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Kettleers Defending Another Title

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I’ve been doing these early look team preview stories since the early years of Right Field Fog. I enjoy doing them because it gives me a foundation of information about incoming players, but there’s always an understanding that things will change.

I don’t if there’s ever been a team that had more things change, with better results, than the 2013 Cotuit Kettleers.

More than half of the players in their early look were not in Cotuit uniforms as the Kettleers celebrated the Cape Cod League Championship. And still, they won it. It was a testament to their ability to put a team together, almost day-by-day.

As the 2014 season approaches, the Kettleers start with a group that has some returning players like Drew Jackson and Rhett Wiseman, plus the usual talented newcomers like Sam Tewes, Tres Barrera and Jameson Fisher.

How will it work out? You never know for any team in any year, but that seems especially true after what Cotuit did last year. But whether this core ends up carrying the team all summer or 15 other guys swoop in, it’s safe bet that the Kettleers will be contending come August.

 

THE SKINNY

Manager: Mike Roberts
Last Year: 25-18-1; Won CCBL Championship
Returning Players: 4
Juniors: 1
Sophomores: 17
Freshmen: 5

 

NOTABLE

  • The returning players are a good start in maintaining the identity of that gritty, tough-minded Kettleers team from last year. Drew Jackson was a big part of it and so was Rhett Wiseman. Garrett Stubbs and Max Schrock spent less time in Cotuit but still had a taste of it, with Stubbs as one of the poster boys for the late-season adjustments. He was in town for two regular season games then hit over .400 in the playoffs.

  • Both Jackson and Wiseman have run into sophomore slumps this year. Both had very good summers a year ago, and will be trying to recapture that form. Wiseman, in particular, remains a must-see for scouts.

  • Cotuit’s closer last year was Vanderbilt’s Brian Miller, and another Commodore will likely slide right in. Sophomore Carson Fulmer, who actually has more saves for Vandy than Miller this season, is ticketed for Cotuit. He’s saved nine games so far, averaging better than a strikeout an inning.

  • Wofford sophomore Luke Leftwich hasn’t put up the best college numbers but he had a good summer in the Valley League last year, and he has bloodlines working in his favor. HIs father Phil was a Major League pitcher, as was his grandfather Tom Timmerman.

  • Pepperdine consistently sends solid pitchers to Cape Cod, year after year. Jordan McClelland looks to be next in line. He has an ERA under four in the Waves’ starting rotation.

  • Cotuit had a great bullpen last year, and the early roster indicates more of the same in 2014. It also appears the Kettleers are trying to make sure the likely relievers on the roster fit together well – both Travis Duke and A.J. Minter have been used at times as lefty specialists this spring.

  • Southeast Louisiana sophomore Jameson Fisher could very well end up as the incoming CCBL player with the highest spring batting average. The catcher/infielder leads the Southland with a .382 mark.

  • In Fisher, Stubbs, Tres Barrera and Will Haynie, the Kettleers have four players who can catch. Barrera has some of the top behind-the-plate credentials. It’s not every day that a freshman gets a chance to start at catcher for the University of Texas. He’s not there everyday, often DH’ing, but getting there at all is pretty good.

  • If you look at Adam Parks’s collegiate numbers at Liberty, you might wonder why he’s getting a chance to play in the Cape League. But, two years removed from Tommy John surgery, he flashed big velocity in the Valley League last summer. And with one game, he made a name for himself. Parks threw a perfect game in June.

  • As a 22nd-round pick who stands 6-foot-5 with a thin frame, Wichita State freshman Sam Tewes has the projection scouts like. Production doesn’t always follow immediately, but it has for Tewes. He didn’t allow a hit in 4-plus innings in his first collegiate start and sports a 3.15 ERA in the Shockers’ weekend rotation.

