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Shut down

Zach Schellenger, pictured last summer, struck out four batters in one inning in his 2016 debut as Harwich shut out Falmouth.
Zach Schellenger, pictured last summer, struck out four batters in one inning in his 2016 debut as Harwich shut out Falmouth.

 
The first shutouts of the 2016 Cape League season were authored by a pair of teams that stayed perfect in the process.

Three Wareham pitchers combined to hold down Cotuit in an 8-0 win Sunday while three Harwich pitchers did the same against Falmouth in a 3-0 win. The Gatemen improved to 2-0, while Harwich is the only 3-0 team in the league.

The Gatemen shutout was the more impressive of the two. Cotuit got an infield single from Jake Bivens (Michigan) in the second inning and literally nothing else. Bivens was caught stealing and Wareham pitchers retired 23 in a row from there – no hits, no walks, no errors. And because Bivens was caught stealing, Gatemen pitchers faced the minimum for the full nine innings.

Jake Walters (Alabama), the best starter for the Crimson Tide this spring, went three innings with a strikeout. Reliever Cole Stapler (Nicholls State) fanned three in five perfect innings and Nick Sprengel (San Diego) tossed a perfect ninth to finish it off.

Wareham’s hitters provided plenty of backing, with Colton Shaver (BYU) leading the way. Coming off a big spring, he homered for the second time in as many games and went 4-for-4 with four RBI. Joey Bartosic (George Washington) knocked in two and Trevor Ezell (Southeast Missouri State) had three hits and two runs scored.

Cotuit’s Matt Ladrech (California) allowed only one earned run in six innings, but the Gatemen tallied two unearned then broke the game open with four runs against the Kettleer bullpen.

Over in Falmouth, Harwich pitchers scattered seven hits but didn’t let a runner come home. Shane McCarthy (Seton Hall) went six innings and struck out five. Teddy Rodliff (Stony Brook) struck out three in two innings, and Zach Schellenger (Seton Hall) out-did even his big K-rate from the spring by fanning four in one inning (the first batter of the ninth reached on a dropped third strike).

Harwich had only four hits, but three unearned runs in the sixth inning were plenty. Trey Harris (Missouri) had an RBI single and two other runs scored on an error.
 

Bourne 5, Hyannis 4

The Braves have had a flair for the dramatic so far this season. After a walk-off win on opening night, they edged Hyannis with a run in the top of the 10th Sunday. Toby Handley (Stony Brook) had an RBI single to plate the 10th-inning go-ahead run and Conner O’Neil (Cal State Northridge) pitched around a double in the bottom half to close out the win. Handley was one of four Braves to notch a multi-hit game. Conner McVey (Cincinnati) went 3-for-5 with an RBI while Willy Yahn (Connecticut) and Connor Wong (Houston) had two hits apiece. Starter A.J. Moore (Kennesaw State) struck out seven in five innings for Bourne. Hyannis was let by Carl Stajduhar (New Mexico). The Mountain West Conference Player of the Year went 2-for-4 with three RBI and his first Cape home run. The blast tied the game in the eighth. Bourne improved to 2-0. Hyannis is 0-3.

Chatham 3, Orleans 2

The Anglers broke a 1-1 tie with two runs in the eighth and held off Orleans in the ninth for a 3-2 win at Veterans Field. Patrick Mathis (Texas) delivered the big hit in the eighth, a two-run triple that snapped the tie. Orleans loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth, but Chatham sacrificed a run for a double play then got a groundout to end the game. Isaac Mattson (Pittsburgh) was credited with the win in relief and Michael Fitzgerald (Northeastern) the save. Joseph Freiday (Virginia Tech) had the other RBI for the Anglers. Chris Triano (Keystone College) led Orleans with three hits. Both teams are 1-1.

Brewster 11, Y-D 6

The Whitecaps scored all their runs in the first five innings and coasted to their first victory of the season. Ryan Noda (Cincinnati) – who hit three home runs for Y-D last summer – hurt his former team with his second blast of the 2016 campaign. Logan Warmoth (North Carolina) added two hits and three RBI, while Nick Dunn (Maryland) had two hits and three runs scored. Aaron Soto (Tennessee) surrendered three earned runs in five innings for the win. Y-D was led by Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Deon Stafford (St. Joseph’s), who hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning.

What to Watch

A full slate of games is on tap for your Monday. Harwich will try to go to 4-0 as it hosts Y-D at Whitehouse Field, with West Virginia’s B.J. Myers on the hill.
 

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Kettleers eager to get going

cotuit
 
It was a hard off-season in Cotuit with the passing of Arnold Mycock and coach Mike Roberts’ wife, Nancy. It’s a good bet everyone is eager for some Kettleers baseball.
 

FIVE TO WATCH

1. Jeren Kendall
2. Jake Bivens
3. Alonzo Jones
4. Matt Ruppenthal
5. Colton Hock
 

NOTABLE

  • Jeren Kendall was poised to be one of the top returning players in the league but he has been invited to Team USA, so it remains to be seen whether he spends any time at Lowell Park. If he does, he’s certainly the guy to watch after his huge sophomore season.

