Category: Playoffs

The Cape Cod League championship series is set, and the participants look familiar. Y-D is back in the finals for the third time in the last five years, having won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007. Cotuit is in the championship for the third year in a row.

The Red Sox and Kettleers both took their final steps on Tuesday, finishing off semifinal sweeps. Y-D rolled past Orleans for the second straight night, winning 13-4. Cotuit broke a 1-1 tie with Wareham in the sixth inning and won 3-1.

Y-D comes in with a ton of momentum from the semifinal series. Against the team that was the hottest in the league at the end of the regular season, the Red Sox smashed the ball. They delivered a record-breaking performance in game one, winning 23-10, and kept the pedal to the floor on Tuesday. Y-D had 16 hits and scored seven runs in the second inning. Ben McMahan (Florida) and Matt Jensen (Cal Poly) each hit home runs and Jordan Ribera (Fresno State) drove in four runs after knocking in six on Monday.

The Red Sox have really found something these last two days — they seem like an already team that’s catching lightning in a bottle. I think they’ll be tough to beat.

But you can’t count Cotuit out. The Kettleers have had their share of ups and downs this summer and they’ve dealt with plenty of changes, but they’ve pushed through. They lost six straight games to end the regular season but have now won four straight in the playoffs. On Tuesday, James McCann (Arkansas) hit a two-run homer in the sixth that proved to be the game-winner. Bobby Shore (Oklahoma) allowed just a run on two hits in seven innings to get the win. Brooks Pinckard (Baylor) got the save.

The championship series begins today at Y-D’s Red Wilson Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.

The semifinals opened up last night and Y-D delivered one of the biggest offensive performances in Cape League playoff history, blowing past Orleans 23-10.

The Red Sox scored 11 runs in the first inning alone and finished the day with five home runs. The Firebirds had three home runs of their own — and had 10 runs on 17 hits — but they didn’t stand a chance of keeping up. The Red Sox had 25 hits and they kept ringing the bell: they stranded only six runners. I thought the score was a mistake when I first saw it.

Y-D was led by, well, a lot of people. Jordan Ribera (Fresno State) hit two home runs in the first inning and finished 3-for-4 with six RBI and five runs scored. Joe Panik (St. John’s), Matt Jensen (Cal Poly) and Stewart Ijames (Louisville) also hit home runs. Jensen drove in five, Panik had four hits and knocked in three and Ijames had three hits and three RBI.

Tommy Toledo (Florida) gave up seven runs on 11 hits in 5.2 innings, but the cushion was so big, it didn’t much matter. Orleans never got closer than seven runs.

The Firebirds will try to bounce back today. At least they’ll be playing somewhere other than the friendly confines of Red Wilson Park.

In the other semifinal, Cotuit topped Wareham 6-2. Nick Tropeano (Stony Brook) threw five strong innings and three relievers didn’t allow a run.

The Cotuit offense broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth and added two more runs in the seventh. Joey Hainsfurther (Baylor) and Zach Cone (Georgia) had two RBI each. Deven Marrero (Arizona State) and Jordan Leyland (UC Irvine) also drove in runs.

Sorry for the lack of action around here lately. A really busy stretch at work just had to coincide with the start of the Cape League playoffs.

Wrapping some things up . . .

In the only first-round series that went three games, Orleans edged Brewster 5-4 yesterday in 10 innings. Brewster forced extras on a Troy Channing two-run homer in the eighth, but Orleans got an RBI single by Ronnie Shaeffer in the top of the 10th to take the lead right back. Marcus Stroman pitched the final two innings and got the win. The loss was a heartbreaker for the Whitecaps, who at one point this year were in the midst of one of the franchise’s best seasons. Things didn’t go well for them down the stretch, though, and they ran into the hottest team in the league in Orleans.

With so much parity all year, I was surprised to see both West series end in sweeps, particularly the Bourne-Wareham match-up. I feel like Falmouth and Cotuit are pretty close, the kind of teams that can do anything on any day. Bourne, though, trotted out Pitcher of the Year Grayson Garvin and Anthony Meo in the first two games of the series. I wouldn’t have bet against them, but Wareham just kept pushing, rallying from a 4-0 first-inning deficit in game one and winning in extra innings in game two. The Gatemen were gutsy all year — they had one of their best stretches right after they lost their two best players to Team USA — so maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise.

Y-D: still taking care of business. The Red Sox went 2-4 in their last six regular-season games but put things back together right on time. Particularly impressive was the game two in. John Leonard was lights out on the mound and the offense got it done. In two playoff games, the Red Sox are hitting .323.

The division championship round begins tonight, with Y-D playing Orleans and Cotuit taking on Wareham.