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    FIVE TO WATCH

    1. Rhett Wiseman
    2. Jameson Fisher
    3. Sam Tewes
    4. Max Schrock
    5. Tres Barrera

     

    PITCHERS

    Travis Duke – LHP – 6’3 210 – Texas – Sophomore
    Nick Eicholtz – RHP – 6’4 180 – Alabama – Freshman
    Carson Fulmer – RHP – 5’11 190 – Vanderbilt – Sophomore
    Spencer Henderson – LHP/1B – 6’3 215 – UC Davis – Sophomore
    Logan James – LHP – 5’11 185 – Stanford – Sophomore
    Luke Leftwich – RHP – 6’3 200 – Wofford – Sophomore
    Jackson McClelland – RHP – 6’5 220 – Pepperdine – Sophomore
    A.J. Minter – LHP – 6’0 200 – Texas A&M – Sophomore
    Adam Parks – RHP – 6’2 220 – Liberty – RS Sophomore
    Sam Tewes – RHP – 6’5 205 – Wichita State – Freshman
    Matthew Vogel – RHP – 6’2 185 – South Carolina – Freshman
    Trey Wingenter – RHP – 6’7 195 – Auburn – Sophomore

     

    Travis Duke – LHP – 6’3 210
    Texas
    Sophomore

    Duke emerged as a valuable bullpen arm in his first season in Austin last year, posting a 1.53 ERA. He’s out-done himself this year. In 21 appearances, Duke hasn’t allowed an earned run. He has struck out 16, walked four and given up only 12 hits in 18.1 innings.

    Nick Eicholtz – RHP – 6’4 180
    Alabama
    Freshman

    A 29th round pick out of high school last year, Eicholtz has had a solid debut season with the Crimson Tide. Pitching out of the bullpen and as a starter, Eicholtz has a 2.49 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 47 innings.

    Carson Fulmer – RHP – 5’11 190
    Vanderbilt
    Sophomore

    Fulmer had a great freshman season as a reliever and has been even better this year. With a 1.17 ERA, nine saves and 54 strikeouts in 46 innings, Fulmer has even out-done his teammate Brian Miller, a former Cotuit closer.

    Spencer Henderson – LHP/1B – 6’3 215
    UC Davis
    Sophomore

    A two-way player, Henderson had good luck with the bat and struggled some on the mound in limited action during his freshman campaign. He’s flipped things around this year, hitting just .171 but posting a 3.77 ERA out of the bullpen. Henderson was a Perfect Game Collegiate League all-star and the 35th-ranked prospect in the league last summer.

    Logan James – LHP – 5’11 185
    Stanford
    Sophomore

    A left-handed reliever, James has posted higher ERA’s than he and the Cardinal would like in his first two seasons in Palo Alto. He had a 4.56 mark last year. This season, walks have been a problem and have sent his ERA climbing further to 5.14.

    Luke Leftwich – RHP – 6’3 200
    Wofford
    Sophomore

    Leftwich has given up a lot of hits and has a career ERA north of five, but he’s done one thing very well in two years at Wofford – he has struck people out. Leftwich was second on the team with 69 K’s last year. He already has 69 in 70 innings this season, with some games left to play. Perfect Game tabbed Leftwich as the ninth-best prospect in the Valley League last summer.

    Jackson McClelland – RHP – 6’5 220
    Pepperdine
    Sophomore

    McClelland pitched mostly out of the bullpen last year and shined for the Waves. After a strong summer in the Southern California Collegiate League, he’s been a steady performer in Pepperdine’s rotation this spring. In 11 starts, he has a 3.79 ERA with 36 strikeouts. McClelland was a 35th-round pick out of high school in 2012.

    A.J. Minter – LHP – 6’0 200
    Texas A&M
    Sophomore

    A 39th-round pick out of high school, Minter had an ERA over four last year but has emerged this season as a reliable bullpen arm in College Station. In 18 appearances, often pitching as a lefty specialist, Minter has a 1.84 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 14.2 innings.

    Adam Parks – RHP – 6’2 220
    Liberty
    RS Sophomore

    After a medical redshirt year in 2012 for Tommy John surgery, Parks hasn’t yet hit his stride for the Flames. He had an ERA over six last season and has seen it balloon to 9.39 in brief action this year. But in between those two seasons, Parks was tremendous in the Valley League last summer. He ranked as the second-best prospect and threw a seven-inning perfect game early in the season that put him on the scouting map.

    Sam Tewes – RHP – 6’5 205
    Wichita State
    Freshman

    Tewes was a 22nd-round pick out of high school but stuck with his commitment to the Shockers. Despite his thin frame, he’s had no trouble adjusting to the next level. As a weekend starter, Tewes has a 3.15 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 65.2 innings.

