatley’s (Oral Roberts) sacrifice fly made it 3-1, and Bryan Pall (Michigan) pitched the bottom of the ninth for his third save. Cal State Fullerton standout Connor Seabold earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief in his Cape League debut. Diekroeger and Toffey had two hits each, the only hits for the Red Sox. Y-D is 10-9, over .500 for the first time this season. Falmouth got a home run from Trevor Larnach (Oregon State) and six innings of one-hit, shutout ball from Florida freshman standout Brady Singer before the Red Sox rallied.

Chatham 4, Harwich 2

Losers of four straight, Chatham knocked off first-place Harwich with runs in the seventh and eighth innings to break a 2-2 tie. Stuart Fairchild’s (Wake Forest) third hit of the night plated the go-ahead run in the seventh. Patrick Mathis (Texas) hit his second home run of the summer in the eighth for a little insurance, and Moises Ceja (UCLA) tossed a scoreless ninth for his third save. That made a winner out of Isaac Mattson (Pittsburgh), who struck out five of the 10 batters he faced in 2.2 scoreless frames. Starter Tanner Chock (Presbyterian) also pitched well, allowing two runs in 5.1 innings. Chase Pinder (Clemson) had three hits and an RBI for the Anglers and Gunnar Troutwine (Wichita State) also knocked in a run. For Harwich, Packy Naughton (Virginia Tech) struck out five in 4.2 innings and leads the league in Ks with 26. Austin Filiere (MIT) had two hits and two RBI.

Bourne 2, Brewster 1

Bourne stopped a two-game slide and remained in first place in the West with a win over Brewster. An RBI single by Jake Mangum (Mississippi State) plated the go-ahead run in the seventh. Mangum, the SEC batting champ, finished 3-for-4, raising his average to .392. Connor Wong (Houston) and David MacKinnon (Hartford) added two hits each. Patrick Raby (Vanderbilt) allowed one run in five innings and left with the game tied. Doug Norman (LSU) earned the win in relief and Andrew Wantz (UNC Greensboro) picked up his third save with his fourth consecutive scoreless outing. Brewster got seven strong innings from Konnor Pilkington (Mississippi State), who took the hard-luck loss. Nick Dunn (Maryland) had two hits.

Wareham 3, Cotuit 2

Friday, Cotuit won a one-run game for the first time in seven tries. Saturday, Wareham returned the favor, dropping the Kettleers to 1-7 in one-run games with a 3-2 victory at Spillane Field. Three runs in the third inning were all the Gatemen needed as three pitchers combined on a solid showing. Ethan Small (Mississippi State) went four scoreless innings for the win and Ryan Wilson (Pepperdine) escaped trouble in the eighth and tossed a perfect ninth to finish off the win. Colton Shaver (BYU) upped his league-best RBI total to 20 and Gavin Sheets (Wake Forest) also drove in a run. For Cotuit, Colton Hock (Stanford) allowed two earned runs in six innings. Jason Delay (Vanderbilt) homered and Greyson Jenista (Wichita State) had two hits.

What to Watch

Today brings the openers in the two-game home-and-home holiday sets. As has been the case throughout the year, Harwich and Brewster looks an intriguing match-up. Two-time Cape League Pitcher of the Week Shane McCarthy (Seton Hall) gets the ball for the Mariners today against Brewster’s high-powered offense.

 

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Braves looking to stay in contention

boourne
 
Bourne is riding a nine-year playoff streak and has the makings of a club that can make it 10 – and contend from there.
 

FIVE TO WATCH

1. Brendan McKay
2. Joe Davis
3. Corey Julks
4. Jake Mangum
5. Drew Carlton
 

NOTABLE

  • Louisville’s Brendan McKay made a good impression in his time with Bourne last summer. He’s on the roster for this year, but has a Team USA spot and could be headed to Omaha with the Cardinals in the meantime. Whatever happens, he’s perhaps the best two-way player in the country.

  • If McKay doesn’t make it to Bourne, fellow Card Devin Hairston will be a pretty good representative of the national No. 2 seed. Hairston is hitting .360 with three homers. He’s been a key to Louisville’s offense, along with 2015 Brave Nick Solak.

  • Patrick Raby had a strong debut for Vanderbilt and can lean on a couple of high school teammates for some Cape League advice. He played with Tennessee’s Nick Senzel and Kyle Serrano, who starred on the Cape last summer.

  • Connor Wong was a contributor for Y-D last summer. He’ll make the move to Bourne this year, where he’ll join Houston teammates Corey Julks and Joe Davis. Wong is listed as a catcher by the Braves, but didn’t play there much this spring.

