Posted on

Powered Up

Matt Davis and Brewster have had the league's top offense thus far.
Matt Davis and Brewster have had the league’s top offense thus far.

 
(Note: Apologies for the lack of Daily Fog Monday and the late post today. I’m in Alaska for the Summer Nine book project, which you can read more about here, and I have no idea what time it is!)

Brewster’s Matt Davis (VCU) earned Cape League Player of the Week honors for his fast start, and it’s a good bet he won’t be the last Whitecap hitter to get some recognition.

Brewster won its fourth straight game Monday, 11-6 over Falmouth, and offense has set the stage for the success. The Whitecaps lead the league in runs scored, averaging about seven per game, and rank second in batting average. In extra-base hits – always a good measuring stick of which team truly has the best offense – the Whitecaps lead the league by a wide margin, with 20 doubles, 10 home runs and four triples. They lead two of those three individual categories and are second in doubles.

And Monday, they did damage against a team with the second-best ERA in the league and a starting pitcher who went five scoreless innings in his first start. The Whitecaps touched up Jacob Godfrey (Arizona State) for nine runs – seven earned – in the first three innings of the game and cruised from there, finishing with 13 hits.

Kel Johnson (Georgia Tech) – in his third game of his second summer with the Whitecaps – hit a first-inning grand slam and Brewster was off-and-running. Johnson added one more RBI and finished 2-for-5. Brent Rooker (Mississippi State) had his best day as a Cape Leaguer, going 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Nicholas Dunn (Maryland) went 4-for-6 with two runs scored. Julian Infante (Vanderbilt) went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Zack Gahagan (North Carolina) also homered.

Staked to the big early lead, Brewster used seven pitchers and remained in control throughout.

 

Harwich 3, Y-D 0

Harwich Mariner pitching continues to be the story of the early part of the Cape League season. The Mariners ran their record to a league-best 8-2 with a 3-0 victory over Yarmouth-Dennis Monday. They’ve won three of their last four games, with all the wins coming by shutout. The Mariners have allowed 14 runs in 10 games, by far the lowest number in the league. It was B.J. Myers’ (West Virginia) turn Monday. Coming off seven innings of one-run ball against Y-D in his first start, he struck out three, walked one and gave up four hits in 7.1 scoreless innings. Zach Schellenger (Seton Hall) did the rest, continuing his dominant start to the season with 1.2 scoreless frames for his fourth save. At the plate, Ernie Clement (Virginia) went 4-for-5 and scored two runs from the leadoff spot. Johnny Adams (Boston College) and Joseph Dunand (NC State) each had two hits and an RBI.

Hyannis 5, Bourne 2

Winless through seven games, Hyannis has suddenly won three in a row. Five pitchers combined to hold Bourne to two runs on seven hits in Monday’s win. Matthew Naylor (North Florida) earned the win in relief with Garrett Cave (Florida International) picking up a save. Cody Henry (Alabama) went 3-for-4 with two RBI and has now driven in five runs in the three-game win streak. Jordan Rodgers (Tennessee) added two hits and two RBI, Trey Truitt (Mercer) had two hits for his second consecutive multi-hit game and Zach Rutherford (Old Dominion) scored two runs. Bourne got two hits from Jake Mangum, who is picking up where he left off after hitting over .400 at Mississippi State this spring. He’s 5-for-13 since arriving on the Cape.

Chatham 7, Wareham 1

Two pitchers who had tremendous springs combined for 6.2 strong innings as Chatham beat Wareham. NEC Pitcher of the Year James Karinchak (Bryant) struck out six in three innings of one-hit ball and WAC Pitcher of the Year Nick Meservey (Seattle) gave up just an unearned run on two hits in 3.2 innings. Matt Pidich (Pittsburgh) and Moises Ceja (UCLA) picked up where they left off with 2.1 scoreless frames, as Wareham finished the day with just three hits. The Anglers needed the shut-down performances because the game was close throughout. But with a 2-1 lead in the top of the ninth, the Anglers scored five runs to blow the game open. Jake Palomaki (Boston College) had two hits and two RBI. Sean Bouchard (UCLA), D.J. Artis (Liberty) and Hunter Lee (High Point) also knocked in runs. With the win, Chatham moved back to .500 at 5-5.

Orleans 10, Cotuit 4

The Firebirds improved to 6-4 and handed Cotuit its fifth straight loss. Zach Kirtley (St. Mary’s) led the big offensive day, going 3-for-3 and driving in five runs as he continued his hot start. Kirtley – who hit .323 with seven homers this spring – has four multi-hit games in five starts for the Firebirds. Brian Miller (North Carolina) added two hits, three runs scored and an RBI, and Riley Mahan (Kentucky) had a run and an RBI. Kirk McCarty (Southern Mississippi) went five scoreless innings in his first start for Orleans. Eli Morgan (Gonzaga), who struggled mightily in his last outing, struck out five in two scoreless innings of relief. For Cotuit, Vanderbilt star Jeren Kendall made his second appearance as he gets some time on the Cape before heading to Team USA.

What to Watch

League-wide off day today. When the action resumes, Harwich’s pitching may get another boost as Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year Tyler Wilson (Rhode Island) makes his debut at Cotuit.
 

