Brewster owns the league’s best team ERA. And after the last two days, it’s clear that the Whitecaps can hit a little bit, too. They’ve scored 16 runs on 26 hits in wins over Falmouth and Wareham. A 9-2 victory over the Gatemen last night was the bigger performance, with the Whitecaps smacking 16 hits, seven of which went for extra bases.
Coming into the last two, Brewster had eight extra-base hits on the season. They’re up to 18 now and suddenly rank second in the league in team batting average behind Chatham.
The game with the Gatemen was tied 2-2 in the sixth when Brewster blew it open.
After hitting two home runs against Falmouth, Chandler Taylor (Alabama) went deep for the second straight day against Wareham. Cesar Trejo (UNC Greensboro) also homered.
No one else went deep, but almost everybody else got in on the act in other big ways. The fourth through eighth spots in the order did the most damage, going a combined 10-for-21 with nine RBI. Each of those players had two hits. Michael Curry (Georgia) doubled and drove in three to lead the charge.
Brewster’s pitching staff didn’t slow down much with the added cushion. J.R. McDermott (Colorado Mesa) came up with his second strong start of the summer, striking out seven and allowing one earned run in 4.1 innings. Three relievers delivered scoreless outings, with Andrew Pagnozzi (Ole Miss) earning the win. Robert Broom (Mercer) struck out three in two innings, moving into a tie for the league lead in strikeouts with 12.
Brewster is now 4-2-1. Wareham fell to 3-6.
Y-D 5, Cotuit 3
The Red Sox continued to roll, upping their league-best record to 5-1-1 with a win over Cotuit, which has lost four straight. Josh McMinn (Oral Roberts) allowed three runs in 5.1 innings before a dominant performance by the Y-D bullpen. Brendan Nail (Western Carolina) struck out four in 3.1 hitless innings. Riley McCauley (Michigan State) recorded the final out for his fourth save. Luke Miller (Indiana) hit his first home run of the summer to lead the Y-D offense. Carlos Cortes (South Carolina) had two hits and two RBI, running his batting average to .458. For Cotuit, Griffin Conine (Duke) again had two hits – the seventh time he’s done that in eight games. He leads the league with a .469 batting average.
Bourne 3, Harwich 2
The Braves are now 4-0 in one-run games after a comeback, walk-off win over the Mariners. Bourne trailed 2-1 in the ninth when Grant Witherspoon (Tulane) started the rally with an infield hit. Lyle Lin (Arizona State) followed with a double. Logan McRae (College of Charleston) notched his third hit of the night on a single to center that plated the tying run, and Scott Schreiber (Nebraska) delivered the walk-off on a base hit (video below courtesy the Braves). The comeback made a winner out of reliever Nick Johnson (Rhode Island), who tossed two scoreless innings. McRae and Richard Palacios (Towson) paced the Bourne offense with three hits each. Harwich got a home run from Kyler Murray (Oklahoma).
Schreiber hits the FIRST walk-off of the season in the Braves 3-2 victory over the Harwich Mariners! #CCBL#GoBravespic.twitter.com/YXm9jLP8EW
— Bourne Braves (@BourneBraves) June 23, 2017
Orleans 4, Chatham 3
Orleans relievers allowed one hit over the final 5.2 innings, and with the stage set, the Firebirds delivered a comeback win. The Anglers led 3-0 after four but were unable to add to their lead. Jake Wong (Grand Canyon) struck out four in 2.2 scoreless frames. Brett Daniels (North Carolina) also fanned four in two hitless frames and Josh Hiatt (North Carolina) worked a scoreless ninth for the save. By then, the Firebirds had taken advantage of the opportunity with one run in the fifth and three in the sixth. Jeff Houghtby (San Diego) had an RBI double in the fifth. Brandon Riley (North Carolina) knocked home his college rival Jimmy Herron (Duke) in the seventh and Cesar Salazar (Arizona) hit a go-ahead two-run homer. For Chatham, Nick Patten (Delaware) stretched his season-long hit streak to seven games.
Falmouth 10, Hyannis 5
Something about the eighth inning lately. One night after Y-D’s nine-run explosion, Falmouth surged to a seven-run eighth in a win over Hyannis. The Commodores led at the time, so it wasn’t quite the same situation, but they ended up needing the insurance after the Harbor Hawks scored three in the ninth. Falmouth, the league leader in extra-base hits, continued to rack them up with two home runs and three doubles. Marty Bechina (Michigan State) hit his fourth home run and drove in three to bring his season RBI total to 13. He now leads the league in both categories. Cameron O’Neill (Holy Cross) also homered, while Alec Bohm (Wichita State) had two doubles. Starting pitching Tyler Blohm (Maryland) struck out seven and allowed two runs in five innings. Thomas Ponticelli (San Francisco) went three scoreless innings of relief for the win. Hyannis got three hits and three RBI from Daniel Robinson (Central Michigan). Jake Mangum (Mississippi State) had two hits for the third straight game since joining the Harbor Hawks.
What to Watch
Y-D and Falmouth meet for the first time since last year’s championship series as the Red Sox visit Guv Fuller Field.