  • The Cougars lost in the AAC conference championship, just missing out on the NCAA Tournament. That means the trio of Wong, Julks and Davis should be good to go from day one for the Braves, and they’ll provide a big boost. Julks, set for his second year with the Braves, had a great sophomore season. Davis was one of the top freshman sluggers in the nation, finishing with 14 home runs and AAC Freshman of the Year honors.

  • Drew Carlton hasn’t put up fantastic numbers, but when you’re the Friday starter for Florida State, you’re doing something right.

  • Washington made some noise in the Nashville regional and Noah Bremer had a hand in it. In the opener – which ended up as a 14-inning loss to eventual regional champ UC Santa Barbara, Bremer allowed just one run on four hits in nine innings of work.

  • Mississippi State catcher Elih Marrero is the son of former Major Leaguer Eli, who played with the Cardinals and several other clubs in a 10-year career. The younger Marrero was mentioned as a potential early-round pick last year but had a strong commitment to the Bulldogs.

  • Marrero’s teammate Jake Mangum wasn’t a regular starter for Mississippi State until April. Given a full-time spot, he never stopped hitting and finished ranked third in the nation with a .429 batting average.

  • East Carolina closer Joe Ingle struck out 69 in 47.2 innings. He pitched 1.2 scoreless innings as the Pirates upset Virginia on their way to the Super Regionals.

    •  

    PITCHERS

    Noah Bremer – SO – Washington – Standout weekend starter for Huskies has 2.98 ERA, team-best 66 strikeouts
    Drew Carlton – SO – Florida State – Friday starter for powerhouse Noles is 7-3, 4.36 ERA with 71 strikeouts
    Chris Holba – FR – East Carolina – ERA over five but a busy reliever for Pirates with 23 appearances
    Joe Ingle – SO – East Carolina – Star reliever for Super Regional-bound club has 12 saves, 69 Ks in 47.2 innings
    Sean Leland – SO – Louisville – Has 3.24 ERA in limited relief innings for Cards’ deep pitching staff
    Brendon Little – FR – North Carolina – Top 100 player nationally out of high school made only four appearances this spring
    Brendan McKay – SO – Louisville – Two-way star avoided sophomore slump, hitting .336 with 5HR and 12-3, 2.12 ERA, 119 Ks
    Chris Morris – SO – Seton Hall – Posted 3.76 ERA in Pirates’ bullpen, notched two saves and struck out better than a batter per inning
    Doug Norman – SO – LSU – Solid reliever for Tigers has 3.26 ERA in 21 appearances
    Patrick Raby – FR – Vanderbilt – Started third-most games on team and went 7-1 with 2.61 ERA, 63 Ks in 58.2 innings
    Ronnie Rosoomando – FR – Connecticut – A 28th-round pick last year, saw action as a starter and reliever and finished with 3.93 ERA
    Zach Spangler – SO – Kent State – Picked up one save in 17 appearances out of pen, with 3.18 ERA
    Keith Weisenberg – SO – Stanford – Posted 3.45 ERA in nine appearances for Cardinal
     

    CATCHERS

    Elih Marrero – FR – Mississippi State – Son of former Major League catcher Eli hit .238 in debut season with Bulldogs
    Garrett Wolforth – FR – Dallas Baptist – Hitting .259 in part-time duty behind the plate for DBU
    Connor Wong – SO – Houston – Hit .232 and won title with Y-D last summer then batted .304 with 5 HR as a sophomore
     

    INFIELDERS

    Joe Davis – FR – Houston – 16th-round pick last year burst onto scene and won AAC Rookie of the Year with .331 AVG, 14 HR, 58 RBI
    Devin Hairston – SO – Louisville – Hit .212 as frosh but now having breakout sophomore season – .360, 3 HR, 19 XBH
    Isaiah Pasteur – SO – Indiana – Big 10 all-freshman last year but struggled this year, finishing with average below .200
    L.T. Tolbert – FR – South Carolina – South Carolina high school star hitting .229 with three homers, 27 RBI in debut season
    Willy Yahn – SO – Connecticut – Followed big freshman year with continued success, hitting .319 with 27 extra-base hits
    Justin Yurchak – SO – Binghamton – Wake Forest transfer sat out this season per NCAA rules after hitting .312 with Deacons
     

    OUTFIELDERS

    Luis Alvarado – SO – Nebraska – Batted .251 with seven extra-base hits for Huskers
    Brennan Breaux – FR – LSU – Hitting .152 in limited action as a Tiger freshman
    Corey Julks – SO – Houston – Returning Brave had breakout sophomore year, hitting .333 with 3 HR, 10 SBs
    Jake Mangum – SO – Mississippi State – True freshman forced his way into lineup and is scorching with .424 batting average, third in nation
    Danny Reyes – FR – Florida – Making most of limited opportunities with .282 average and a home run in 20 games
     

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    Be Like Mitch

    Mitchell Jordan tossed six shutout innings to improve to 5-0.
    Mitchell Jordan tossed six shutout innings to improve to 5-0.