Posted on

Anything you can do…

Hunter Williams delivered a strong start on opening night, the first of many for the Mariners so far
Hunter Williams delivered a strong start on opening night, the first of many for the Mariners so far

 
It’s tough to say which unit has been the most impressive for the undefeated Harwich Mariners. Is it the starting rotation, with five guys delivering strong debuts? Or is it the bullpen and its two runs allowed in five games?

The Mariners don’t have to choose – it’s all working just fine together.

Harwich improved to 5-0 Tuesday with a 5-2 victory over Orleans, and pitching again set the stage. Ryan McAuliffe (St. John’s) allowed one run and struck out five in six innings of work. Brad Bass (Notre Dame), Teddy Rodliff (Stony Brook) and Zach Schellenger (Seton Hall) went the final three innings, with Rodliff allowing the only other run.

McAuliffe became the fifth consecutive Harwich starter to earn a win. As little as wins matter as a statistic, they do reflect in this case that Harwich’s starters are pitching well and pitching deep into games – something that doesn’t always happen in the Cape League, especially at this point in the year.

Hunter Williams (North Carolina) and Packy Naughton (Virginia Tech) each went five innings. McAuliffe, Shane McCarthy (Seton Hall) and B.J. Myers (West Virginia) went at least six innings in their first start.

The four runs Naughton allowed in his start are the most surrendered by a Harwich starter.

And when the starters have passed the baton on to the bullpen, the numbers have been even better. In 15 innings, Harwich relievers have allowed a total of two runs. Bass, Schellenger, Matthew Minnick (Mercyhurst), Peter Solomon (Notre Dame) and Spencer Stockton (Jacksonville) are all proud owners of 0.00 ERAs.

Of course, there’s also been plenty of support for the Harwich arms. The Mariners lead the league in runs scored (in one extra game than eight of the league’s teams). Tuesday, the Mariners made the most of seven hits and capitalized on four Orleans errors. Trey Harris (Missouri) and Ryan Brown (College of Charleston) knocked in a run apiece. Tyler Kirkpatrick (Marist) scored two runs.

At 5-0, the Mariners are a quarter of the way to last season’s win total, when they missed the playoffs.
 

Bourne 7, Cotuit 5

Bourne is also unbeaten, moving to 4-0 with a victory over still-winless Cotuit. The Kettleers scored five runs in the seventh in rallying from a 4-0 deficit, but the Braves responded with a run in the eighth and two in the ninth. A sacrifice fly by Luis Alvarado (Nebraska) tied the game in the eighth. Willy Yahn (Connecticut) tripled in Connor Wong (Houston) in the ninth and scored on a David MacKinnon (Hartford) sac fly. The rally made a winner out of reliever Keith Weisenberg (Stanford), with Conner O’Neil (Cal State Northridge) notching the save. Bourne starter Brady Miller (Western Oregon), who struck out 89 in the D-II ranks this spring, had a big Cape debut with six shutout innings and seven strikeouts. For Cotuit, the five-run seventh inning was a good sign for a team that had scored only four runs coming into the game. Hagen Owenby (East Tennessee State) had two hits and two RBI to lead the Kettleers.

  • Falmouth 5, Hyannis 0

    • The Commodores authored the third shutout of the Cape League season and improved to 3-1 while dropping Hyannis to 0-5. Jacob Godfrey (Arizona State) went five innings for the win, scattering five hits and striking out two. Four relievers went an inning each to finish off the shutout. At the plate, Falmouth got two-hit games from Kevin Merrell (South Florida), Michael Gigliotti (Lipscomb), Trevor Larnach (Oregon State) and Michael Cantu (Texas). Merrell is hitting .529 with at least one hit in every game.

  • Chatham 4, Y-D 3

    • Defending champ Y-D also is still in search of its first victory after a lead Chatham built in the sixth held up for a 4-3 win. Patrick Mathis (Texas) did all the damage in the key inning for the Anglers, smacking a three-run homer to put the Anglers ahead 4-1. Y-D answered with two in the bottom of the sixth but would get no closer. Chatham starter Tom Cosgrove (Manhattan) gave up one run in five innings before getting charged with the two in the sixth. Matt Pidich (Pittsburgh) ended the threat with a pair of strikeouts. His college teammate Isaac Mattson went the final two innings for the save. Y-D was led by Brendan Skidmore (Binghamton), who knocked in two.

  • Wareham 3, Brewster 2

    • The Gatemen managed only three hits but turned them into three runs as they improved to 3-1 with a victory over Brewster. Gavin Sheets (Wake Forest) and Jonathan Engelmann (Michigan) drove in runs for the Gatemen on a groundout and a fielder’s choice. Robert Metz (George Washington) scored what proved to be the winning run on a wild pitch. Anthony Herron, Jr. (Jefferson College), a 34th-round draft pick last week and a Missouri State commit, started and went four shutout innings in his Cape debut. Ryan Selmer (Maryland) earned the win in relief and Ryan Wilson (Pepperdine) recorded a three-inning save. For Brewster, Ryan Feltner (Ohio State) allowed two earned runs in 5.1 innings but took the loss. Jacob Wloczewski (Binghamton) struck out three in 2.2 scoreless innings of relief.

    What to Watch

    Four makeup games from Saturday’s rainouts are on tap. Keep an eye on the proceedings at Doran Park, where Bourne will start another D-II standout after Brady Miller’s strong performance Tuesday. Ty Cohen struck out 98 in 90.1 innings for Florida Tech and gets the ball against Chatham.