Matthew Barefoot came off the bench in his first Cape League game and promptly hit a home run in his first at-bat for Hyannis.
The Campbell University junior has barely been on the bench since.
On base is his where he spends most of his time. Coming off a .364/.484/.585 season for the Big South champion Camels, Barefoot has been even better for the Harbor Hawks.
With a 2-for-3 performance in Wednesday’s 5-2 win over Cotuit, Barefoot took over the league lead in batting average at .394. He also has three homers, 15 RBI and five stolen bases. Perhaps more impressive is the remarkable streak he has going. Barefoot has reached base in every single one of his 22 games on the Cape.
In 19 of those games, he has tallied at least one hit. In his three hitless games, he has found way to reach on a walk, a hit-by-pitch and an error. He scored a run in two of those games.
Barefoot hasn’t had to scratch his way on base lately. His last game without a hit was on June 21. He’s riding a 14-game hitting streak since then. The last three games on that streak all produced two-hit nights, bumping his batting average to .394.
Barefoot had an RBI in Wednesday’s win. Davis Wendzel (Baylor) and Pedro Pages (Florida Atlantic) also drove in runs. Nicholas MacDonald (Florida International) went five shutout innings and five relievers combined to finish off the win.
Hyannis remains one game back of Wareham for first place in the West. The victory was its second in a row. The Harbor Hawks will look for a third straight when they visit Falmouth tonight.
Barefoot will be looking for 23 in a row to help the cause.
Brewster 6, Y-D 1
The Whitecaps have the worst record in the league but now own back-to-back victories over the league’s best. A night after toppling West leader Wareham, Brewster beat East-leading Y-D 6-1. Reid Detmers (Louisville) pitched 5.2 scoreless innings with five strikeouts and Andrew Schultz (Tennessee) pitched the final 3.1 to close it out. Cameron Eden (California) led the offense with three RBI and Hunter Bishop (Arizona State) scored two runs.
Wareham 9, Chatham 2
Wareham tallied 12 hits and got strong performances from four pitchers en route to a win over Chatham. Lael Lockhart (Houston) – who has made his biggest impact for the Gatemen at the plate – earned the win in relief on the mound with three strong innings. Jeremy Ydens (UCLA) paced the offense with three hits and three RBI. Isaac Collins (Creighton) added three hits and two RBI and Sahid Valenzuela (Cal State Fullerton) drove in two runs.
Falmouth 5, Bourne 2
Falmouth knocked two home runs and Matthew Canterino (Rice) pitched well in his return to the Cape for a win over Bourne. Austin Langworthy (Florida) and Steven Williams (Auburn) did the home run honors, both notching their first of the year. Back from Team USA trials, Canterino struck out five and allowed one run on five hits in five innings of work. Jack Little (Stanford) earned the save.
Harwich 9, Orleans 3
Orleans out-hit Harwich 10-7 but was on the short end of the scoreboard. Danny Casals (Maine) homered and drove in three for the Mariners, and Aaron Schunk (Georgia) also had three RBI. Chris Galland (Boston College) scored two runs. Tyler Baum (North Carolina) allowed one run in four innings, and Danny Poidomani (Stevens) earned the win with 3.2 innings of relief.
What to Watch
Cotuit’s John Baker (Ball State) has been one of the more consistent starters of the summer and will put that to the test as he faces first-place Wareham at Lowell Park.
Remember Peyton Burdick on Opening Day? Since then he’s batting .136 without a single home run. Shades of Tuffy Rhodes.
Wow, I was thinking the other day that I hadn’t written his name in a while. Tuffy indeed.