    Matthew Vogel – RHP – 6’2 185
    South Carolina
    Freshman

    Vogel was one of the top high school prospects in New York last spring and was drafted in the 36th round by the Diamondbacks. He headed to South Carolina and has yet to see a ton of action for the Gamecocks. In eight appearances, he has a 6.91 ERA, though he has struck out 15 in 14.1 innings.

    Trey Wingenter – RHP – 6’7 195
    Auburn
    Sophomore

    A late-round pick of the Mariners out of high school, Wingenter hasn’t made a huge impact with the Tigers but continues to flash potential. The towering righty had a 3.68 ERA in six appearances last year. This season, he’s at 2.84 in 10 games, with 22 strikeouts in 19 innings. Last summer, he was the second-rated prospect in the Perfect Game Collegiate League.

     

    POSITION PLAYERS

    Tres Barrera – C – 6’2 195 – Texas – Freshman
    Jameson Fisher – C/INF – 6’2 180 – SE Louisiana – Sophomore
    Will Haynie – C/INF – 6’5 225 – Alabama – Freshman
    Kyle Holder – INF – 6’1 185 – San Diego – Sophomore
    *Drew Jackson – INF – 6’2 195 – Stanford – Sophomore
    Hunter Melton – INF – 6’2 225 – Texas A&M – Sophomore
    *Max Schrock – INF – 5’9 180 – South Carolina – Sophomore
    *Garrett Stubbs – C – 5’10 160 – USC – Junior
    Jeremy Taylor – OF – 6’2 178 – East Tennessee State – Sophomore
    Logan Taylor – INF – 6’1 200 – Texas A&M – Sophomore
    *Rhett Wiseman – OF – 5’11 190 – Vanderbilt – Sophomore
    * – returning player

     

    Tres Barrera – C – 6’2 195
    Texas
    Freshman

    Barrera was an All-State shortstop and an All-State catcher at his Texas High School and has been a key cog for the Longhorns since day one. He’s batting .266 with a .335 OBP. He has two homers and is second on the team in extra-base hits.

    Jameson Fisher – C/INF – 6’2 180
    SE Louisiana
    Sophomore

    A 24th-round pick out of high school, Fisher had a tremendous debut season on his way to Freshman All-America honors last year, and the good times have rolled on this year. Fisher leads the Southland Conference in hitting with a .382 batting average. Though he doesn’t have a homer, he has 13 doubles and 30 RBI.

    Will Haynie – C/INF – 6’5 225
    Alabama
    Freshman

    One of Tennessee’s top high school prospects a year ago, Haynie has struggled in his first year in Tuscaloosa. Though he has three home runs, he’s hitting only .179.

    Kyle Holder – INF – 6’1 185
    San Diego
    Sophomore

    After a big season in the junior college ranks at Grossmont College, Holder transferred to San Diego and has made an immediate impact. As a full-time starter with the Toreros, he’s hitting .309 with three homers and 28 RBI.

    Drew Jackson – INF – 6’2 195
    Stanford
    Sophomore

    The brother of former Kettleer Brett Jackson, Drew was a valuable contributor in Cotuit’s championship run last year. Jackson hit .263 and was named the league’s 43rd-best prospect by Perfect Game. Back at Stanford, his sophomore season has not gone well. Jackson is hitting .151.

    Hunter Melton – INF – 6’2 225
    Texas A&M
    Sophomore

    Melton hit .280 and led the Aggies in home runs as a freshman. In his sophomore season, he hasn’t flashed the same pop. Melton is hitting .245 without a home run.

    Max Schrock – INF – 5’9 180
    South Carolina
    Sophomore

    A 28th-round pick out of high school, Schrock was one of the top freshmen in the SEC last season. In a brief stint in Cotuit, he continued to shine, hitting .381. This spring, Schrock is hitting .247 but his five home runs rank second on the team.

    Garrett Stubbs – C – 5’10 160
    USC
    Junior

    Stubbs was coming off a middling sophomore season when he hooked on with the Kettleers as part of one of their waves of reinforcements. After playing in just two regular season CCBL games, he was a huge part of the championship run, hitting .455 with three RBI in six playoff games. This spring, Stubbs is hitting .287 for the Trojans.

    Jeremy Taylor – OF – 6’2 178
    East Tennessee State
    Sophomore

    Taylor was an Atlantic Sun All-Freshman team pick in 2012, Taylor has continued to be a solid contributor for the Bucs this spring. He’s hitting .264 with two homers and 10 doubles, and he’s stolen 12 bases.

