Complete Dominance

Ryan Kellogg nearly tossed the Cape's first nine-inning, solo no-hitter since 2010. — Ryan Kellogg nearly tossed the Cape’s first nine-inning, solo no-hitter since 2010.

Before last night, there had not been a single nine-inning complete game pitching performance in the 2014 Cape Cod Baseball League season.

And now there have been two, including the best performance of the summer.

Bourne’s Ryan Kellogg (Arizona State) came within one out of a no-hitter in a 5-0 win at Chatham, settling for the aforementioned best performance of the summer – a one-hit shutout, with 11 strikeouts. In Wareham, Sean Adler (USC), who had started only one other game this summer, tossed a complete-game shutout with eight strikeouts in a 5-0 win over Cotuit.

Sometimes, teams start running out of pitching and cobbling things together as the season winds down. Clearly, not these two.

Kellogg has been a terrific Cape League pitcher, posting a 1.36 ERA last year and a 2.63 mark this season, but last night – fittingly, his final start as a Brave – was his master work. The lefty was perfect through five innings, with seven strikeouts. He issued a leadoff walk in the sixth but the runner was erased on a double play, and Kellogg kept cruising. He struck out two in the seventh and worked a one-two-three ninth. After a fly-out and a swinging strikeout, he was one out away, but Landon Cray (Seattle) reached on a slow roller to third base to break up the no-hit bid at the last possible moment.

Kellogg was bidding to become the first solo pitcher to toss a nine-inning no-hitter since Y-D’s Jordan Pries in 2010 (three of his Bourne teammates combined on one last summer and Bourne’s Jeff Thompson tossed a six-inning no-no in 2012).

Though he didn’t get it, it was still an incredible performance and Kellogg finished it – of course – with a strikeout.

Zander Wiel (Vanderbilt) hit a grand slam to lead the offense, while Brett Sullivan (Pacific) had three hits. Kellogg’s gem and the solid offensive day allowed the Braves to set a franchise record for regular-season victories with 26. With the win and a Falmouth loss, Bourne has a two-game cushion in first place, with two games to play.

Adler gives Wareham a gem

Sean Adler gave up a hit to the third batter he faced, so there was no talk of no-hitters in Wareham. But his performance was almost as good. He scattered six hits and went the distance in an efficient 104 pitches.

Adler only made his debut for Wareham in mid-July and has made just four appearances. His longest previous outing was six innings.

But as the scoreless frames piled up, Adler got better and better. He gave up two hits in an inning just once. After giving up a two-out double to Kyle Holder (San Diego) in the sixth, he struck out the next batter and didn’t allow another hit. He retired nine of 10, with the only exception coming on an error. That runner was erased on a double play.

Adler’s performance gave the Gatemen something to celebrate a night after they were eliminated from playoff contention. Kyri Washington (Longwood) and Adler’s USC teammate Blake Lacey each had a hit and two RBI to lead the Gatemen offense.

Harwich 3, Y-D 1

How good were the pitching performances? A division title plays second fiddle. Harwich clinched the regular season Eastern Division crown with a 3-1 victory over the Red Sox, coupled with an Orleans loss. The Mariners have been at the top since the very beginning of the season, when they won their first three games. Y-D and Orleans have made charges, but Harwich never faltered and is in the midst of a surge to the finish, thanks to three straight victories. Last night, James Mulry (Northeastern) – who put Harwich in first place way back on opening night – tossed 6.2 innings for the win, giving up one run and striking out five. Seth McGarry (Florida Atlantic) pitched 1.1 scoreless frames and Jacob Evans (Oklahoma) pitched a scoreless ninth for his ninth outing of zero earned runs in 10 games this season. The offense got an RBI each from Anthony Hermelyn (Virginia Tech), C.J. Hinojosa (Texas) and Angelo Amendolare (Jacksonville). Y-D, who is tied with Orleans for second place, has lost three in a row.

Brewster 7, Orleans 2

Don’t look now, but Brewster is making a push to the playoffs that would go down as one of the most improbable in recent memory. The Whitecaps have won four of five games – and tied the other – and with Chatham’s loss last night, they’re just one point back of the Anglers for the fourth and final playoff spot, with two games to play. Tyger Talley (Arizona), making just his third start, allowed two runs in five innings and Levi MaVorhis (Kansas State) pitched four hitless innings to seal the win. Andrew Lee (Tennessee), who has eight hits in the five-game stretch, homered and drove in two to lead the offense. Scott Kingery (Arizona) had two hits and three RBI. Bobby Dalbec (Arizona) homered for the Firebirds, who have lost four in a row. Brewster will finish the season with two games against Harwich. Chatham, as it tries to hold off the Whitecaps, has two against Orleans.

