Aaron Nola is only scheduled to make three starts in his first summer with Harwich. If Tuesday is any indication, he’s going to make them count.
The standout LSU freshman — and the brother of former Tiger and Mariner Austin Nola — Aaron made the first start in his abbreviated summer last night and dominated. He struck out 10 — an early-season league high — and allowed just two hits in five shutout innings. The Mariners bullpen followed suit as Harwich shut out Hyannis 2-0.
It’s a shame Nola won’t be around all summer, but LSU doesn’t want to tax his arm after a long freshman season. And you can understand why you wouldn’t want to mess with this.
Nola was a 22nd-round pick out of high school last year who might have gone higher if not for his commitment to LSU. He joined his brother in Baton Rouge this year and didn’t disappoint, earning SEC all-freshman honors. He went 7-4 with a 3.61 ERA. He struck out 89 in 89.2 innings and walked just seven, giving him the nation’s best strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Tuesday, he picked up right where he left off. He struck out the first two batters he faced and then struck out the side around a walk in the second. He struck out the side again in the third before Hyannis’ D.J. Peterson (New Mexico) finally touched him up for a hit in the fourth. He allowed one more hit in the fifth but that was it.
Out of the bullpen, four pitchers combined to allow just three more hits. Grant Gordon (Missouri State) pitched a scoreless seventh — his third scoreless outing this summer — and Zane Evans (Georgia Tech) got the save with an easy ninth.
Harwich got all the offense it needed from a Sam Dove (Georgia Tech) double and an ensuing RBI single by Phil Ervin (Samford). Justin Leeson (Georgetown) added a solo homer in the ninth, the league-leading seventh home run for the Mariners.
Harwich improved to 4-2, while Hyannis fell to 0-6. Harbor Hawks starter Scott Firth (Clemson) allowed one run in 5.2 innings. Peterson was another bright spot. The New Mexico star had struggled out of the gate but had two nights last night.
Elsewhere
Every match-up last night pitted the East against the West, and the East won four of five. The only one that went the other way was an 8-2 Falmouth victory over Chatham. Kaiana Eldredge had a home run and four RBI to lead a nine-hit Falmouth attack. Jack Colton (Harvard) went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Marco Gonzales (Gonzaga) went 1-for-4 with two RBI. Drew Dosch (Youngstown State) kept up his hot start with a 2-for-5 night, his fourth multi-hit game of the summer. Troy Scribner (Sacred Heart) got the win for Falmouth with four innings of one-run ball. Sam Paterson (Montana State) and Kyle Ruchim (Northwestern) each pitched a scoreless frame before giving way to new addition John Simms (Rice). Simms didn’t give up an earned as Falmouth’s closer last year and kept that streak in tact this year with a scoreless ninth in his debut. For Chatham, San Diego closer Mike Wagner got the start and struck out six while allowing two unearned runs in five innings.
For the first time all summer, Orleans didn’t play a one-run game, but that was no problem as the Firebirds beat Cotuit 4-1 to run their league-best record to 5-1. Mike Montville (Maryland) went 1-for-4 with his second homer of the year, while Pi’ikea Kitamura (Hawaii) had two hits and an RBI. On the mount, Rice standout Austin Kubitza scattered five hits and allowed one run in four innings. Dylan Clark (Elon) got the win in relief, before Trevor Gott picked up the final two outs for his third save of the year.
Brewster had only one win coming into last night but broke out in a big way, scoring seven runs in the first inning on their way to a 13-9 slugfest victory over Wareham. Derek Thomas (Memphis) and Derek Campbell (Cal) each went 4-for-5 to lead the charge. Campbell and Jake Kalish (George Mason) each hit home runs. Trevor Mitsui (Washington) and J.T. Files (South Alabama) had two RBI apiece. Wareham had a pretty big night of its own, getting home runs from Brandon Tessar (Oregon), Tyler Horan (Virginia Tech) and Matt Walsh (Franklin Pierce). Austin Voth (Washington), a standout reliever for Brewster last summer, got the start for the Whitecaps and allowed two runs in four innings while striking out seven.
Y-D scored three runs in the third inning and got three solid pitching performances en route to a 4-1 win over Bourne. Jake Schrader (Tampa) and Zak Blair (Mercyhurst) each hit home runs to power the Red Sox. Starter Brian Gilbert (Seton Hall) struck out six and allowed one run in 3.1 innings before the bullpen dominated. Making his second appearance, Brian Verbitsky (Hofstra) struck out eight and didn’t allow a hit in four scoreless innings on his way to the win. Jonny Hoffman (Indiana) pitched 1.2 scoreless innings for the save.
What to Watch
We have a long-awaited league-wide off day today. Take a deep breath.
RELATED POSTS
I am a newcomer to rightfieldfog.com, and am thoroughly enjoying it. Thanks for all the great information you provide us Cape League fans, Will. Rightfieldfog.com is “one-stop shopping” for all your Cape League needs. Well done!
Thank you very much, Mary! I’m glad you found Right Field Fog. Good to have you here. Enjoy the baseball this summer!