    Logan Taylor – INF – 6’1 200
    Texas A&M
    Sophomore

    Taylor struggled in limited action as a freshman but has been a solid everyday contributor this season. Taylor is hitting .272 with a team-best 14 doubles, to go with a homer and 21 RBI. Last summer, Taylor excelled in the Texas Collegiate League, ranking second with a .335 batting average. He was named the league’s second-best prospect by Perfect Game.

    Rhett Wiseman – OF – 5’11 190
    Vanderbilt
    Sophomore

    A 25th-round pick in the 2012 draft who was projected to go even higher, Wiseman came to Vanderbilt and to Cotuit last summer with considerable hype. He was solid with flashes of brilliance in both spots, hitting .297 with four homers on the Cape. This spring, he has hit a rough patch, with a .236 average and no homers.

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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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    Title Series Thoughts

    Will Fulmer waits for Bradley Zimmer at second in the final meeting of the regular season between Orleans and Cotuit.

     
    Tuesday’s rain gave Cotuit and Orleans an extra day of rest before they square off in the Cape Cod Baseball League championship – and it gives us an extra day to talk about it.

    It’ll be a fun series. Cotuit and Orleans are two of the most well-supported franchises in the league, with great fan-bases, great fields and great tradition. It’s the first title round meeting between the two since 1986, when Jeff Conine was in an Orleans Cardinal uniform and Scott Servais was suiting up for Cotuit.

  • The Orleans pitching rotation quietly emerged late in the season as perhaps the best in the league. I say quietly because no Orleans starter cracked the top 20 in strikeouts, and the team’s strikeout leaders were relievers Kyle Twomey and Matt Troupe. But while they weren’t the prototypical, workhorse aces, the group led by Bobby Poyner, Trent Szkutnik, Jared Miller and Corey Miller was fantastic, especially late in the year. Over its final 17 games – when the team went13-3-1 on the heels of a five-game losing streak – Orleans starters gave up two earned runs or fewer in 13 games.

  • The scary thing for Cotuit is that the pitching is lined up – Poyner, Jared Miller and Szkutnik are the probable starters. Poyner and Szkutnik both finished the regular season with 1.72 ERA’s while Miller’s late-season success makes him look like the real ace of the staff. He had two straight scoreless outings late in the year with a combined 14 strikeouts. In a playoff start against Harwich, Miller struck out eight in seven shutout innings.

  • Not to harp on the Orleans pitching staff, but the bullpen has been fantastic as well. Troupe is at the back end as the most dominant closer in the league, and that’s just one piece of the puzzle. In five playoff games, Orleans pitchers have allowed five earned runs in 17.1 innings. That’s an ERA of 2.63.

  • As you might guess from the above, I give the edge in the series to Orleans based on pitching. Cotuit pitchers have held their own in the playoffs, but there’s still a feeling that things are being patched together, with even a few newcomers making starts. On the bright side, Cotuit’s own dominant closer, Brian Miller, has been great in the playoffs. He hasn’t given up an earned run in 6.1 postseason innings.

  • Cotuit and Orleans played each other in the season opener on June 12. The Cotuit starting lineup on that day featured exactly ONE player who is currently with the team, and that’s Bradley Zimmer, who was gone for most of the summer with Team USA. It’s been a story all year, and it’s even more remarkable when you look at it like that – Cotuit has consistently found ways to win despite constant roster turnover. Cotuit has had 51 players wear its uniform this summer. It’s literally two teams’ worth, and yet here the Kettleers are.

  • Some of Cotuit’s most recent reinforcements have had a big hand in the playoff success. Nevada’s Austin Byler leads the team in postseason batting average at .474, home runs with two and RBI with seven. Catcher Garrett Stubbs, who played two regular-season games, is hitting .455 in the playoffs and delivered a walk-off single in a game-two win over Falmouth to keep Cotuit’s season alive. Caleb Bryson has hit a playoff home run, giving him five in eight games with the Kettleers.

  • The other thing about the newcomers is the psychological lift they provide. This was something I hadn’t thought about until team photographer Joe Cavanaugh mentioned it to me. The Cape League season is long and it’s a grind. But guys like Stubbs and Bryson who are thrilled to be getting a shot aren’t feeling that grind. They’re making the most of every second, and that can be infectious.

