Yarmouth-Dennis led 3-1 when Orleans starter Logan Gilbert (Stetson) departed in the fifth inning of Tuesday’s game. It was a good place to be – except for what the Red Sox were due to face next.
Two Orleans relievers didn’t allow another hit and the Firebirds rallied with three runs in the sixth for a 4-3 win that vaulted them past the Red Sox into first place in the East Division.
Credit the rally, of course, but the bullpen success jumps out, as it has throughout the four-game win streak that has sent Orleans to the top of the heap. In 14 innings pitched the last four games, Orleans relievers have allowed one earned run on seven hits, with 14 strikeouts.
J.J. Hintzen (Florida Southern) and Josh Hiatt (North Carolina) did the job Tuesday. Hintzen has allowed two hits in six appearances this summer and was perfect this time out. He struck out three of the seven batters he faced. Hiatt has also given up just two hits so far. He came on in the eighth and worked a one-two-three frame. In the ninth, he worked around an error to finish off his fourth save.
The decisive rally that put the bullpen in control started with a Jaxx Groshans (Kansas) single. Brandon Riley (North Carolina) followed with an RBI double, Jeff Houghtby (San Diego) hit an RBI groundout to plate the tying run and Lars Nootbaar (USC) raced home on a wild pitch with the go-ahead run.
And with Orleans’ bullpen taking over, it was pretty clearly going to be the winning run.
Commodores go yard again
The Falmouth Commodores already had the most home runs in the league.
Then they hit four in Tuesday’s 7-1 win over Brewster. That’s more in one game than three Cape League teams have hit all summer. The Commodores now have 14 homers on the season, five more than anybody else.
As usual, Marty Bechina (Michigan State) led the way. The Cape League leader delivered his second two-homer game of the summer and now has six on the year. He launched a solo shot in the third and hit a two-run blast in the eighth. Logan Davidson (Clemson) hit his first home run of the summer for the game’s first offense in the second inning. For good measure, Willie Burger (Penn State) followed up Bechina’s eighth-inning homer with a solo blast later in the frame.
Six of the seven runs Falmouth scored came on the home runs.
The Commodores improved to 7-7 with the win, so all the power hasn’t yielded big success yet. Pitching has been a little further behind, which is why the other angle of Tuesday’s win might be more significant. Four pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout. Scott Politz went six innings for the win. Thomas Ponticelli (San Francisco), Mitchell Miller (Clemson) and Ryan Zeferjahn (Kansas) went one inning each to finish it out.
Cotuit 3, Harwich 0
Three pitchers combined on a shutout as Cotuit jumped over .500 with a win over Harwich. Zane Collins (Wright State) struck out four in 4.1 innings, and David Inman earned the win with one inning of relief. Clark Cota (UNC Wilmington), who earned the save, had the most impressive outing of all, striking out six of the 12-batters he faced in 3.2 innings of one-hit baseball. John Cresto (Santa Clara) and Brett Kinneman (NC State) drove in runs, Griffin Conine (Duke) scored twice and Greyson Jenista (Wichita State) had three hits for Cotuit.
Chatham 8, Bourne 2
Chatham rebounded from Sunday’s sweep at the hands of Hyannis with a big offensive night against West-leading Bourne. Jacob Olson (UCLA) went 2-for-4 with three RBI and D.J. Artis (Liberty) had two hits and an RBI to lead the Anglers. Nick Patten (Delaware) and Shea Langeliers (Baylor) – the league’s first and second hitter of the week award winners this summer – each drove in a run. Starter Dan Hammer (Pittsburgh) didn’t need as much support as he got thanks to six shutout innings with five strikeouts. For Bourne, Zac Susi (UConn) and Andrew Fregia (Sam Houston State) each homered.
Wareham 5, Hyannis 1
Wareham broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth and rode strong pitching all night to its second straight win. Luke Bonfield (Arkansas) delivered the go-ahead RBI with a single and John Toppa (UConn) followed with a two-run single for what proved to be an insurmountable lead. Starter Justin Glover (Georgia) allowed one run in five innings, while Noah Zavolas (Harvard) and Franklin German (North Florida) combined for four hitless innings of relief.
What to Watch
Orleans will look for a fifth straight win when it visits Cotuit. Kevin Smith (Georgia) and his 2.70 ERA will get the start.
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