It’s been a strange year in the Cape League’s West Division standings. Hyannis has owned those standings, perched at the top literally since day one. For most of the summer, no one else has even been over the .500 mark.
Yet somehow in that landscape, with Hyannis owning the division, second-place Bourne owned Hyannis. The Braves won their first four meetings with the Harbor Hawks.
That finally changed Tuesday, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for Hyannis.
In holding off a late Bourne surge and winning 7-6, Hyannis broke the spell and gained a bit of breathing room. Had the Braves beaten Hyannis again, they would have been only one point back in the standings. As it is, Hyannis has a five-point lead.
The Harbor Hawks broke open a close game with five runs in the fifth inning. Austin Hays (Jacksonville) finished 4-for-5 with a homer and two RBI and now has 13 hits in his last eight games. Matt Thaiss (Virginia) and Jake Rogers (Tulane) added three hits each and four other players had two hits, as Hyannis racked up 19 hits.
Bourne had 13 hits of its own and threatened to find a way to keep Hyannis’ number when it scored five runs in the eighth. Collin Kober (McNeese State) stopped the bleeding and Aaron Civale (Northeastern) pitched a scoreless ninth to thwart any further comeback attempts.
Pete Alonso (Florida) had two hits and three RBI for the Braves, but for once in a Bourne-Hyannis tilt, it wasn’t enough.
The first place team finally held off its closest challenger.
Wareham 5, Falmouth 0
Four Gatemen pitchers combined on a two-hit shutout of Falmouth. Matt Krook (Oregon) struck out four in two innings for the best performance on his rehab tour. Zac Houston (Mississippi State) relieved him but departed quickly with an injury. Grant Dyer (UCLA) came to the rescue in dominant fashion, pitching the next six innings and striking out 10, while allowing just two hits. Ben Parr (Georgia Tech) chipped in for the final frame. The offense was led as usual by Andrew Calica (UC Santa Barbara), who went 3-for-5 to up his average to .394 (he still doesn’t have enough at-bats for the batting average leaderboard). Gavin Stupienski (UNC Wilmington) added two RBI.
Y-D 7, Brewster 0
There was also a shutout at Stony Brook Field, where two Y-D pitchers pulled off the tough task of quieting Brewster’s bats. The Whitecaps hadn’t been shut-out since June 29. Brett Adcock (Michigan) started the shut-down effort with six scoreless innings. He struck out four. Cory Malcolm (Arkansas Little Rock) followed with three strong frames. Former Whitecap Gio Brusa (Pacific) led the attack on the other side, going 3-for-5 and moving into a tie atop the league leaderboard in home runs with his sixth. Stephen Wrenn (Georgia) – who hit his fifth homer – isn’t far behind. Donnie Walton (Oklahoma State) chipped in two RBI. The win moved Y-D into a third-place tie with Brewster in the East.
Orleans 7, Harwich 2
The Firebirds are streaking again, topping Harwich 7-2 for their third win in a row and moving to 25-9 on the year. Eric Lauer (Kent State) struck out nine and gave up one run in 5.2 innings. He passed teammate Mitchell Jordan (Stetson) for the league lead in strikeouts with 48, while moving to 4-0. Bobby Dalbec (Arizona) led the charge at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBI. Bryan Reynolds (Vanderbilt) and Alex Call (Ball State) went 2-for-4, while Ronnie Dawson (Ohio State) had two hits and two runs scored. Dawson has delivered two hits in four of his last seven games.
Chatham 7, Cotuit 2
Chatham scored seven runs in the second inning and Zac Gallen (North Carolina) went five strong innings for a win over the Kettleers. Nate Mondou (Wake Forest) and Garrett Hampson (Long Beach State) each had two-run triples in the big second inning and Luke Persico (UCLA) chipped in an RBI single. Gallen gave up one run on two hits in five innings for the win. Chatham has sole possession of second place in the East. For Cotuit, Will Haynie (Alabama) hit his fifth home run.
What to Watch
Cotuit’s Jon Woodcock (Virginia Tech) and his 0.83 ERA will put a 12-inning scoreless streak to the Cape League’s ultimate test as he takes on Orleans. The Firebirds will counter with one of their best in Kyle Serrano (Tennessee).