  • This will be the second consecutive championship appearance for Cotuit’s Danny Diekroeger. The infielder played for Y-D last summer and started all three games of the title series against Wareham.

  • Orleans had Riley Moore as its starting catcher in the first game of the post-season but got hurt blocking the plate in that game and has been out ever since. Collin Slaybaugh replaced Moore after the injury in the Harwich game and has played every inning since – all 40 of them. If Orleans wins this thing, Slaybaugh is an unsung hero.

  • Cotuit isn’t the only team that’s suffered key personnel losses. Orleans is without Jordan Luplow, who was one of the biggest reasons for their late-season surge. A knee injury sent him home. Zach Fish, one of the team’s best hitters, left late in the regular season.

  • Austin Davidson has been terrific for the Firebirds in the playoffs, with seven RBI in five games. Jordan Betts has also been productive, with seven runs driven in. And how about Geoff DeGroot? The UMass-Lowell junior is a shortstop by trade and was hitting .146 before he went five for his last 11 in the regular season. In the playoffs, he’s hitting .364 with three runs scored, all while playing center field.

  • The last time Eldredge Park hosted a championship series game was in 2005, and attendance was listed at 6,815. At Lowell Park in Cotuit, the last championship game, in 2010, had a listed attendance of 5,391. So, wherever you’re going, get there early.

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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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    Surprise, surprise

    Cotuit celebrates its victory in game two. The Kettleers celebrated again last night.

     
    The Cape League’s Western Division was tightly-packed all year, and it held true to form in the first round of the playoffs. No. 3 seed Cotuit upset No. 2 Falmouth in game three last night, while No. 4 Bourne knocked off No. 1 Hyannis in their game three. Both Cotuit and Bourne lost the first game of the series before winning the next two. It’s the second time in the four years of this playoff format that a No. 3 and No. 4 team from the same division have both advanced. Cotuit and Wareham did it in 2010, with Cotuit going on to the league title.

    In the East, Orleans held off Harwich for a spot in the division championship opposite Chatham.

    Cotuit 5, Falmouth 2

    The Cotuit-Falmouth was back-and-forth series between two really good teams, and game three was more of the same. Falmouth jumped ahead 2-0 in the first, but Cotuit came back to take the lead in the fourth and held off every Commodore charge to win it.

    The 2-0 Falmouth lead was built in loud fashion, when Casey Gillaspie (Wichita State) launched a home run to the street beyond left field at Guv Fuller Field, which is a pretty serious shot.

    But Cotuit was undeterred.

    Starter Christian Cecilio (San Francisco) went six innings and the homer was his only blemish. He retired seven straight after the home run and allowed just two more hits the rest of the way. Facing Gillaspie in the fourth with runners on first and third, Cecilio induced an inning-ending double play.

    That performance set the stage for the Kettleers to break through, and they did. Hunter Cole (Georgia) had an RBI double in the second to cut the lead in half. In the fourth, Cole drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game and Austin Byler (Nevada) knocked in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly. Cotuit added a run in the eighth on a squeeze bunt by Rhett Wiseman (Vanderbilt) and another in the ninth on a Garrett Stubbs (USC) RBI single.

    Cotuit reliever Wesley Cox (Texas San Antonio) stranded two in the seventh inning and two more in the eighth when he had to go through Rhys Hoskins (Sacramento State) and Gillaspie. He struck out Hoskins and got Gillaspie to fly out. Cox gave up one more single in the ninth but induced a pair of fly-outs to end it.

    The Kettleers are into the West finals for the first time since their championship season in 2010.

    For Falmouth, the loss ended a terrific year that included a share of the regular-season title and a whole lot of offense. The Commodores were a fun team to watch, and I imagine we’ll hear a lot of these names again when the draft rolls around next year.

     

    Bourne 9, Hyannis 2

    Rocky McCord (Auburn) struck out nine in five innings for Hyannis, but Bourne broke the game open against the Harbor Hawks bullpen and cruised to the upset victory.

    The Braves trailed 2-1 going into the sixth, but scored three runs to take the lead then blew the doors off with five in the eighth.

