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Still Battling

Eddie Muhl pitched 2.2 scoreless innings of relief in Monday's win.
Eddie Muhl pitched 2.2 scoreless innings of relief in Monday’s win.

 
Brewster and Hyannis are on the verge of the playoffs, but they’ve been there for a while now and haven’t been able to take the leap. That’s due to their own struggles and late pushes by the teams behind them.

With a win and a Brewster loss, Chatham moved within one point of the Whitecaps for the final playoff spots in the East. Meanwhile, Cotuit topped Hyannis – the sixth straight loss for the Harbor Hawks – to get within three points of the last spot in the West. With two games remaining for everybody, any of those four teams could still make the postseason.

Chatham knocked off West-leading Falmouth for its key win Monday. Caleb Gilbert (LSU), who hadn’t gone more than four innings in any outing, went seven strong, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out seven. Falmouth used four pitchers as it preps for the playoffs and Chatham did damage against all of them, even ace Brady Puckett (Lipscomb). Jeremy Vasquez (Florida) went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. D.J. Artis (Liberty) continued his late-season surge with three hits, two runs and an RBI. Kyle Adams (Richmond) and Gunnar Troutwine (Wichita State) drove in one run each.

Chatham improved to 16-25-1. Both of its remaining games are against Orleans. Brewster takes on first-place Harwich in its last two.

In Hyannis, Cotuiti made up ground in the fastest way possible for the second time in the last four games, topping the Harbor Hawks. Hyannis hasn’t won since the day after the All-Star Game.

Jason Bilous (Coastal Carolina), who struggled in his first start July 18, delivered a second consecutive strong performance, going five innings and allowing one run. Eddie Muhl (George Washington) followed with 2.2 scoreless frames and Alec Byrd (Florida State) finished the job for the save.

A two-run single by A.J. Balta (Oregon) powered a three-run third inning that put the Kettleers in control. Balta finished 2-for-5 with three RBI. Ryan Hagan (Mercer) added two hits and two RBI. Greyson Jenista (Wichita State) also had two hits and Jordan Pearce (Nevada) scored two runs.

Despite the six straight losses, Hyannis still has a leg up on the Kettleers and can clinch a playoff spot with a victory. Cotuit needs to win out and have Hyannis lose both of its last two. Hyannis has Falmouth and Y-D to finish up and Cotuit gets Y-D and Wareham.

 

Bourne 3, Harwich 2

Bourne walked off on Harwich, with David MacKinnon (Hartford) coming around on a wild pitch and a throwing error in the bottom of the ninth. The big finish capped a rally from a 2-0 hole by the Braves, who tied the game in the seventh on a two-run single by Jeremy Eierman (Missouri State). Zach Spangler (Kent State) got the win with two scoreless innings of relief. Zach Schellenger (Seton Hall) struck out four of the seven batters he faced but was tagged with the loss on the unearned run in the ninth. MacKinnon scored two runs for the Braves. Johnny Adams (Boston College) had an RBI for Harwich. The Mariners remain three points in front of Y-D in the East and can clinch the division title and the top seed with one victory.

Wareham 5, Orleans 4

The Gatemen scored two in the eighth and held off a Firebird rally in the ninth for a 5-4 win. A two-run double by Adrian Tovalin (Azusa Pacific) broke a 3-3 tie in the eighth. Orleans got an RBI fielder’s choice from Brian Miller (North Carolina) in the ninth, but Christian Taugner (Brown) came on and stranded Miller at first to end the game. Dalton Horton (TCU) got the win in relief for the Gatemen. Joey Bart (Georgia Tech) went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Cole Freeman (LSU) had two hits and scored two runs, pushing his average to .378 as he remains in position for the batting title.

Y-D, Brewster 4

A run in the eighth and two in the ninth pushed Y-D past Brewster. Will Toffey (Vanderbilt) scored in the eighth on a dribbler by Brendan Skidmore (Binghamton). In the ninth, Dillon Persinger (Cal State Fullerton) plated the tying run with an RBI double and Toffey gave the Red Sox the lead with a run-scoring base hit. Calvin Faucher (UC Irvine) then worked around a walk and an error in the bottom of the ninth to seal the win for Y-D. J.J. Muno (UC Santa Barbara) had two hits and scored two runs for the Red Sox. Persinger added two hits. For Brewster, Kekai Rios (Hawaii) had two hits and two runs scored.

 

What to Watch

The playoff chase continues for Cotuit and Chatham. The Kettleers visit Y-D at 4:30 p.m. Chatham hosts Orleans at 7.
 

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Meat of the Order

Colton Shaver hit a three-run homer in Sunday's win and leads the league in RBI.
Colton Shaver hit a three-run homer in Sunday’s win and leads the league in RBI.

 
With only two teams left in the College World Series, Cape Cod Baseball League rosters are getting more solidified by the day. So too are batting orders and lineups, and the Wareham Gatemen appear to have come out of the early-season tinkering process with something special.

