It’s a good thing Harwich’s Tyler Baum and Wareham’s Justin Montgomery pitched different games in Sunday’s doubleheader. Had they squared off, that pitchers duel might still be going.
Baum (North Carolina) struck out nine in seven innings as the Mariners won the first game of the twin bill 4-1. Montgomery (California Baptist) struck out eight and tossed five innings of one-hit ball in game two as the Gatemen posted a 5-1 victory.
With the dust settled on Sunday’s slate of doubleheaders, Montgomery and Baum rank one-two on the league’s ERA leaderboard.
They’re an interesting pair. Baum was a top 100 prospect out of high school who had a strong first season at one of America’s college baseball blue bloods. Montgomery was lightly recruited and headed to Division II California Baptist. He had a fairly anonymous freshman season last spring before breaking out in the Alaska League, where he was a top-five prospect according to Perfect Game.
But the two have been on similar trajectories this summer. In two starts, Baum has allowed one run and six hits over 13 innings while striking out 12 and walking one. Montgomery hasn’t allowed a run in 12 innings of work – two starts, one relief appearance – and has struck out 14.
Baum’s effort Sunday goes in the book as the summer’s first complete game, since doubleheaders are seven inning affairs. He gave up a run in the second inning on a double by Willie MacIver (Washington) and a wild pitch two batters later, but cruised from there, retiring 11 in a row at one point.
Harwich made him a winner with three runs in the third to break a 1-1 tie. Cobie Vance (Alabama) had two RBI for the Mariners and Bradley Debo (NC State) homered.
Montgomery didn’t go quite as deep into the game as Baum did, but he was even more dominant. He faced just one over the minimum in his five innings and struck out half of those 16 batters. Harwich managed one run off reliever Frankie Bartow (Miami) but nothing else. The Gatemen got three hits from Robert Metz (George Washington) and RBI from Kyle Kasser (Oregon), Luke Bonfield (Arkansas) and Ben Baird (Washington).
Hyannis 8, Chatham 5; Hyannis 9, Chatham 2
RLosers of four straight coming in, Hyannis got back on track in one fell swoop with a sweep of Chatham. Reece Hampton (Charlotte) led the big day for the offense with six hits across the two games and four RBI. Dominic DiCaprio (Rice) drove in three runs in the opener and Robert Neustrom (Iowa) led the way in the second game with three hits – including a home run – and four RBI. Michael Brettel (Central Michigan) earned his league-best third win of the season in the opener with five strong innings. Christian Tripp (New Mexico) got the nightcap win with three scoreless innings of relief.
Orleans 6, Cotuit 4; Orleans 4, Cotuit 0
Orleans swept Cotuit at Eldredge Park for its second and third wins in a row. A six-run third inning did the trick in the opener, highlighted by a two-run single from Kevin Strohschein (Tennessee Tech). Jaxx Groshans (Kansas), Romy Gonzalez (Miami) and Niko Decolati (Loyola Marymount) also drove in runs. Starter Ryan Rolison (Ole Miss) allowed two runs in 4.1 innings for the win and Brett Daniels (North Carolina) picked up the save. The Firebirds were able to slow down Cotuit in part by cooling off the red-hot Griffin Conine (Duke) and John Cresto (Santa Clara). Conine went without a hit for the first time this summer and Cresto was 0-for-3. In the nightcap, the Cotuit bats were even quieter as Daniel Lynch (Virginia) and Brooks Wilson (Stetson) combined on a shutout. Ethan Paul (Vanderbilt) had three hits to lead the Orleans offense while Groshans drove in two runs.
Brewster 6, Bourne 4; Brewster 4, Bourne 3
Brewster also swept a West Division foe, in the process giving the East the three best records in the league. The first game went to extra innings and the Whitecaps walked off in emphatic fashion in the eighth as Martin Costes (Maryland) hit a two-run home run for the win. Before the late drama, Hunter Bishop (Arizona State) had two RBI and Mickey Gasper (Bryant) had two hits. Bourne suffered a rare close-game loss in the nightcap as Brewster built an early 4-0 lead and held on. Gasper drove in two runs while Bishop and Justin Kunz (Gardner-Webb) knocked in one each. Starter Davis Daniel (Auburn) allowed three runs in four innings before Robert Broom (Mercer) stopped Bourne’s comeback attempts in their tracks. Broom allowed just one hit in a three-inning save.
Y-D 14, Falmouth 3; Falmouth 2, Y-D 1
Y-D blew past Falmouth in the opener but the Commodores were undeterred and came back for a split of the twin bill. The Red Sox racked up 10 hits, six for extra bases, in the first game. Nico Hoerner (Stanford) homered and a pinch hitter for him, Christian Koss (UC Irvine), also went deep. Connor Kaiser (Vanderbilt) drove in three runs. All the offense was more than enough for Kyle Bubic (Stanford), who struck out nine and allowed one run on four hits in five innings for his second win. The Red Sox scored early in game two but the second-inning RBI by Domenic DeRenzo (Oklahoma) would be their only tally of the day. Hunter Steinmetz (Missouri State) tied the game with a solo home run in the fifth and Marty Bechina (Michigan State) put the Commodores ahead later that same inning with an RBI double. Matt Mercer (Oregon) allowed one run in four innings for the win. Thomas Ponticelli (San Francisco) went one scoreless inning out of the bullpen and Mitchell Miller (Clemson) struck out three in a two-inning save.
What to Watch
Brewster and Bourne will play for the third straight time as they get together for a make-up game at Doran Park. First pitch is at 6 p.m.