His Y-D teammate Walker Buehler takes the top spot for Baseball America after his brief regular-season stint and his dominant effort in the playoffs. Wareham’s Kyle Cody and Brewster’s Cody Ponce check in next, before the top two hitters, Brewster’s Gio Brusa and Harwich’s Ian Happ. Bickford ranks sixth.
Hyannis’ Marc Brakeman, Bourne’s Richard Martin Jr., Falmouth’s Kevin Newman and Harwich’s C.J. Hinojosa round out the top 10.
The full list:
1. Walker Buehler
2. Kyle Cody
3. Cody Ponce
4. Gio Brusa
5. Ian Happ
6. Phil Bickford
7. Marc Brakeman
8. Richard Martin Jr.
9. Kevin Newman
10. C.J. Hinojosa
11. Alex Young
12. Steven Duggar
13. Chris Shaw
14. Kyle Twomey
15. Eric Hanhold
16. Mikey White
17. Garrett Cleavinger
18. Joe McCarthy
19. Kevin Duchene
20. Zack Erwin
21. Josh Sborz
22. Kal Simmons
23. Kyri Washington
24. Garrett Williams
25. Justin Jacome
26. Kolton Mahoney
27. Ryan Perez
28. Rhett Wiseman
29. David Thompson
30. Andrew Stevenson
As always a few surprises from guys who show the flashes that scouts love, but don’t necessarily have great seasons, like Wareham’s Kyri Washington and Chatham’s Garrett Williams.
Good to see Kevin Newman cracking the top 10. He was not on this list last year, despite winning the batting title.
Gio Brusa had the production to match his tools this summer, and it sounds like it was a major step forward for him. He ends up as the top position player prospect.
It was a big year for shortstop prospects, with Martin, Newman, Hinojosa, Mikey White and Kal Simmons all on this list. I was a little surprised to not see David Fletcher on there somewhere.
A very quiet year for rising sophomores. Bickford – who is leaving Cal State Fullerton so that he can enter next year’s draft – and Garrett Williams are the only two on the list.
Ambidextrous Hyannis pitcher Ryan Perez clearly became much more than just a curiosity this summer. He ranks 27th on this list, although BA’s Aaron Fitt speculates that Perez may end up scrapping the two-way routine to become a lefty reliever.
The other prospect list you should be looking for is Perfect Game’s, which should be out in the next few weeks.
Marc Brakeman earned Summer All-America honors from Perfect Game.
Perfect Game’s wrap-up of summer collegiate baseball continued Tuesday with the release of its Summer All-Americans. The Cape League led the way among all summer leagues with 11 players on the three-team, 48-member squad. The Northwoods League checked in second with nine.
The Cape League honorees:
First Team
Conner Hale
Kevin Newman
Ian Happ
Kolton Mahoney
Marc Brakeman
Phil Bickford
Second Team
Chris Shaw
Alex Young
Third Team
Richard Martin, Jr.
Andrew Stevenson
Justin Jacome
Perfect Game also gave an honorable mention nod to Cotuit reliever Adam Whitt.
The list is fun to check out, not just for current Cape connections, but for potential future connections. Current rising sophomores will dominate the Cape League next summer, and PG’s All-Americans include 14 rising sophomores. I would expect to see many on the Cape.
The list: Pete Alonso, Jon DuPlantier, Troy Dixon, Sheldon Neuse, Vince Fernandez, Michael Echaria, Adam McGarity, Tyler Stubblefield, Jayson Yano, Granger Studdard, Jon Escobar, Matt Diorio, Gunnar McNeill, Ronnie Dawson.
The top standout from that class is Pete Alonso of Florida. After earning Freshman All-America honors this spring, Alonso tore up the Northwoods League, slashing .354/.419/.624 with 18 home runs on his way to league MVP honors. The home run total is tied for fourth in league history.
Texas A&M pitcher Tyler Stubblefield is another name to watch. He earned Pitcher of the Year honors in Alaska with a miniscule 1.05 ERA.
Steven Duggar was one of six Falmouth Commodores on the All-League squad.
This is a few days old, but in case you missed it, the Cape League released its All-League selections for the 2014 season. The team is below. Below that, a few notes.
