So far, yet so close

Max Burt scored what proved to be the winning run for Harwich in the 11th inning.

They are near opposites. Harwich is 6-1, Hyannis 0-7. The Mariners have scored 40 runs and allowed 13. The Harbor Hawks have scored 13 and allowed 40.

But there was little separating the two in an 11-inning classic Friday night at McKeon Park.

They played scoreless inning after scoreless inning, and though Harwich had more chances, the teams got all the way to the 11th without a run going on the board. The Mariners eventually broke through in the top of the 11th.

For Harwich, it was an impressive win that showcased the pitching that has defined the team’s hot start. Do a little math on those 13 runs allowed in seven games and you see how good Mariner hurlers have been.

For Hyannis, it had to have been a frustrating night in a frustrating start. The Harbor Hawks didn’t blink against a team that’s had a lot more early success than them but ended up with the same result that they’ve found every time out.

Both starting pitchers went five strong innings. Hunter Williams (North Carolina) allowed two hits and struck out five. Mac Sceroler (SE Louisiana) – a 36th-round pick of the Phillies in last week’s draft – struck out six and scattered six hits in his five scoreless frames.

Spencer Stockton (Jacksonville), Teddy Rodliff (Stony Brook) and Zach Schellenger (Seton Hall) combined for six innings of three-hit baseball. Al Pesto (Duke) went two scoreless innings for Hyannis and Tyler Stevens (New Mexico) was into his fourth inning when Harwich struck.

Having stranded 12 runners to that point, the Mariners got a single from Max Burt (Northeastern). A sac bunt and a groundout sent him to third. Ernie Clement (Virginia) then smacked an 0-1 pitch for a base hit to score the game’s first – and only – run.

Schellenger came on for the bottom of the 11th, having tossed two perfect innings so far this summer. He gave up his first hit this time – a one-out double by Zach Rutherford (Old Dominion) – but struck out cleanup man Carl Stajduhar (New Mexico) and No. 5 hitter Jordan Rodgers (Tennessee) to end the game.

Schellenger has now struck out seven in three innings of work and leads the league with three saves. Tyler Kirkpatrick (Marist) and Nick Dalesandro (Purdue) had three hits each for the Mariners. UNC-Wilmington star Nick Feight made his debut and went 0-for-5.

Hyannis got two hits from Rutherford.

Brewster 4, Chatham 2

There was also an extra frame in Chatham, where Brewster topped the host Anglers thanks to a pair of runs in the 10th. Ryan Noda (Cincinnati) drew a bases-loaded walk for the go-ahead run and Ryan Gridley (Mississippi State) delivered a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2. And Chatham likely didn’t feel too confident at that point. Brewster reliever Zac Lowther (Xavier) – the Friday starter for a regional squad – came on with one out in the seventh inning and struck out the first two batters he faced. Then he struck out two more in the eighth. When the dust settled and Lowther pitched a scoreless 10th to finish off the win, he had struck out nine of the 12 batters he faced in 3.2 one-hit, shutout innings. Quite a Cape League debut for Lowther, who ranks eighth in the league in strikeouts – after 3.2 innings. For Chatham, J.B. Bukauskas (North Carolina) struck out nine in five innings.

Wareham 6, Falmouth 5

The Gatemen held off a late push and stopped Falmouth’s four-game win streak with a 6-5 win at Spillane Field. K.J. Harrison (Oregon State) had two hits and an RBI to lead the Wareham offense. Joey Bartosic (George Washington) and Preston Grand Pre (California) each drove in a run and scored a run. Starter Jake Walters (Alabama) allowed one run in four innings. Cole Stapler (Nicholls State) got the win in relief, striking out six in three innings. Nick Sprengel (San Diego) gave up two runs in the top of the ninth but got out of a bases-loaded jam with the lead intact. Willie Burger (Penn State) led Falmouth with two hits and an RBI. Both teams are now 5-2.

Bourne 9, Orleans 5

The Braves raced to an 8-0 lead in the first two innings and stayed in front throughout as they improved to 6-1. They’ve also scored the most runs in the league with 49 in seven games. Connor McVey (Cincinnati) and Evan Mendoza (NC State) had two-run doubles to lead the charge in the first inning. McVey, Justin Yurchak (Binghamton) and David MacKinnon (Hartford) all had RBI in the four-run second inning. On the night, McVey and Yurchak finished with three hits each. Willy Yahn (Connecticut) and Connor Wong (Houston) had two apiece. Keith Weisenberg (Stanford) earned the win in relief for the Braves. James Ziemba (Duke) and Conner O’Neil (Cal State Northridge) combined for 3.2 scoreless innings after Weisenberg departed. Zach Kirtley (St. Mary’s) was a bright spot for Orleans with a grand slam in the third inning.

Y-D 3, Cotuit 2

Fresh off its first victory, Y-D made it two in a row in dramatic fashion. With the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Matthew Whatley (Oral Roberts) drew a one-out walk, took second on a wild pitch and scored the winning run on a walk-off single by Brendan Skidmore (Binghamton). Y-D, 0-5 just two days ago, is now 2-5 and only one game out of fourth place in the East. Cotuit fell to 1-6. The late heroics were part of a big day for Skidmore, who went 3-for-5 with a home run and drove in all three Y-D runs. Nolan Brown (TCU) – whose college team is in Omaha in a redshirt year for him – also had three hits for the Red Sox. Nathan Kuchta (San Diego) got the relief win for the Red Sox after Will Gaddis (Furman) allowed just an unearned run in seven innings. For Cotuit, Hagen Owenby (East Tennessee State) and Jordan Pearce (Nevada) knocked in runs.

What to Watch

Update: Apologies – was looking at the Sunday schedule somehow, so no Cotuit-Hyannis tonight.

June 14, 2016June 14, 2016

Anything you can do…

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.

June 7, 2016June 7, 2016

Braves looking to stay in contention

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