The Cape League’s Western Division was tightly-packed all year, and it held true to form in the first round of the playoffs. No. 3 seed Cotuit upset No. 2 Falmouth in game three last night, while No. 4 Bourne knocked off No. 1 Hyannis in their game three. Both Cotuit and Bourne lost the first game of the series before winning the next two. It’s the second time in the four years of this playoff format that a No. 3 and No. 4 team from the same division have both advanced. Cotuit and Wareham did it in 2010, with Cotuit going on to the league title.

In the East, Orleans held off Harwich for a spot in the division championship opposite Chatham.

Cotuit 5, Falmouth 2

The Cotuit-Falmouth was back-and-forth series between two really good teams, and game three was more of the same. Falmouth jumped ahead 2-0 in the first, but Cotuit came back to take the lead in the fourth and held off every Commodore charge to win it.

The 2-0 Falmouth lead was built in loud fashion, when Casey Gillaspie (Wichita State) launched a home run to the street beyond left field at Guv Fuller Field, which is a pretty serious shot.

But Cotuit was undeterred.

Starter Christian Cecilio (San Francisco) went six innings and the homer was his only blemish. He retired seven straight after the home run and allowed just two more hits the rest of the way. Facing Gillaspie in the fourth with runners on first and third, Cecilio induced an inning-ending double play.

That performance set the stage for the Kettleers to break through, and they did. Hunter Cole (Georgia) had an RBI double in the second to cut the lead in half. In the fourth, Cole drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game and Austin Byler (Nevada) knocked in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly. Cotuit added a run in the eighth on a squeeze bunt by Rhett Wiseman (Vanderbilt) and another in the ninth on a Garrett Stubbs (USC) RBI single.

Cotuit reliever Wesley Cox (Texas San Antonio) stranded two in the seventh inning and two more in the eighth when he had to go through Rhys Hoskins (Sacramento State) and Gillaspie. He struck out Hoskins and got Gillaspie to fly out. Cox gave up one more single in the ninth but induced a pair of fly-outs to end it.

The Kettleers are into the West finals for the first time since their championship season in 2010.

For Falmouth, the loss ended a terrific year that included a share of the regular-season title and a whole lot of offense. The Commodores were a fun team to watch, and I imagine we’ll hear a lot of these names again when the draft rolls around next year.

 

Bourne 9, Hyannis 2

Rocky McCord (Auburn) struck out nine in five innings for Hyannis, but Bourne broke the game open against the Harbor Hawks bullpen and cruised to the upset victory.

The Braves trailed 2-1 going into the sixth, but scored three runs to take the lead then blew the doors off with five in the eighth.

Trent Gilbert (Arizona), who scored the only run in Bourne’s 1-0 victory the night before, went 3-for-5 on Thursday with three RBI. He was part of a huge effort from the bottom of the Bourne order. Eight hitter Tyler Kuresa (UC Santa Barbara) went 2-for-5 with two RBI and nine hitter Richard Gonzalez (Alabama State) went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Clint Freeman (East Tennessee State) added two hits and an RBI.

Cody Livingston (Southern Miss) was dominant out of the Bourne bullpen, which kept the Braves within striking distance. Livingston struck out six and allowed just one hit in 3.2 innings. Sam Dodge (Harvard), making his first appearance, struck out two in a scoreless ninth.

Landon Curry (Indiana State) and Steve Wilkerson (Clemson) had three hits each for Hyannis, but it wasn’t enough.

The Braves are into the West finals for the second straight year. They also did it as the No. 4 seed last year.

Hyannis bids farewell to a talented group that gave the franchise its second division title in three years.

 

Orleans 2, Harwich 0

Jared Miller (Vanderbilt) and Aaron Bummer (Nebraska) matched each other pitch-for-pitch for six innings before the Firebirds scratched runs across in the seventh and eighth to get the victory.

Miller struck out eight and allowed just three hits in seven scoreless innings. He took a no-hitter into the fifth. Bummer struck out seven and took a shutout into the seventh, before Orleans found a way – a weird way – to get to him. With runners on second and third in the seventh, Bummer threw a wild pitch as he was trying to issue an intentional wall, and Austin Davidson (Pepperdine) raced home.

Orleans added another run in the eighth on a Davidson RBI single, and reliever Brian Clark (Kent State) made the lead stand up. Clark, who tied for the league lead in appearances, had yet to pitch in the playoffs but made it worth the wait. He allowed just a walk while keeping Harwich off the board for the final two innings.

Davidson and Will Fulmer (Montevallo) had two hits to lead the Orleans offense.

The Firebirds will face Chatham in the East finals, the first time the two have met in a finals series since 2005. That Orleans team featured Manny Burriss and it beat an Evan Longoria-led Chatham team on its way to the championship. That was the last league championship for Orleans.

Harwich closed out a memorable campaign and playoff run. The two teams were separated by one point in the regular-season standings and by a total of two runs in the three playoff games.

 

What to Watch

If the weather cooperates, it’ll be Bourne visiting Cotuit at 4 p.m. and Orleans traveling to Chatham at 7 p.m.

The Bourne starter is likely Kris Gardner (Wichita State), who had some ups and downs but went seven strong innings in his last start. Cotuit’s starter is TBA. Also keep an eye on the status of Max Pentecost. The Cape League MVP was not in the lineup for Bourne last night, and Jen McCaffrey of the Cape Cod Times reported it was because of a bum knee.

Orleans’ probable starter is listed as Corey Miller (Pepperdine), who’s been solid all summer and went five scoreless in his last start. Chatham will send all-star Matt Gage (Siena) to the hill.
 

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