First Base – A.J. Murray – Chatham – Georgia Tech
Second Base – Billy Fleming – Bourne – West Virginia
Shortstop – Kevin Newman – Falmouth – Arizona
Third Base – David Thompson – Orleans – Miami
Infield Utility – Richard Martin Jr. – Bourne – Florida
Outfield – Gio Brusa – Brewster – Pacific
Outfield – Donnie Dewees Jr. – Hyannis – North Florida
Outfield – Steven Duggar – Falmouth – Clemson
Outfield – Ian Happ – Harwich – Cincinnati
Outfield – Mark Laird – Bourne – LSU
Outfield – Andrew Stevenson – Y-D – LSU
DH – Conner Hale – Falmouth – LSU
DH – Chris Shaw – Chatham – Boston College
Catcher – Jameson Fisher – Cotuit – SE Louisiana
Catcher – Anthony Hermelyn – Harwich – Oklahoma
Pitcher – Michael Boyle – Harwich – Radford
Pitcher – Zack Erwin – Harwich – Clemson
Pitcher – Matt Hall – Falmouth – Missouri State
Pitcher – Jordan Hillyer – Chatham – Kennesaw State
Pitcher – Justin Jacome – Y-D – UC Santa Barbara
Pitcher – Ryan Kellogg – Bourne – Arizona State
Pitcher – Kolton Mahoney – Orleans – BYU
Pitcher – Kevin McCanna – Falmouth – Rice
Pitcher – Andrew Naderer – Brewster – Grand Canyon
Pitcher – Kyle Twomey – Orleans – USC
Closer – Phil Bickford – Y-D – Cal State Fullerton
Closer – Adam Whitt – Cotuit – Nevada
Utility – Jake Madsen – Falmouth – Ohio
NOTES
Kevin Newman and Ryan Kellog are your lone repeat honorees. The Arizona-Arizona State rivals had terrific Cape League careers.
For the second year in a row, Falmouth had the most All-League selections with six. Lot of talent at Guv Fuller Field the last two years.
Champion Y-D with only one position player on the team. I thought that might be unusual, but it’s actually the second year in a row. Cotuit had just one All-League hitter last year, Rhett Wiseman. In the case of both Y-D and Cotuit, it speaks to the ability to play one day at a time and find a way to win, without having the stars of stars.
Snubs? Jordan Tarsovich jumps out to me. Probably the league champ’s most consistent hitter, Tarsovich hit .322 with three homers. I think Y-D’s Rob Fonseca (.315, 4 HR’s) could have been there too. And Bourne’s Blake Davey tied for second in the league in extra-base hits. A couple more possibilities, but overall, solid work, I think.
LSU leads all schools with three selections: Andrew Stevenson, Conner Hale and Mark Laird.
Seven schools have an All-League pick for the second year in a row: Arizona, USC, Arizona State, West Virginia, Florida and . . . mighty Kennesaw State. With MVP Max Pentecost last year and standout pitcher Jordan Hillyer this year, the Owls are making some Cape League noise.
How about schools that have an All-League pick for three years running? Nada. I was shocked by that.
In a series absolutely dominated by starting pitching, the Y-D Red Sox had a pair of aces up their sleeve.
After second-seeded Orleans won the first game of the East semis behind a 13-strikeout shutout from Kolton Mahoney, Y-D starting pitchers Walker Buehler (Vanderbilt) and Kevin Duchene (Illinois) allowed a total of three hits in more than 14 innings of scoreless baseball as the Red Sox rallied to win the series. Duchene struck out 12 last night, and Y-D made a second inning squeeze play stand up in a 1-0 victory.
That’s pretty remarkable stuff. In the entirety of last year’s Cape Cod Baseball League postseason, there were three shutouts. Y-D and Orleans authored three in three games, all by themselves. (Falmouth and Harwich have gotten in on the act, too, bringing the total so far this summer to five shutouts).
Last night’s performance was perhaps the best of all.
Duchene was a big part of Y-D’s late-season surge, a surge marked by tremendous starting pitching. But he also blinked in his last regular-season start, giving up five runs in five innings.
Last night, he allowed a single to David Thompson (Miami) with two outs in the first inning and didn’t give up another hit. He walked only two.
His team gave him the lead in the second. Jordan Tarsovich (VMI) reached on a fielder’s choice and took third on a Joey Armstrong (UNLV) single. Josh Lester (Missouri), one of the team’s top RBI men who you’d expect to swing away, put down a perfect squeeze bunt to score Tarsovich.
Armed with the lead, Duchene struck out the side in the bottom of the second inning before getting into a little trouble in the third when he loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batsman. But he escaped with a strikeout.
That K was the beginning as Duchene retired the next 14 batters he faced, seven of them via the strikeout.
After getting the first out in the eighth, with his pitch count at 103, Duchene was lifted for standout closer Phil Bickford (Cal State Fullerton), who picked up where his starter left off. Bickford struck out two and gave up one hit in 1.2 innings. Fittingly, he struck out the last batter he faced to clinch the series win.
Y-D will move on to face top-seeded Harwich in the East finals. The two last met in the finals in 2011, when Harwich won on its way to the Cape League championship.
Here Come the Kettles
The defending champs are on another run.
Cotuit scored early and got some of its best pitching of the season last night as it edged top-seeded Bourne 4-2 for a spot in the West finals.