     
    News flash: Mitchell Jordan (Stetson) allowed an extra-base hit Saturday night.

    But it was a return to originally-scheduled programming soon after.

    Jordan continued his absolutely dominant summer with six more shutout innings as Orleans beat Brewster 2-0. Jordan – six starts and 33 innings into his Cape League career – still has a 0.00 ERA.

    Brewster’s Ryan Peurifoy (Georgia Tech) doubled in the third inning for the first extra-base hit allowed by Jordan this summer. It put runners on second and third, an earned run just 90 feet away. Jordan responded by striking out Brewster’s best hitter, Nick Senzel (Tennessee) to end the inning. He didn’t allow another hit, finishing with six innings of two-hit baseball, to go with nine strikeouts.

    This is the time of year back in 2012 that Sean Manaea – who will be the measuring stick for Cape League aces for a long time – started to fully cement an incredible summer, with dominant start after dominant start. Jordan isn’t quite on the same strikeout pace as the former Hyannis star, but as RFF commenter Orville suggested, his overall performance is looking downright Manaean. This is not simply a great beginning or a hot streak – Jordan is having a tremendous summer.

    Jordan leads the league in wins with five, strikeouts with 40 and ERA at 0.00. He has given up 11 hits the entire summer, for an opponents batting average of .104. He has gone at least five innings in every start and hasn’t surrendered more than three hits in any of them. He was won five consecutive starts after a no-decision in his summer debut.

    Saturday’s win also came at an important time for the Firebirds, who had lost two in a row. They scratched a run across in the first on an error and added one in the ninth on a Willie Abreu (Miami) sacrifice fly.

    Two runs were plenty. Brewster’s J.D. Busfield (Loyola Marymount) had a strong start as well, giving up one run in six innings. But as has been the case all summer, it wasn’t good enough to keep up with Mitchell Jordan.
     

    Y-D 8, Chatham 1

    Gio Brusa (Pacific) hit two home runs and drove in five, and Ricky Thomas (Fresno State) picked up his fifth win as Y-D stopped Chatham’s four-game winning streak. Brusa, who got off to a slow start in his second summer on the Cape, now has a hit in nine straight games and is batting .286 with four home runs. He hit a three-run shot in the third inning Saturday and added a solo shot in the fifth. Donnie Walton (Oklahoma State), Stephen Wrenn (Georgia) and Cole Billingsley (South Alabama) each chipped in two hits, and Y-D scored five earned runs off Zac Gallen (North Carolina), who came in with a 0.00 ERA in three starts. Thomas allowed one run in 5.2 innings for his fifth win in as many tries. With the win, Y-D moved one point ahead of Harwich for fourth place in the East.
     

    Bourne 4, Hyannis 1

    The Braves have moved into second place in the West, and though they’re still six points back of division leader Hyannis, they’re also 3-0 against the Harbor Hawks after Saturday’s win. Bourne was shut-out for six innings but scored three in the seventh and one in the ninth. Nick Solak (Louisville) and Pete Alonso (Florida) each had two hits and an RBI. Ryan Boldt (Nebraska) also had two hits. Cody Sedlock (Illinois) allowed one run in 5.2 innings of work. Doug Norman (LSU) got the win in relief and Austin Conway (Indiana State) tallied his sixth save. For Hyannis, ace Nick Deeg (Central Michigan) righted the ship after a tough outing in his last start, going 5.2 scoreless innings.
     

    Wareham 2, Cotuit 1

    Evan Hill (Michigan) turned in his third great start, going six innings with one unearned run as Wareham edged Cotuit 2-1. Hill, a 6-5 lefty, has now had three starts in which he’s gone at least five innings without giving up an earned run. He also struck out seven on Saturday and gave up only one hit. Ian Hamilton (Washington State) took the baton in the seventh and tossed three scoreless innings to finish off the win. The Wareham offense was sparked by Andrew Calica (UC Santa Barbara), who went 2-for-4 with an RBI, who has delivered two hits in three straight games.
     

    Falmouth 4, Harwich 1

    Austin Tribby (Missouri) went six strong innings and the Falmouth offense smacked four doubles in a 4-1 victory over Harwich. Tribby scattered six hits and gave up one run in six innings for the win. Cobi Johnson (Florida State) got the save. Michael Tinsley (Kansas) went 3-for-4 while Heath Quinn (Samford) was 2-for-4 with two RBI.
     

    What to Watch

    Division leaders Orleans and Hyannis will meet for the third time, this one at Eldredge Park. They have split their first two meetings.