Hyannis 10, Falmouth 0

Hyannis leap-frogged Cotuit back into third place, while putting Falmouth into an uphill battle on its quest for first. Four Harbor Hawks combined on the shutout. Shaefer Shepard (Catawba) went five innings, Matt LaRocca (Akron) struck out four in two innings while Chris Mourelle (Florida International) and Lance Thonvold (Minnesota) pitched one inning each. Carl Wise (College of Charleston) hit his sixth home run to pace the offense, while Dylan Bosheers (Tennessee Tech) also homered. Daniel Kihle (Wichita State) had two hits and two RBI. For Falmouth, Kevin Newman (Arizona) went 0-for-4, putting him into a tie with Bourne’s Billy Fleming for the batting title. Newman is trying to become the first-ever two time Cape League batting champ.

What to Watch

Bourne will try to clinch the West title outright when it hosts Wareham at 6 p.m. In the suddenly interesting race for the last East playoff spot, Brewster visits Harwich at 5:30 p.m. and Chatham heads to Orleans at 7.

July 30, 2014July 30, 2014

Still Alive

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).

July 24, 2014July 24, 2014

Some Things Never Change

Brian Serven puts a tag on a Cotuit runner in Wednesday's game. — Brian Serven puts a tag on a Cotuit runner in Wednesday’s game.

The wedding and honeymoon were pretty much perfect. What did I miss?

Two weeks of an eight-week Cape League season is a pretty good chunk of time. I feel like I went on a field trip that not everybody went on, and now that I’m back to school, it’s tough to get my bearings.

Then again, some things don’t seem to be changing.

Bourne continued to dominate the West last night with a 12-4 win over Cotuit, its third in a row. In the East, Harwich and Orleans remain at the top of the standings, although there was finally a change in order with a 4-3 extra-innings win by Orleans last night that put the Firebirds into first place.

Bourne has the best record in the league at 23-11-1. In their current three-game streak, they’ve allowed four runs in each game and have scored plenty more, capped by last night’s win over Cotuit. Samuel Kmiec (Winthrop) delivered a strong start, allowing one run in 5.1 innings. He’s won two starts in a row after a rough start to the season.

The offense backed Kmiec with 15 hits. Richard Martin Jr. (Florida), Blake Allemand (Texas A&M) and Stephen Wrenn (Georgia) led the way with three hits apiece. Allemand and Mark Laird (LSU) each had two RBI.

Over in Harwich, first place in the East finally changed hands, as Orleans beat Harwich 4-3 in 11 innings. The game was tied 2-2 until the Firebirds pushed two runs across in the top of the 11th, one on a wild pitch and the other on a Cole Peragine (Stony Brook) RBI single. Harwich got within a run in the bottom of the 11th on a Sal Annunziata (Seton Hall) RBI double, but Orleans reliever Hayden Stone (Vanderbilt) retired two of the league’s best hitters – Anthony Hermelyn (Virginia Tech) and Ian Happ (Cincinnati) – to end the game.

Stone allowed one run in two innings for the win. Bobby Dalbec (Arizona) delivered four huge innings of scoreless relief to keep the game tied. Harwich’s Jacob Evans (Oklahoma) played the same role as Dalbec, with 4.1 scoreless innings.

Orleans is now 21-13-2 while Harwich dropped to 20-13-2.

Y-D 8, Chatham 4

One big difference since I last checked in two weeks ago: the Y-D Red Sox. Y-D beat Chatham 8-4 last night for its ninth win in its last 11 games. The Red Sox are now 20-15, just a two points out of second place and four points out of first. A balanced offensive attack led the way against Chatham standout Kyle Davis (USC), with five players knocking two hits each. Davis, typically a reliever, came in with a 1.35 ERA but was touched up for seven runs in four innings. Jesse Jenner (San Diego) had two hits and two RBI to lead the charge. Jordan Tarsovich (VMI) went 2-for-3 for his 12th multi-hit game of the summer. On the mound for Y-D, Cody Poteet (UCLA) allowed two earned runs in five innings. Three relievers combined on four scoreless innings. Chatham got three hits from Nick Collins (Georgetown). The loss was the Anglers’ fourth in a row.

Hyannis 3, Wareham 0

Blake Hickman (Iowa) delivered his second consecutive impressive start and Hyannis overcame dominant Wareham pitching to shut out the Gatemen. Hickman had gone seven scoreless innings in his previous start, a 3-0 win over Brewster. This time, he went 6.1 scoreless frames, striking out five and allowing four hits. Ryan Perez (Judson) followed Hickman to the mound and picked up a save with 2.2 shutout innings. Wareham’s Kyle Cody (Kentucky) and Sean Adler (USC) combined for six perfect innings, but Hyannis broke through for three runs in the seventh. John La Prise (Virginia) led the offense with a hit and two RBI.

Falmouth 7, Brewster 3

The Commodores remain comfortably in second place in the West after rebounding from a loss to Bourne Tuesday with a win over Brewster. Conner Hale (LSU) hit his fourth home run while Austin Afenir (Oral Roberts) had two hits and three RBI. Jake Madsen (Ohio) added three hits and two RBI. Alex Young (TCU) struck out seven and gave up two runs in five innings. Ryan Moseley (Texas Tech) got the win in relief. Scott Kingery (Arizona) and Luke Lowery (East Carolina) both homered for Falmouth.

What to Watch

Three games on tap tonight, including a good one in Yarmouth, where the red-hot Red Sox take on West-leading Bourne.