Last year, the Kettleers got hot in the playoffs, but there was at least some sign that it was coming. They were the third seed but they went 25-18-1 and finished just one point out of a first-place tie between Hyannis and Falmouth.
This year? Try the opposite: 18-25-1. They were 18 points out of first place.
But here they go.
Jake Harper of Division II St. Joseph’s College in Indiana played the familiar role of conquering Cotuit hero who spent most of his summer somewhere else. Harper won the Pitcher of the Year award in the Valley League this summer, and when your season ends after you win an award like that, you’re usually ready to call it a summer. Harper came to the Cape and pitched in one regular season game, then made an appearance out of the bullpen in game one against Bourne.
Last night, he started and allowed just one earned run in 6.1 innings. He didn’t strike out a batter but scattered six hits.
The Kettleers built a lead with one run in the first, two in the second and one in the fourth. Kyle Holder (San Diego) had two RBI, and Cotuit scored three unearned runs thanks to four Bourne errors.
Harper gave way to Austin Sexton (Mississippi State), who walked the first batter he faced. Immediately, Cotuit went to Adam Whitt (Nevada), the Cape League’s most outstanding reliever, and he did the job. Whitt struck out four and didn’t allow a hit in closing out the game with 2.2 scoreless innings. Whitt had gone two innings for the save in Friday’s win and, at this point, may be Cotuit’s single most valuable player.
The loss ended a terrific summer for the Braves, who set a franchise record for wins in the regular season and had a really good, consistent group.
Like so many teams the past two years, they just ran into the streaking Kettleers. Cotuit beat Bourne in the West finals last year.
Cotuit advances to play Falmouth, which is another rematch of last year. Cotuit beat Falmouth in the West semis a year ago.
What to Watch
Y-D at Harwich, 5:30 p.m.
Cotuit at Falmouth, 5:30 p.m.
Pitching has been fantastic so far and there might be more of it tonight. Michael Murray (Florida Gulf Coast) and Robby Kalaf (Florida International) square off in Harwich. Alex Young (TCU), who’s been terrific after a late arrival, will go for Falmouth. Cotuit’s starter is TBA.
Kolton Mahoney’s 13 strikeouts were the most in a CCBL playoff game since 2006.
Three pitchers tied for the league lead in strikeouts this season, and all three took the ball for their teams in game one of the playoffs Wednesday night.
The strikeout king emerged.
Kolton Mahoney (BYU) struck out 13 in seven scoreless innings as Orleans blanked Y-D 3-0 to take a 1-0 lead in its East semifinal series. The 13 K’s are the most in a Cape League playoff game since 2006, when Riley Boening fanned 14 for Wareham. There have been double-digit performances since, but never more than a dozen. (The list of double-digit guys includes Chris Sale, J.J .Hoover, Mark Appel and Kyle Freeland. Good company.)
Mahoney, who was presented with the league’s Outstanding Pitcher Award before the game, was tagged for four unearned runs in his final regular-season start, but he wasn’t tagged for much of anything on Wednesday. He allowed four hits – all singles – and struck out the side twice.
In the regular season, the Red Sox finished with the second fewest strikeouts in the league, but they had faced Mahoney twice and struck out 19 times total, including his previous season-high of 11.
When Mahoney gave way to the bullpen, the onslaught continued. Bobby Poyner (Florida) struck out the side in the eighth and Reilly Hovis (North Carolina) punched out two in the ninth. That’s 18 strikeouts, of 27 outs recorded.
For much of the game, Mahoney was locked in a pitcher’s duel with Y-D ace Justin Jacome (UC Santa Barbara). The game was scoreless until the seventh, when Jerry McClanahan (UC Irvine) cracked a two-run single to give Orleans the lead. An error in the eighth allowed the third run to score.
The win was Orleans’ first playoff victory over Y-D since 2002. They haven’t matched up a ton since then, but Y-D had swept the last two series with the Firebirds.
Falmouth 3, Hyannis 0
The other two strikeout leaders squared off, and Falmouth’s pitching was a little better in a shutout of Hyannis. Matt Hall (Missouri State) went six scoreless innings, scattering five hits while striking out one. Ryan Moseley (Texas Tech) and Matt Eckelman (St. Louis) finished off the shutout. Marc Brakeman (Stanford), who hadn’t allowed a run in his last two starts, was touched up for just an unearned run in six innings, as Falmouth took a 1-0 lead on an error in the second. Falmouth added a run on a Conner Hale (LSU) home run and a Jake Madsen (Ohio) RBI single in the eighth. Madsen finished with three hits, while Steven Duggar (Clemson) and Cameron O’Brien (West Virginia) had two each.
