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The Other Ace

Ricky Thomas improved to 6-0 Saturday.
Ricky Thomas improved to 6-0 Saturday.

 
On a day when Orleans’ Mitchell Jordan was named the All-Star Game starting pitcher for the East squad – a shoo-in of a selection – the one other guy who could have made a serious case was just as good as his fellow ace.

Y-D’s Ricky Thomas (Fresno State) stayed perfect on the summer, making his sixth start and winning his sixth game. He allowed one run on three hits in seven innings and struck out nine as the Red Sox beat Harwich 4-1.

Thomas and Jordan are both 6-0, giving the league two big winners in a category that sometimes tops out at four wins when all is said and done. While Jordan took a no-decision in one of his starts, Thomas has been a winner every time. He owns more than a third of Y-D’s 17 victories.

Wins are not a favored statistic in this day-and-age – a great pitching performance does not guarantee a win – but for a guy who’s winning a lot, it’s still useful as a reflective statistic. And Thomas has been winning a lot, and earning each and every one.

The lefty has gone at least 5.2 innings in each start and has not surrendered more than one run in any start. He has a 0.96 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 37.1 innings pitched.

Saturday, he set a new season-high in strikeouts, fanning nine Mariners in the victory. A solo home run by Connor Justus (Georgia Tech) was the only blemish on his day.

Stephen Wrenn (Georgia) hit his fourth home run to back Thomas, while Tommy Edman (Stanford), Luke Bonfield (Arkansas) and Joshua Vidales (Houston) drove in one run each. The Y-D offense seems to enjoy nights when Thomas is on the mound – the four-run output Saturday was actually the lowest run support total he’s seen this year. The Red Sox are averaging six runs per game in his starts.

While that offense certainly helps, the Red Sox could be scoring two runs per game and still winning with Thomas on the mound. Coming off a solid spring with the Bulldogs in which he posted a 3.92 ERA, he’s been the best rising sophomore pitcher in the league this summer, statistically speaking.

At some point, Thomas and Jordan will probably take a loss. But it didn’t happen Saturday.
 

Orleans 2, Chatham 1

The aforementioned Jordan went four more innings without allowing an earned run – bringing his streak to 37 innings – before Chatham pushed one across in the fifth inning on a Garrett Hampson (Long Beach State) RBI single. Jordan got out of the inning without further trouble and ended his outing there after five innings. His ERA now stands at 0.24. The Orleans offense gave Jordan a lead in the top of the fifth on a two-run homer by Kyle Lewis (Mercer), and that was all the Firebirds needed. Three relievers combined on four scoreless innings, with Kit Scheetz (Virginia Tech) grabbing the save. Ty Damron (Texas Tech) was the hard-luck loser for Chatham. He allowed two runs in six innings. Flamethrowing reliever Zach Burdi (Louisville) made his second appearance since arriving from Team USA and went three scoreless innings with four strikeouts.
 

Wareham 2, Hyannis 1

Wareham walked off on a suicide squeeze for a 2-1 victory in 10 innings over Hyannis. John Sternagel (Florida) tripled with one out in the 10th and on the second pitch of the next at-bat, Preston Grand Pre (California) got down the bunt to win it. Wareham had given up a 1-0 lead in the eighth before its extra-inning rally. The squeeze made a winner out of Evan Hill (Michigan), who pitched five innings of relief with just an unearned run. Starter Ian Hamilton (Washington State) also went five and didn’t allow a run. Hyannis got 6.1 strong innings from Dakota Hudson (Mississippi State).
 

Brewster 7, Bourne 4

The Whitecaps won their fifth straight and jumped into a second-place tie with Chatham in the East. The Nick Senzel MVP campaign rolled right along with the win streak, as Senzel (Tennessee) went 2-for-3 with three RBI. That’s his eighth multi-hit game in 14 July contests. He has driven in 17 runs in those games. And as usual, it wasn’t just a one-man show for the hot-hitting Whitecaps. Jack Meggs (Washington), Tyler Ramirez (North Carolina) and Nico Giarratano (San Francisco) had two hits each, part of an 11-hit attack. Nick Highberger (Creighton) got the win in relief.
 

Cotuit 8, Falmouth 2

The unpredictable West Division looked the part in Falmouth, as Cotuit beat the Commodores 8-2 a night after losing to them 5-2. Austin Sexton (Mississippi State) allowed one run in 5.1 innings for the win. Branden Berry (Cal State Northridge) went 3-for-4 with four RBI and his fourth home run of the year. Brett Stephens (UCLA) added four hits and two RBI. The Kettleers scored four of their runs off Falmouth starter Austin Tribby (Missouri), who had allowed only one run in each of his last three starts.
 

What to Watch

Brewster will shoot for its sixth consecutive win as it visits Harwich. J.D. Busfield (Loyola Marymount), who had a strong start last time out, gets the ball.
 

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Pitching leads Wareham

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Since winning the Cape League championship in 2012, the Gatemen have had a rough go of it, missing the playoffs for two straight years. With a talented pitching staff in place, Wareham will be poised for a return to prominence this summer.
 

