Mark Laird, pictured earlier this summer, had an RBI as the West won 5-0.
The Friendly’s Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game dodged the rain and went off without a hitch on Sunday at Doran Park in Bourne. Work prevented me from getting over there, so you can get first-hand accounts elsewhere, but here are some notes from the West’s 5-0 victory.
The West won two of the three All-Star Games that were played at Fenway Park a few years ago, but it had been a long time since the West celebrated a victory on the Cape. Before Sunday’s win, the last time was 2002, when a West team led by Cotuit’s Bryan Snyder beat the East 4-1. The East won the next six All-Star Games before the West won in 2009 and 2010 at Fenway.
The shutout was the first since 2010, when the West won 5-0 at Fenway Park.
Ten pitchers combined on the shutout for the West team, limiting the East stars to seven hits.
Hyannis reliever Ryan Perez (Judson) officially went from curiosity to bona fide star when he struck out the side in the third inning and earned West MVP honors. Perez can pitch right-handed and left-handed, and he’s had an impressive summer. He came into the All-Star Game with a 2.05 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 26.2 innings. He struck out a formidable trio in his one All-Star inning, fanning Mikey White (Alabama), Jordan Tarsovich (VMI) and Ian Happ (Cincinnati). I hope there was a stand-off between the switch-hitting Happ and the switch-pitching Perez.
Perez is the first pitcher to earn MVP honors since Wareham’s Konner Wade in 2011. He was the first Hyannis MVP since Ben Paulsen in 2008.
Chatham’s A.J. Murray (Georgia Tech) won MVP honors with a 2-for-2 night, becoming the second Angler in as many years to win the top honor. J.D. Davis took the MVP award for the East last year.
Each team had one returning all-star. Reigning batting champ Kevin Newman (Arizona) went 1-for-2 for the West. Ian Happ (Cincinnati) was 0-for-2 for the East.
The Twitter consensus is that the pitching was better in this year’s All-Star game than last year’s. Brewster’s Cody Ponce (Cal Poly Pomona) was perhaps the most impressive.
Cody Ponce has monster stuff. 93-96 mph FB, curveball is biting at 81-83 and slider is nasty at 86-88. Filthy
According to Piliere, Wareham’s Kyle Cody (Kentucky) hit 97 on the radar gun, while Y-D’s Phil Bickford (Cal State Fullerton), a first-round pick last year, threw pitches at 94, 95, 95 in a three-pitch strikeout.
Wareham’s Chris Chinea (LSU) and Falmouth’s Cameron O’Brien (West Virginia), both playing from the catcher’s spot, hit home runs for the West. Falmouth’s Matt Eureste (San Jacinto) and Bourne’s Mark Laird (LSU) also drove in runs.
Cotuit’s Tres Barrera (Texas) won the 2014 TD Ameritrade College Home Run Derby but was limited to one in the Cape League contest. The CCBL crown went to Harwich’s Sal Annunziata (Seton Hall).