  • Kendall’s Vandy teammate Alonzo Jones might be able to do a pretty fair impersonation. A year younger, he has pop and speed.

  • Cotuit’s online roster doesn’t include players on temporary contracts, but we’ll mention one here — East Tennessee State catcher Hagen Owenby hit .374 with 17 homers this spring and seems a safe bet to stick around all summer.

  • The Kettleers have three freshmen who were hearing a lot of draft buzz this time last year. They had varying results in their first years of college, though. Jason Bilous was solid for Coastal Carolina, but UCLA’s Justin Hooper and Mississippi State’s Jared Padgett saw limited action.

  • Stanford’s Colton Hock and Quinn Brodey were standouts for the NECBL’s Newport Gulls last year and are slated to be together again in Cotuit. Hock had a great spring in the Cardinal bullpen. Brodey – a two-way player in the past – honed in on the bat this spring.

  • Are any Mississippi State players not coming to the Cape? Cotuit has two, and I think every Cape team I’ve previewed so far has at least one, or sometimes four.

  • A pair of Mountain West Conference standouts in 2015 will be in Cotuit before starting a new chapter next year. Cory Voss and Cal Stevenson are both transferring to Arizona. Voss went the junior college route this year while Stevenson sat out the season at Arizona. Both are in Cotuit while their future Wildcat teammates head to a Super Regional.

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    PITCHERS

    Jason Bilous – FR – Coastal Carolina – 29th round pick last year had 4.04 ERA, struck out 45 in 42 innings in first season at Coastal
    Colton Hock – SO – Stanford – Had big 2015 with NECBL’s Newport Gulls and put up 2.03 ERA, 6 saves, 61 Ks in 57.2 IP this spring
    Bobby Holmes – SO – Coastal Carolina – Started six games and saved three, with lots of relief work in between and fanned 66 in 69.2 IP
    Justin Hooper – FR – UCLA – Six-foot-five lefty was highly-touted recruit, but pitched only eight innings of the bullpen this spring
    Tyler Johnson – SO – South Carolina – One of three Gamecocks with saves, he owns 9 to go with 55 Ks and just 8 walks in 50 IP
    Matt Ladrech – SO – California – Solid numbers in two years as a starter and had 4.30 ERA this season
    Taylor Lehman – SO – Penn State – Six-foot-eight left-hander finished with 4.79 ERA in Nittany Lions weekend rotation
    Jared Padgett – FR – Mississippi State – Highly-touted left-hander limited to 2.1 innings this spring
    Ryan Rigby – SO – Mississippi State – Strong reliever for Super Regional club has 1.75 ERA, 41 Ks in 19 appearances
    Josh Roberson – FR – UNC-Wilmington – Started three games and made 10 relief appearances with 6.04 ERA and 22 K in 22.1 IP
    Keith Rogalla – SO – Creighton – Former 37th-round pick struck out 59 in 73 innings as weekend starter for Blue Jays
    Matt Ruppenthal – SO – Vanderbilt – Shined in Vandy bullpen with 2.33 ERA, 59 Ks in 46.1 innings
     

    CATCHERS

    Tim Susnara – SO – Oregon – Struggled with the bat in Cotuit last summer but bounced back with .268 AVG, 2 HR for Ducks
    Cory Voss – SO – McLennan CC – MWC Freshman of the Year in 2015 at New Mexico starred in JUCO this year and is bound for Arizona
    Albee Weiss – SO – Cal State Northridge – Hit .219 and ranked second on the team with six home runs this season

     

    INFIELDERS

    A.J. Balta – RS SO – Oregon – In return from redshirt season, hit .219 with team-leading nine home runs and 47 RBI
    Jake Bivens – SO – Michigan – Big 10 Freshman of the Year in 2015 hit .356 as a sophomore with .441 OBP and 13 SB
    Clay Fisher – SO – UC Santa Barbara – Gauchos’ starting shortstop since day one last year, hitting .286 this season with only five errors
    Greyson Jenista – FR – Wichita State – Emerged as Shockers’ top hitter in big freshman year, hitting .326 with five home runs, 32 RBI
    Alonzo Jones – FR – Vanderbilt – Speedy infielder made impact immediately, hitting .285 with 18 XBH, 10 stolen bases
    Jordan Pearce – SO – Nevada – Built on strong freshman season by hitting .332 with 4 HR, 17 2B, team-high 47 RBI
    Josh Shaw – FR – St. John’s – Hit .292 with two home runs and stole seven bases while playing in all 55 games in freshman season
     

    OUTFIELDERS

    Quinn Brodey – SO – Stanford – Two-way standout focused on the plate this spring and hit .280 with 7 HR, team-best 41 RBI
    Dayton Dugas – FR – Wichita State – Hit .304 with four homers, 16 XBH in debut with Shockers
    Jeren Kendall – SO – Vanderbilt – Also a Team USA invite, followed summer in Cotuit with big sophomore year – .332, 9 HR, 28 SB
    Cal Stevenson – SO – Arizona – Hit .356 as a freshman at Nevada and sat out this year after transferring to Arizona