FIVE TO WATCH

1. Corey Ray
2. Anthony Kay
3. Matt Krook
4. Ryan Olson
5. Jarrett Rindfleisch

 

NOTABLE

  • Oregon’s Matt Krook was an unsigned first round pick of the Marlins in the 2013 draft. He was looking the part as an Oregon freshman with 60 strikeouts in 45 innings pitched last year before going down with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. The procedure was done 13 months ago and Krook was reportedly ready to burn his redshirt and pitch in the postseason if Oregon needed him. That didn’t happen, so it appears the Cape League season will mark Krook’s return to the mound. He’ll surely be on a tight leash, but he’ll be interesting to watch.

  • While Krook obviously has a lot of potential, seven other Gatemen pitchers have potential and big seasons as starting pitchers to build on. Connecticut’s Anthony Kay is the best of them, having established himself as an ace for the Huskies with 96 strikeouts this year.

  • Another of those pitchers is Cal Poly Pomona’s Ryan Olson, who pitched for the Gatemen last year. Like Pomona teammate Cody Ponce, who pitched for Brewster last summer and rocketed up draft boards, Olson is coming off a huge sophomore season. He went 12-0 with a 1.73 ERA and 92 strikeouts.

  • Ian Hamilton has saved 28 games in two seasons at Washington State.

  • Indiana University has been good to the Gatemen over the years and fellow Hoosier State school Ball State is on the act this year, with pitcher Zach Plesac and catcher Jarret Rindfleisch poised for big things.

  • If Louisville’s Corey Ray doesn’t end up with Team USA, he’s primed to be one of the Cape League’s best. The sophomore has flashed power and speed in breakout campaign.

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    PITCHERS

    Shaun Anderson – SO – Florida – Won a Northwoods League title last summer and has 4.29 ERA as Gator reliever this spring
    Bailey Clark – SO – Duke – After just six outings as freshman, jumped into rotation and turned in 2.95 ERA in 13 starts
    Grant Dyer – SO – UCLA – Went from mid-week starter to shut-down reliever, putting up 1.82 ERA in whopping 42 appearances
    Ian Hamilton – SO – Washington State – Broke school record for saves with 15 last year, tacked on 13 with 1.67 ERA this year
    Brett Hanewich – SO – Stanford – Has started 27 games in two years for Cardinal, with 3.59 career ERA
    Drew Harrington – SO – Louisville – Set to return to Wareham after posting 0.29 ERA with 42 Ks in Louisville bullpen
    Zac Houston – JR – Mississippi State – After quiet freshman year, made 21 relief appearances with 3.66 ERA
    Daulton Jefferies – SO – California – Strong starter for two years running, went 6-5 this year with 2.92 ERA, team-high 74 Ks
    Connor Jones – SO – Georgia – Struggled in sophomore season, with ERA above 8 in 16 relief appearances
    Anthony Kay – SO – Connecticut – After strong summer in Wareham, lefty emerged as UConn ace with 2.07 ERA, 96 K in 100 IP
    Matt Krook – SO – Oregon – Former first-round pick missed 2015 season after Tommy John surgery, but is ready to work his way back
    Ryan Olson – SO – Cal Poly Pomona – After stint with Wareham last year, dominated for Pomona with 12-0 record, 1.73 ERA, 92 Ks
    Benton Parr – SO – Georgia Tech – Solid as starter and reliever in two seasons with Yellow Jackets, has career 3.53 ERA
    Zach Plesac – SO – Ball State – National freshman pitcher of the year last year had 3.27 ERA, 77 K in sophomore year
    Tyler Thorne – SO – Stanford – Has pitched mostly in relief for Cardinal, finishing with 5.18 ERA this year
    Ryan Williamson – SO – NC State – Pitched as starter and in relief and finished with ERA over five this season
     

    CATCHERS

    Jarett Rindfleisch – SO – Ball State – MAC Freshman of the Year in 2014 hit .310 with 10 homers this year
     

    INFIELDERS

    Nick Cieri – SO – Maryland – Infielder/catcher hit .299 as a sophomore for Terps
    Mark Karaviotis – SO – Oregon – Hawaii native grabbed starting SS job last year, hit .270 this season in second year with Ducks
    Andrew Knizner – SO – NC State – Emerged as standout in sophomore year, with .317 average, five homers
    Kramer Robertson – SO – LSU – Returning to Wareham after hitting .232 for Tigers this season
    John Sternagel – SO – Florida – Hitting .178 for Gators in limited action this season
     

    OUTFIELDERS

    Connor Beck – r-FR – TCU – After redshirt year, has only seen action in 11 games for Horned Frogs this season
    Jamison Jabs – SO – Franklin Pierce – Hit .328 and smashed 13 home runs for D-II power Ravens
    Corey Ray – SO – Louisville – Team USA invite has been dynamic player for Cards, with .330 average, 11 HR, 34 SBs
    Logan Sowers – FR – Indiana – Indiana Mr. Baseball hit .257 with six homers in debut season
    Charlie Warren – SO – Rice – Returning Gatemen hit .311 this spring for Owls