Harwich 7, Brewster 2
In a game that didn’t begin until 9 p.m. thanks to field work after a storm, Harwich busted out quickly with three runs in the first and never looked back. Skye Bolt (North Carolina) went 2-for-4 with a home run and Ian Happ (Cincinnati) went 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBI to lead a 10-hit attack. Joe McCarthy (Virginia) added three hits. Zack Erwin (Clemson) struck out seven and gave up just two runs in six innings for the win. Seth McGarry (Florida Atlantic) was terrific in relief, striking out every batter he faced in two innings. Ronnie Glenn (Penn) struck out two more in a scoreless ninth. Brewster, which was again playing short-handed, got a home run from Luke Lowery (East Carolina) but not much else.
Cotuit at Bourne, PPD
The rain that threatened the other games completely washed out the match-up at Doran Park. The series is now set to get underway tonight at 6 p.m., back at Doran Park.
Newman takes MVP honor
In a bit of non-playoff news, Falmouth’s Kevin Newman was presented with his batting title trophy on Wednesday – and then with the MVP award. The only two-time batting champ in Cape League history also now becomes the first player to win the batting title and the MVP honor in the same season since Falmouth’s Conor Gillaspie in 2007. I was a little surprised that Newman won the MVP, since he wasn’t a big power guy (eight extra-base hits), but he was second in the league in OBP, near the top in OPS and top 15 in RBI. Plus, without a completely obvious choice behind him, I don’t have a problem with giving it to the guy who made history.
What to Watch
Orleans at Y-D, 4 p.m.
Harwich at Brewster, 4 p.m.
Falmouth at Hyannis, 6 p.m.
Cotuit at Bourne, 6 p.m.
Orleans will try for the sweep of Y-D but will have to go through a very good pitcher as Y-D is slated to give the ball to Walker Buehler. The Vanderbilt righty has had quite a summer, starting with a College World Series title. He then pitched two very good games for Y-D before a brief stint with Team USA. Back on the Cape now, he carries a 1.35 ERA into today’s game. Orleans will counter with Eric Hanhold (Florida). He has a 3.42 ERA and gave up five runs in his last start – against Y-D.
Kevin McCanna (Rice) made some good starts for Falmouth last year but allowed at least three runs in each of his last four starts, including seven runs in his season finale. He left the Cape with an ERA north of six.
Fresh off a good year in Houston, McCanna returned to Falmouth this year and got off to a strong start, but on July 8, he hit that unlucky seven again. McCanna surrendered seven runs in an 11-8 loss to Hyannis.
Last year, he never got a chance to rebound from his seven-run showing. This time, he did.
And he has.
Since that loss to Hyannis, McCanna has gone three consecutive starts without allowing a single run, a string that continued last night as Falmouth knocked off first-place Bourne 5-3.
He’s gone from poor finish last year to as good a finish as you could ask for in 2014. McCanna now has a 2.47 ERA and, with victories in each of his three scoreless outings, he now leads the league in wins with six.
Last night, McCanna’s performance helped Falmouth get within one game of Bourne for the top spot in the West. McCanna struck out four, walked three and scattered six hits in five scoreless innings. He found himself in trouble on a number of occasions, but wiggled out, stranding the bases loaded in the first and third innings.
His offense backed him with a 13-hit attack. Shaun Chase (Oregon) hit his fifth homer, Steven Duggar (Clemson) had three hits and Kevin Newman (Arizona) went 2-for-5 with two RBI. Four relievers followed McCanna to the mound, with Matt Eckelman (St. Louis) getting a save to finish off the victory.
Falmouth has won four of five and has now won the season series with Bourne, taking four of six. With four games left, it’ll be a sprint to the finish line as they chase the top seed.
Harwich 6, Orleans 3
The Mariners regained sole possession of first place in the East with a 6-3 victory over Orleans and a Y-D loss to Chatham. Jon Harris (Missouri State) was solid on the mound for the Mariners, allowing three runs in 5.1 innings, and Johnathan Frebis (Middle Tennessee State) pitched 3.2 scoreless innings to finish it off. It was the third save for Frebis, who has turned in seven scoreless outings in 10 total appearances. Harwich did their damage against Orleans ace Kolton Mahoney (BYU). Mahoney only allowed two earned runs but three errors behind him led to six runs total. Mahoney had not allowed more than four runs in any start this year. Joe McCarthy (Virginia) led the Harwich offense with two hits and three RBI. Matt Gonzalez (Georgia Tech) added two RBI.
Chatham 6, Y-D 5
Chatham cannot rise any higher than the fourth seed in the East, but the Anglers must take care of business to be assured of that spot and they took a step in the right direction by holding off Y-D. Jordan Hillyer (Kennesaw State) got the win with 5.2 solid innings, and Kyle Davis (USC) kept a Y-D rally from getting off the ground for his fifth save. Nicholas Sciortino (Boston College), a reinforcement making his first appearance of the summer, went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Chris Shaw (Boston College) and Bryant Burleson (Texas Tech) added two hits and an RBI apiece. Chatham touched up Y-D starter Kevin Duchene (Illinois) for five runs in five innings. He had allowed two runs or fewer in four straight starts.