    Trent Gilbert (Arizona), who scored the only run in Bourne’s 1-0 victory the night before, went 3-for-5 on Thursday with three RBI. He was part of a huge effort from the bottom of the Bourne order. Eight hitter Tyler Kuresa (UC Santa Barbara) went 2-for-5 with two RBI and nine hitter Richard Gonzalez (Alabama State) went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Clint Freeman (East Tennessee State) added two hits and an RBI.

    Cody Livingston (Southern Miss) was dominant out of the Bourne bullpen, which kept the Braves within striking distance. Livingston struck out six and allowed just one hit in 3.2 innings. Sam Dodge (Harvard), making his first appearance, struck out two in a scoreless ninth.

    Landon Curry (Indiana State) and Steve Wilkerson (Clemson) had three hits each for Hyannis, but it wasn’t enough.

    The Braves are into the West finals for the second straight year. They also did it as the No. 4 seed last year.

    Hyannis bids farewell to a talented group that gave the franchise its second division title in three years.

     

    Orleans 2, Harwich 0

    Jared Miller (Vanderbilt) and Aaron Bummer (Nebraska) matched each other pitch-for-pitch for six innings before the Firebirds scratched runs across in the seventh and eighth to get the victory.

    Miller struck out eight and allowed just three hits in seven scoreless innings. He took a no-hitter into the fifth. Bummer struck out seven and took a shutout into the seventh, before Orleans found a way – a weird way – to get to him. With runners on second and third in the seventh, Bummer threw a wild pitch as he was trying to issue an intentional wall, and Austin Davidson (Pepperdine) raced home.

    Orleans added another run in the eighth on a Davidson RBI single, and reliever Brian Clark (Kent State) made the lead stand up. Clark, who tied for the league lead in appearances, had yet to pitch in the playoffs but made it worth the wait. He allowed just a walk while keeping Harwich off the board for the final two innings.

    Davidson and Will Fulmer (Montevallo) had two hits to lead the Orleans offense.

    The Firebirds will face Chatham in the East finals, the first time the two have met in a finals series since 2005. That Orleans team featured Manny Burriss and it beat an Evan Longoria-led Chatham team on its way to the championship. That was the last league championship for Orleans.

    Harwich closed out a memorable campaign and playoff run. The two teams were separated by one point in the regular-season standings and by a total of two runs in the three playoff games.

     

    What to Watch

    If the weather cooperates, it’ll be Bourne visiting Cotuit at 4 p.m. and Orleans traveling to Chatham at 7 p.m.

    The Bourne starter is likely Kris Gardner (Wichita State), who had some ups and downs but went seven strong innings in his last start. Cotuit’s starter is TBA. Also keep an eye on the status of Max Pentecost. The Cape League MVP was not in the lineup for Bourne last night, and Jen McCaffrey of the Cape Cod Times reported it was because of a bum knee.

    Orleans’ probable starter is listed as Corey Miller (Pepperdine), who’s been solid all summer and went five scoreless in his last start. Chatham will send all-star Matt Gage (Siena) to the hill.
     

    Posted on

    Staying Alive

    Orleans beat Harwich 4-3 to force game three in its East semifinal.

     
    Chatham is into the next round with a sweep of Y-D, the franchise’s first playoff series win since 2001.

    The other three games were decided by one run for a second straight night – and they all went in the other direction. Cotuit, Bourne and Orleans avoided sweeps and kept their seasons alive.

     

    Cotuit 5, Falmouth 4

    In perhaps the best Cape League game of the summer, the Kettleers came from behind twice after the fifth inning and won the game on a walk-off in the 10th.

    It was a fitting finish, too. The Kettleers could probably field two teams with all the players that have come through there this summer, and somehow the team still finished one point out of first place. No matter who was in the lineup, they were getting it done. Yesterday, they got a game-tying two-run homer from Austin Byler (Nevada), a late pick-up. And in the 10th, they won the game on a walk-off RBI single by Garrett Stubbs (USC), who began his Cape League career on August 3.

    The Commodores looked poised for a sweep when they went up 3-0 in the fourth on a three-run homer by Kevin Cron (TCU). Meanwhile, ace John Means (West Virginia) cruised through five innings.

    But Cotuit wasn’t going down easy. A three-run rally in the sixth capped by Byler’s home run tied the game. After Falmouth went up by one in the seventh, Cotuit tied it again in the eighth, setting the stage for the 10th-inning heroics.