In the last two games, the Gatemen have trotted out as their 3-4-5 hitters Alex Destino (South Carolina), Colton Shaver (BYU) and Gavin Sheets (Wake Forest). All three had big sophomore seasons at their respective schools. Combined, they batted .327 with 29 home runs.

And now that they’re actually combined, they’re doing some damage.

Destino, Shaver and Sheets combined for seven of Wareham’s 13 hits Friday and drove in eight runs as the Gatemen won a 9-8 slugfest over Brewster. The day before, they delivered four hits and three RBI in a victory over Hyannis.

Wareham is now 8-6-1, good for second place in the West and the third-best record in the league.

The Whitecaps not been an easy team to out-slug this season – they lead the league in runs scored, home runs and extra-base hits – but Wareham did it after falling behind 3-0. The Gatemen exploded for six runs in the fifth inning and tacked on a few more down the stretch to hold Brewster off.

After base hits by Jonathan Engelmann (Michigan) and Joey Bartosic (George Washington), the Gatemen got on the board with an RBI single by Cole Freeman (LSU). Then it was the meat of the order’s turn. Destino plated a run with a single, leaving two men on for Shaver. The BYU standout smacked a three-run homer to put his team in front. One pitch later, Sheets made it back-to-back home runs with one of his own.

Sheets added an RBI double to score Destino in the seventh, and Destino delivered a two-run double in the eighth, which ended up providing the one-run winning margin.

Robert Garcia (UC Davis) was credited with the win in relief and Jake Walters (Alabama) notched his first save.

Destino, Shaver and Sheets finished 7-for-13 with four runs scored and the eight RBI. Destino – the latest arrival among the three – is now hitting .480 with four multi-hit games in six starts. Shaver is at .289 with three homers and leads the league in RBI with 15. Sheets is batting .327 with two homers and 12 RBI.

 

Hyannis 9, Chatham 2

Hyannis had its best offensive day of the season and paired it with a strong starting pitching performance in a victory over Chatham. The Harbor Hawks’ previous season-high in runs was five. With 13 hits, seven extra-base hits and a pair of home runs, they nearly doubled it. Carl Stajduhar (New Mexico) went deep for the second time this season and Dylan Busby (Florida State) hit his first homer in his third game with the Hawks. Jordan Rodgers (Tennessee) added three hits and two RBI. The offense was plenty for John Gavin (Cal State Fullerton), who had an ERA of 11.25 after three tough relief outings but shined in his first start. He allowed just two hits in 6.1 scoreless innings, striking out six. Chatham got two runs off the bullpen but nothing else.

Bourne 4, Orleans 2

The Braves kept a hold on first place in the West and sent Orleans to its fourth straight loss. Connor Wong (Houston) hit his second home run and his fifth double while driving in a pair of runs to lead the Braves. Justin Yurchak (Binghamton) and Jeremy Eierman (Missouri State) added two hits apiece. Five Braves pitchers took the hill, with no one going more than 3.1 innings. Brendon Little (North Carolina) struck out six of the seven batters he faced and earned the win with 2.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Chad Luensmann (Nebraska) picked up a save. Orleans got a home run from Adam Haseley (Virginia), his second.

Y-D 5, Harwich 1

Y-D topped first-place Harwich for its seventh win in its last 10 games and moved out of the basement in the East. The Red Sox and Orleans are now tied for fourth in the division. The Mariners started two-time CCBL Pitcher of the Week Shane McCarthy (Seton Hall), who had yet to allow a run this season. He gave up three in the early going this time and once he settled in, the Red Sox were in front. Matthew Whatley (Oral Roberts) hit a two-run home run in the first inning and Will Toffey (Vanderbilt) had an RBI single in the second as Y-D jumped to a 3-1 lead. A Brendan Skidmore (Binghamton) home run and a Mikey Diekroeger (Stanford) RBI doubled added some insurance. Mitch Hart (USC) out-dueled McCarthy, allowing one run on five hits and striking out five in seven innings. Bryan Pall (Michigan) pitched two scoreless frames for the save.

Falmouth 3, Cotuit 2

The Kettleers have pitched significantly better the last three games, but the improvement has only yielded one win. Falmouth rallied from a 1-0 deficit in the middle innings Sunday and held on for a one-run victory. Michael Gigliotti (Lipscomb) and Tyler Lawrence (Murray State) knocked in runs for the Commodores, who scored three despite only two hits. Jeffrey Passantino (Lipscomb) allowed just an unearned run on two hits in six innings for the win. Seth Elledge (Dallas Baptist) earned the save. Colton Hock (Stanford) went five strong innings for Cotuit and Alec Byrd (Florida State) tossed 2.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

What to Watch

Off-day around the league today. Tuesday, Harwich sends league ERA leader B.J. Myers (West Virginia) to the hill for a battle between first place and second place in the East against Brewster.