Cotuit 12, Hyannis 10
In the first of two meetings on consecutive days, Cotuit out-slugged Hyannis and moved within a point of the Harbor Hawks for third place in the West. The game was tied 10-10 heading into the top of the ninth, where Cotuit’s Jackson Glines (Michigan) knocked a two-run single to give his team the lead. That was all standout reliever Adam Whitt (Nevada) needed. The league’s ERA leader struck out two in a perfect ninth to seal the victory for Cotuit. Logan Taylor (Texas A&M) had four hits and scored three runs from the leadoff spot for the Kettleers. Drew Jackson (Stanford) added three hits, while Glines and Kyle Holder (San Diego) had two each. For Hyannis, Carl Wise (College of Charleston) had five RBI in the losing effort.
Wareham 6, Brewster 6
The two teams trying to sneak into their respective last playoff spots both helped themselves a bit as Wareham and Brewster played to a 6-6 tie after darkness ended the game in the 10th. Blake Lacey (USC) had three hits and Nick Halamandaris (California) had two RBI for the Gatemen, who scored two in the top of the ninth to force the tie. John Sansone (Florida State) drove in two runs for Brewster. Jason Richman (Georgia Southern) kept Brewster off the board with 3.1 scoreless innings of relief for Wareham. The Gatemen are seven points out of a playoff spot with four games to play. Brewster is five games out in the East.
What to Watch
Playoff implications in a lot of games. Keep an eye on two match-ups in the West. Bourne will play Orleans as it tries to hold onto first place, while Falmouth hosts Wareham as it tries to catch the Braves. The Falmouth-Wareham match-up features a good pitching match-up, with Kyle Cody (Kentucky) starting for the Gatemen against Alex Young (TCU).
Gio Brusa and Brewster are four points out of a playoff spot.
With the All-Star Game in the books, the Cape League now very quickly hits its stretch run, with just six days of games before the playoffs begin next Tuesday. While much of the playoff picture is already secure, at least on who will be in it, the first day of the stretch run offered a sign that there may still be some drama for the final spots.
Brewster beat Chatham 12-8 last night to get within four points of the Anglers for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East. And in the West, Wareham inched closer to fourth-place Cotuit with a 3-2 victory over Harwich. The Gatemen are now six points back.
Brewster has now won two straight going back to before the All-Star Game. It beat red-hot Y-D 13-3 and made it 25 runs in two games with the win over Chatham.
Luke Lowery (East Carolina) hit his fifth home run of the summer and knocked in two runs, while John Sansone (Florida State) homered for the second time in the last 10 days. Andrew Lee (Tennessee) added three RBI while Braden Bishop (Washington) went 3-for-3 with two RBI. Scott Kingery (Arizona), one of the hottest hitters in the league, had his ninth multi-hit game in his last 14 games. On the mound, Cody Ponce (Cal Poly Pomona) followed up his eye-catching All-Star Game performance with five solid innings. He struck out six and allowed four runs.
A.J. Murray (Georgia Tech) hit his sixth home run for Chatham, but Brewster had too much with 10 runs in the first five innings.
Wareham hosted East-leading Harwich and got one of its best pitching performances of the summer in a 3-2 victory. Liam O’Sullivan (St. Leo), who was making just his second start after opening the season in the bullpen, went eight innings and allowed just the two runs. He struck out three and scattered five hits. Sean Adler (USC) pitched a scoreless ninth for the save.
O’Sullivan was almost the hard-luck loser, as Harwich took a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth inning on an Ian Happ (Cincinnati) two-run triple. But Wareham answered right back with two runs in the bottom half. Facing Harwich starter Zack Erwin (Clemson), who struck out eight in 5.2 innings, Nick Halamandaris (California), Kyri Washington (Longwood) and Danny Rosenbaum (Louisville) all singled. John Bormann (Texas-San Antonio) followed with a two-run single to give Wareham all the runs it would need.
Hyannis 7, Falmouth 4
Hyannis moved to the verge of clinching a playoff spot with a victory over Falmouth, and they can thank their new ace for setting them on the right path. Marc Brakeman (Stanford), who opened the season in the bullpen, has won two straight starts in dominant fashion. After striking out 11 in six scoreless in his last start, Brakeman struck out nine and went six shutout innings again. He scattered six hits and is now tied for the league lead in strikeouts with 47. He has also walked just seven batters all summer. After Falmouth made a late charge against the Hyannis bullpen, Ian Gibaut (Tulane) closed the door for his second save. Donnie Dewees (North Florida) had three hits to lead the Hyannis offense, while Sam Haggerty (New Mexico) drove in two runs. For Falmouth, Conner Hale (LSU) had three RBI and is tied for the league lead.