    Wesley Cox (Texas-San Antonio), another recent arrival, got the win in relief for the Kettleers.

    Game two is slated for today at 5:30 p.m in Falmouth. Probably pitchers are TBA.

     

    Bourne 1, Hyannis 0

    Two largely unheralded pitchers staged a duel to match what stars Ryan Kellogg and Kyle Freeland did the night before, and Bourne pushed a run across in the eighth for the win.

    Kyle Kubat (Nebraska) delivered his best start of the summer for the Braves, striking out six and scattering six hits in 6.2 innings. His counterpart, Cy Sneed (Dallas Baptist), was just as good for Hyannis, striking out seven and allowing only three hits while also going 6.2 innings.

    In the eighth, Bourne broke through against Hyannis reliever Jordan DeLorenzo (West Florida), a late arrival who had yet to allow a run. Trent Gilbert (Arizona) singled to start the rally, and Tim Caputo (Rhode Island) followed with a bunt single that rolled fair. DeLorenzo retired Mark Laird (LSU) and newly-crowned Cape League MVP Max Pentecost, but Clint Freeman (East Tennessee State) knocked an RBI single into right field to score the go-ahead run.

    Michael Costello (Radford), who had come on in the seventh and stranded a pair of runners, gave up two singles in the ninth but wiggled out of trouble to finish off a victory for the Braves.

    Game two will go off at 6 p.m. today at McKeon Park in Hyannis. Jacob Lindgren (Mississippi State), who had pitched out of the bullpen to start the summer before going six shutout innings in his only start, will go for the Braves. Rocky McCord (Auburn), who has allowed one run in his last two starts, gets the ball for Hyannis.

     

    Orleans 4, Harwich 3

    Orleans took a lead in the third and held onto it through a few Harwich rallies, winning by a run and forcing a game three.

    Ross Kivett (Kansas State), Jordan Luplow (Fresno State) and Chris Marconcini (Duke) knocked in the runs in the third, and the three were enough for Bobby Poyner (Florida). He took a shutout into the seventh before giving up one run. He went seven full innings, striking out three and allowing just four hits.

    Closer Matt Troupe (Arizona) came on for the eighth and got into trouble, giving up a walk and two straight singles. A fielder’s choice off the bat of Ian Happ (Cincinnati) scored two and made it a one-run game.

    But Troupe buckled down. He stranded Happ on second with a strikeout of A.J. Reed (Kentucky), who had homered an inning before. In the ninth, Troupe struck out two to finish off the victory.

    For Harwich, Nick Howard (Virginia) turned in an impressive start, striking out nine in nine in seven innings, but he was the hard-luck loser.

    Game three is set for Eldredge Park tonight at 7 p.m., and it might be the best pitching match-up of all the game threes. All-Star Game starter Aaron Bummer (Nebraska) will go for Harwich against Jared Miller (Vanderbilt), who struggled in his last start but struck out 10 in six scoreless innings the start before that.

     

    Chatham 9, Y-D 4

    Chatham led 2-0 for much of the game but found itself tied 3-3 in the eighth. That’s when the Anglers exploded, getting a grand slam from J.D. Davis (Cal State Fullerton) and scoring six runs to send them on their way to the next round.

    Tommy Lawrence (Maine), who lost to Y-D in a playoff start last year, turned it around this time, giving up just one earned run in 5.1 innings. Jacob Dorris (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) got the win in relief when the Anglers broke through.

    After tying the game in the seventh, they took the lead in the eighth on RBI singles by Blake Butera (Boston College) and Landon Lassiter (North Carolina). Then came the big blow. With the bases loaded, Davis smacked a home run out of the same field where he won All-Star Game MVP honors.

    Dorris gave up one run in the bottom of the eighth but Dominic Moreno (Texas Tech) closed the door in the ninth, sealing the sweep for Chatham and ending Y-D’s season.

    James Kaprielian (UCLA) was a bright spot for the Red Sox, striking out nine in five innings. D.J. Stewart (Florida State) homered and Alex Blandino (Stanford) finished a terrific Cape League career with two hits.

    Chatham won a playoff series for the first time since 2001, when it won the East and lost to Wareham in the league championship.

    The Anglers get a day off while the rest of the teams hit the field for game threes.