Ryan Garcia pitched five shutout innings. Austin Shenton gave Wareham the lead in the middle innings.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before.
The formula that worked in Wareham’s playoff opener was utilized again Saturday as the Gatemen took game one of the Cape League championship series 5-3 over Chatham at Spillane Field.
Garcia (UCLA) struck out seven in five scoreless innings, working around three hits and three walks to keep the Anglers off the board. He stranded seven runners on base, including three in the fourth inning, when he escaped a bases-loaded jam with a groundout.
Garcia now owns a 0.00 ERA in the postseason with 15 strikeouts and a pair of wins.
Chatham’s Austin Bergner (North Carolina) – who also pitched his team to a win in the playoff opener – matched Garcia for four innings, but Shenton (Florida International) put Wareham in control. A double, a hit-by-pitch and an error loaded the bases in the fifth inning, and for Chatham, it came at the worst possible time.
With Shenton due up.
The red-hot hitter kept rolling, cracking a bases-clearing double to make it a 3-0 game. Shenton is now hitting .526 in the playoffs with nine RBI.
Chatham came back with a run in the seventh on the third playoff home run by Spencer Torkelson (Arizona State), but Wareham picked up crucial insurance in the bottom half. Jakob Goldfarb (Oregon) tripled home Isaac Collins (Creighton) and scored on a sac fly by Jeremy Ydens (UCLA).
The Anglers made a final push in the ninth on a two-run homer by Tristin English (Georgia Tech) – a day after he dominated on the mound – but Joseph Baran (Lackawanna) got the Gatemen out of trouble to finish off the win.
Both teams came into the championship series with perfect playoff records. Wareham is now 5-0. Chatham will have to try to bounce back for the first time in postseason play.
Game two is set for tonight in Chatham. The Anglers will send league strikeout leaded Alek Manoah (West Virginia) to the hill. He fanned 11 – but also allowed six runs – in his other playoff start.
Wareham counters with Derek West (Pittsburgh), who pitched well in two regular season starts before allowing four runs in 3.2 innings in his one postseason appearance.
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