Y-D 5, Orleans 3
We’re back to a three-way tie atop the East standings after Harwich’s loss and another Y-D victory over Orleans. The Red Sox also beat Orleans last Friday. This time, Cody Poteet (UCLA) – making his final start of the summer – turned in one last gem with eight strong innings. He struck out eight, scattered seven hits and surrendered three runs. Phil Bickford (Cal State Fullerton) pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save and his fifth consecutive scoreless outing. The Y-D offense backed the strong pitching with two hits and two RBI each for Nico Giarratano (San Francisco) and Josh Lester (Missouri). A.J. Simcox (Tennessee) added three hits.
Bourne 7, Cotuit 1
Bourne snapped a three-game skid and increased its lead in the West to four points with a win over Cotuit. The game was scoreless until the fifth, when Bourne pushed a run across and never looked back. It scored two in the seventh and four in the eighth to pull away. Mark Laird (LSU) went 3-for-5 with an inside-the-park home run and four RBI. Richard Martin Jr. (Florida) added three hits, while Brett Sullivan (Pacific), Blake Davey (Connecticut) and Blake Allemand (Texas A&M) had two hits each. Andrew Sopko (Gonzaga) went five scoreless innings for the win. Lucas Laster (Mississippi State) and John Kuzia (St. John’s) closed it out. For Cotuit, Vincent Fiori (South Carolina) gave up three runs in six innings.
What to Watch
It seems like the third or fourth one in the last week, but we have yet another first-place showdown in the East as Harwich visits Orleans. It should be a good pitching match-up, too, with Jon Harris (Missouri State) going for Harwich against Orleans ace Kolton Mahoney (BYU).
Orleans celebrates a run in one of its victories over Harwich.
The Harwich Mariners have been in first place in the Cape League’s Eastern Division since the opening night play ball, partly because they’ve cruised through a lot of their competition in the East. Harwich is 6-0 against Chatham, Brewster and Yarmouth-Dennis.
But Orleans is just a game back of Harwich, as close as anyone’s been in a while, and there’s a reason for that too. While Harwich is unbeaten against three of its division rivals, it’s winless against the fourth. Orleans moved to 3-0 against Harwich this season with a 3-1 victory on Saturday night.
The teams didn’t have their first meeting this year until two weeks in, when Orleans won 7-5 thanks to two David Thompson (Miami) home runs. Four days later, Orleans pounded 17 hits in a rare poor performance by a Harwich starting pitcher and won 15-8.
On Saturday, after the washed-out Fourth of July, Orleans sent budding ace Kolton Mahoney (BYU) to the hill and set the course for another victory. Mahoney, the league’s strikeout leader, went five scoreless innings, allowing just two singles and striking out four to pick up the win. He’s now tied for the league lead in wins, leads in strikeouts and ranks fourth in ERA.
Orleans gave him a lead with a run in the fourth and two in the fifth off Harwich starter Jason Inghram (William & Mary), who came in with a 2.35 ERA. Johnny Sewald (Arizona), David Fletcher (Loyola Marymount) and Thompson each knocked in a run. Cole Peragine (Stony Brook) added two hits. Mitchell Tolman (Oregon) went 1-for-4 and continued the league lead in on-base percentage at .509. He has reached base in every game he’s played this summer.
Armed with a lead, the Orleans bullpen cruised through the last four innings, allowing four hits in that span. Harwich didn’t have an extra-base hit in the game. Sam Moore (UC Irvine), the NCAA saves leader this year, made his fourth appearance since arriving from Omaha, and picked up his first Cape League save.
Jacob Evans (Oklahoma) was a bright spot for Harwich, striking out six in four scoreless innings of relief. He has not allowed a run in 16 innings of relief this summer.
But this night belonged to Orleans. The Firebirds are now 12-9, one game back of Harwich.
Bourne 5, Y-D 0
While Harwich went down, Bourne shut out Y-D to reclaim the best record in the league label. Travis Bergen (Kennesaw State) struck out six and allowed just two singles in six scoreless innings. Bergen had been touched up for five runs in his last start. Dylan Nelson (Radford) and Joey Strain (Winthrop) followed him to the hill and finished off the shutout. The Braves offense backed Bergen with four early runs. Richard Martin Jr. (Florida) hit his first home run of the summer while Gavin Collins (Mississippi State) had two hits. Blake Davey (Connecticut), Brett Sullivan (Pacific) and Stephen Wrenn (Georgia) drove in one run apiece. Bourne has won three in a row after dropping three straight before that.
