Hyannis ranks next-to-last in team ERA in the Cape League, but if opponents are counting on getting their bats in gear when they face the Harbor Hawks, they better do it before the sixth inning.
In two consecutive wins, Hyannis relievers have allowed a total of two hits and no runs from the sixth inning on. The Harbor Hawks’ top four relievers are turning into one of the best crews in the league.
Garrett Cave (Florida International) leads the league in appearances with 14 and saves with seven. He ranks in the top 15 in the league in strikeouts despite pitching only 12.1 innings. With a big fastball, the 6-foot-4 right-hander has scouts keeping the radar guns handy until the late innings.
Tyler Stevens (New Mexico) is just behind Cave in appearances with 11 and has a 1.03 ERA with 20 strikeouts and not a single walk in 17.1 innings. Matthew Naylor (North Florida) has a 0.84 ERA in 10 outings and James Harrington (New Mexico) has yet to allow a run – earned or unearned – in 11.2 innings of relief.
The combined ERA for the quartet is 1.07. And while they can’t pitch every game, a combination of the four has had a hand in a lot of victories. Hyannis has won six of the seven games Harrington has appeared in and is 10-4 when Cave takes the mound.
Tuesday, Hyannis beat Wareham 6-1 with three of the standout relievers finishing the deal. Naylor pitched two scoreless innings and Harrington and Cave tossed one each. Last night, the Harbor Hawks rallied from a late deficit for a 5-4 win over Bourne, but the comeback was made possible by more dominant bullpen work. Stevens struck out three of the five batters he faced in 1.1 scoreless frames and Cave got the last two outs for save number seven.
Cody Henry (Alabama) led the Hyannis offense with two hits and two RBI, with his two-run single giving Hyannis the lead in the top of the ninth.
The consecutive wins have Hyannis at 13-15 and just one game out of second place in the West.
If the bullpen is involved, that gap may yet close further.
Harwich 4, Chatham 0
The Mariners showed off their embarrassment of pitching riches by trotting out Tyler Wilson (Rhode Island) and Peter Solomon (Notre Dame) in the same game, and Chatham was held to two hits in a shutout win for Harwich. Wilson, the Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year, struck out five and gave up only two hits in five innings of work. Solomon, one of the arms getting a lot of buzz this season, returned to the bullpen after a start last time out and went four shutout innings without allowing a hit. He has given up two hits in his last 15.1 innings. The Harwich offense had 14 hits and stranded eight runners, but the four runs were plenty. Nick Feight (UNC Wilmington) hit his second home run while Ernie Clement (Virginia) and Anthony Critelli (Holy Cross) had three hits each.
Y-D 4, Orleans 0
Y-D remained a game back of Harwich in the East with a 4-0 shutout of its own. Bryan Sammons (Western Carolina) struck out five and scattered four hits in 6.1 innings and William Montgomerie (Connecticut) went the final 2.2 frames and didn’t surrender a hit. Matt Winaker (Stanford) went 4-for-5 with a run scored to lead the Y-D offense. J.J. Muno (UC Santa Barbara), Will Toffey (Vanderbilt) and Deon Stafford (St. Joseph’s) drove in one run each. Y-D has won two straight and is 8-2 in its last 10 games.
Falmouth 12, Wareham 3
The Commodores slugged past Wareham and suddenly have a seven-point lead in the West standings. Tyler Lawrence (Murray State) led a 16-hit attack by hitting two home runs and driving in four. Leadoff man Michael Gigliotti (Lipscomb) went 4-for-5 with three runs scored. J.J. Matijevic (Arizona) added two hits and three RBI and Deacon Liput (Florida) knocked in two runs. Five different Commodores had multi-hit games. Starter Tyler Holton (Florida State) went only two innings, but his FSU teammate Cole Sands shined in relief, striking out six in three scoreless innings for the win.
Cotuit 5, Brewster 2
Cotuit has its first three-game winning streak of the season. Four pitchers combined to hold down the league’s best offense with Ross Achter (Toledo) earning the win in relief. Connor Simmons (Georgia Southern) and Josh Roberson (UNC Wilmington) didn’t allow a hit over the final 3.2 innings. Patrick Dorrian (Herkimer CC) led the Kettleers at the plate with two hits and two RBI. Recently-crowned CCBL Hitter of the Week Quinn Brodey (Stanford) went 1-for-4 and scored two runs.
What to Watch
After an off-day Thursday, two surging teams will meet in Yarmouth when the Red Sox host Falmouth.
Today is the last off-day in the schedule before the All-Star Game. Do you think they’re meeting today to pick the All-Stars?
Every year I think that it’s too bad they have to pick the teams so early. Inevitably some player who is hitting close to .300 at the time he’s picked goes into an 0-for-30 slump, is down to .220 by game time, and everybody scratches their heads and wonders how that guy made the team.