Falmouth 14, Hyannis 3
Much like Orleans and Harwich, Falmouth has had Hyannis’ number. The Commodores picked up their third win in 10 days against the Harbor Hawks with their most lopsided victory of the season. They led 6-1 in the eighth when they exploded for eight runs to pull away. Austin Afenir (Oral Roberts) led the attack with a 4-for-4, two RBI night, and Sam Gillikin (Auburn) added three hits. Ten different players had at least one RBI. Alex Young (TCU), who had a great spring as a reliever in Fort Worth, made his first Cape League start and allowed just one run in five innings. Three relievers tossed scoreless innings, with Nicholas Cooney (Wesleyan) striking out the side in his stint. Hyannis has lost five in a row, and Falmouth is now ahead of the Harbor Hawks for second place in the West.
Chatham 7, Brewster 2
The Anglers kept pace in the tightening East race with a 7-2 victory over Brewster. Chatham is now 11-9-1, one point back of Orleans for second. Ty Moore (UCLA) homered to lead the offense, while Nick Collins (Georgetown) went 3-for-4 and Kevin Fagan (Stetson) drove in three runs. A.J. Murray (Georgia Tech) went 1-for-4 and now owns a 10-game hitting streak. On the mound for Chatham, Max Tishman (Wake Forest) turned in another solid performance, scattering eight hits and allowing one run in six innings of work. Tishman, who leads the Anglers in innings pitched, has a 2.14 ERA.
Wareham 7, Cotuit 3
Kyle Cody (Kentucky) followed up a dominant start with a very good one, striking out nine and giving up three runs in eight innings as Wareham topped Cotuit. Cody struck out six in seven scoreless innings in his last start. Cotuit touched him up for three early runs this time, but he was back to dominance after that, allowing just two hits from the fourth inning on. Scott Effross (Indiana) pitched a scoreless ninth to finish off the win. The Wareham offense got two RBI from Willie Calhoun (Arizona) and two hits and an RBI from Kramer Robertson (LSU).
What to Watch
First-place Bourne and a hot Falmouth team will meet at Doran Park at 6 p.m. Andrew Sopko (Gonzaga), who’s been strong all summer, makes his fourth start for Bourne. Falmouth trots out Ryan Moseley (Texas Tech), who allowed three runs in his only start of the summer.
Nick Halamandaris makes a play at first earlier this season.
Pitchers have certainly held their own in the Cape League this season, but there haven’t been a ton of dominant performances. Before Saturday’s games, the league’s strikeout leader was a relief pitcher.
But on opposite ends of the Cape Saturday, two pitchers added a little dominance to the equation.
In Falmouth, Wareham’s Kyle Cody (Kentucky) struck out six in seven shutout innings as the Gatemen beat Falmouth 4-0. In Orleans, Kolton Mahoney (BYU) struck out 11 in six innings as the Firebirds beat Y-D 6-3.
Scouts and people who have seen Cody in the past have been waiting for a performance like this. Despite the fact that he pitched only nine innings for Wareham last summer, Perfect Game still picked him as the Cape League’s 30th-best prospect.
The 6-foot-7 righty had pitched 4.1 innings this summer, but broke out with the big performance on Saturday. He allowed three singles, walked one and threw 67 of 91 pitches for strikes.
Scott Effross (Indiana) followed him to the hill and followed suit, striking out four in two scoreless innings to finish off the shutout. The Wareham offense got RBI from Jake Little (Memphis) and Nick Halamandaris (California).
In Orleans, Mahoney has been strong all summer, having gone six scoreless innings in his last start. The 23rd-round pick this year also tossed a no-hitter for BYU this spring.
Last night, he allowed one hit through five scoreless innings before Jordan Tarsovich (VMI) smacked a game-tying, three-run home run in the sixth. But after the home run, Mahoney struck out the final two batters he faced and his offense rallied immediately with a run in the bottom of the sixth to put him in line for the win. The 11 strikeouts put Mahoney in the league lead with 24 on the year.
Kyle Twomey (USC) and Jacob Cronenworth (Michigan) relieved Mahoney and finished off the victory. Edwin Rios (Florida International) and Bobby Dalbec (Arizona) both homered to lead the Firebirds offense.
Cotuit 3, Harwich 1
Cotuit also got a pretty good pitching performance as Logan James (Stanford) allowed one run in five innings with six strikeouts. Adam Whitt (Nevada), who’s been one of the best relievers in the league, struck out seven batters in just 2.2 innings. Jeff Kinley (Michigan State) picked up a save with 1.1 scoreless innings. The Kettleers got an RBI each from Jake Fincher (NC State) and Jeremy Taylor (East Tennessee State). The Kettleers have won two in a row and are now at .500 with an 8-8 mark.
Hyannis 6, Bourne 2
The Harbor Hawks got solid pitching, steady offense and five stolen bases in a victory over West-leading Bourne. The Harbor Hawks are now 10-6, just one game back of the Braves. Blake Hickman (Iowa) allowed two runs and struck out four in five innings. He left with the lead, and reliever Marcus Brakeman (Stanford) kept it thanks to four scoreless frames. David Houser (Tennessee) led the offense with two hits and three RBI. Austin Slater (Stanford) also had two hits. For Bourne, Harrison Bader (Florida) homered.
Brewster 5, Chatham 4
Wade Wass (Alabama) hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to give Brewster its first lead of the game, and the Whitecaps held on from there to win 5-4. The homer was part of a three-hit, four RBI night for Wass, who was batting just .179 coming into the game. Braden Bishop (Washington) and Kevin Martir (Maryland) added two hits each for the Whitecaps. Andrew Naderer (Grand Canyon) struck out five in in three innings of relief and Evan Hill (Michigan) pitched a scoreless ninth.
What to Watch
Orleans, winners of three straight, is now in second place in the East and will visit first-place Harwich tonight at 5:30 p.m. Bobby Poyner (Florida) starts for Orleans, with Jared Poche’ (LSU) going for Harwich.
On paper, it looked like the Orleans Firebirds had the best pitching in the league coming into the 2014 season. Some of their best – Virginia’s Nathan Kirby and Josh Sborz and Vanderbilt’s Tyler Ferguson – are in Omaha, but that hasn’t slowed the Firebirds down too much.
Orleans has won five games this summer, and four have been shutouts.
No. 4 was authored last night by Kolton Mahoney (BYU) and Ryne Combs (Kentucky) in a 7-0 victory over Wareham.
The Gatemen were riding a string of four straight games with double-digit hits, but Mahoney and Combs didn’t let them come even close to their fifth in a row. They combined to allow five hits and all were singles.
Mahoney, who threw a no-hitter for BYU this spring, was a draft-eligible sophomore this year and was selected by the Brewers in the 23rd round. He’s certainly catching their attention on the Cape, where he’s allowed four hits and no runs in 10 innings of work.
Mahoney’s previous outing was a four-inning relief stint in another shutout. Making his first start Saturday, he went six innings and allowed just two hits while striking out six. He allowed single in the second, an infield single in the sixth and nothing else. He’s now tied for the league lead in strikeouts.
Combs finished it off. The Kentucky reliever allowed three hits in three scoreless innings.
Orleans also had plenty of offense. Johnny Sewald (Arizona) went 3-for-5 with an RBI at the top of the lineup. Mitchell Tolman (Oregon) drove in two and David Thompson (Miami) had two hits and an RBI.
Orleans improved to 5-5 while Wareham dropped to 3-7.
Bourne 4, Harwich 2
Bourne beat Harwich for the second night in a row, and in doing so, created a tie for the best record in the league. Both teams are now 7-3. Samuel Kmiec (Winthrop) turned in six good innings for the Braves, allowing two runs and striking out six. Brett Morales (Florida) and John Gorman (Boston College) combined on three hitless innings of relief. Gorman picked up his third save, which is tied for the best in the league. The Braves offense, though it only scored four runs, smacked 13 hits. Richard Martin Jr. (Florida) went 3-for-5, while Mark Laird (LSU), Billy Fleming (West Virginia), Blake Davey (Connecticut) and Brett Sullivan (Pacific) had two hits each.
Y-D 9, Cotuit 1
The Red Sox handed Cotuit its fourth straight loss in a 9-1 victory. Andrew Stevenson (LSU) and Vincent Jackson (Tennessee) homered for the Red Sox as they hit a season-high in runs. Rob Fonseca (Northeastern) went 3-for-3 and A.J. Simcox (Tennessee) had two hits. On the mound, Justin Jacome (UC Santa Barbara) scattered eight hits in 5.2 scoreless innings for the win. Cotuit got three hits from Kyle Holder (San Diego).
Chatham 6, Falmouth 2
Max Tishman (Wake Forest) gave Chatham its best starting pitching performance of the season and the Anglers ran with it in a 6-2 victory over Falmouth. Tishman didn’t allow a run in 5.1 innings, striking out three and working around four hits. Michael Wallace (Fairfield) pitched 3.2 innings for the save. Patrick Mazeika (Stetson) hit the team’s second home run of the season while Ty Moore (UCLA) drove in two runs.
Hyannis 4, Brewster 1
The Harbor Hawks overcame a solid start from Brewster’s Andrew Lee (Tennessee) and got a good start themselves from Jordan Minch (Purdue) in a 4-1 victory. Minch allowed one run and struck out six in six innings. Lance Thonvold (Minnesota) went three scoreless for his third save. Lee gave up two runs in five innings, and the Harbor Hawks added to their lead once he departed. Donnie Dewees Jr. (North Florida) had a double, a triple and two RBI while Dylan Bosheers (Tennessee Tech) had two hits. Mikey White (Alabama) homered for Brewster.
What to Watch
Another set of Sunday doubleheaders are on tap today. The best one may be in Hyannis, where two second-place teams – Orleans and Hyannis – square off.
