Daily Fog: Closing Time

Hitting. Pitching. Defense.

The Bourne Braves clearly have it all. 

And if they get to the ninth inning with a lead? Good luck.

Eric Adler (Wake Forest) has been lights-out as Bourne’s closer this summer, one more piece to the puzzle for the best team in the league. With his ninth consecutive scoreless outing, he closed down a 1-0 victory over Wareham on Saturday night for his league-leading fifth save of the season. 

The 6-foot-3 right-hander has picked up where he left off in the spring, when he had six saves and a 2.00 ERA for Wake Forest. He recorded his first summer save on opening night and hasn’t slowed down. 

In that first save, Adler allowed two hits but pitched out of trouble in a 3-0 win over Hyannis. Since then, he’s surrendered only one more hit on the season, which came in his third appearance. In the six appearances since, he’s been nearly perfect, while striking out at least two batters in all those outings. He’s up to 19 Ks in just nine innings pitched. 

Adler wasn’t alone in dominating on Saturday. Michael Sansone (Fairfield) tossed five scoreless innings for his third win of the summer. Three relievers kept the shutout intact. 

Bourne got the lead in the fifth. Dalton Rushing (Louisville) hit an RBI double for the game’s lone run. 

The slim lead was no problem for Adler, who got Wareham standout Owen Diodati (Alabama) to ground out for the first out in the ninth. He then struck out the next two batters to end the game. 

Brewster 7, Cotuit 3

It’s Brewster and Harwich atop the East Division now, after they both won their second straight games on Saturday. The Whitecaps broke a 2-2 tie with four runs in the seventh for a win over Cotuit. A sacrifice fly by Mac Bingham (Arizona) plated the go-ahead run, before an RBI double by Jake Thompson (Oklahoma State) and a two-run single by Nick Biddison (Virginia Tech). Michael Prosecky (Louisville) got the win in relief and Griffin Green (Virginia Tech) pitched a scoreless ninth. Bingham and Biddison each finished with two RBI to lead the offense. Chris Lanzilli (Wake Forest), who hit four homers for Harwich in the 2019 Cape League season, made his Brewster debut and went 1-for-4 with two RBI. For Cotuit, Luke Gold (Boston College) hit his fourth home run. Brewster is 12-7-2, Cotuit 11-10. 

Harwich 4, Falmouth 1

As for the Mariners, they also beat a West Division foe, handling Falmouth 4-1. They fell behind 1-0 in the third but quickly rallied and didn’t give up another run. Brock Wilken (Wake Forest) tallied his league-leading 18th RBI. Carter Putz (Notre Dame), Pres Cavenaugh (UNC Greensboro) and Jordan Beck (Tennessee) had one RBI each. Starter Billy Seidl (Duke) allowed one run in 2.1 innings ahead of dominant relief work. Spencer Giesting (Charlotte) struck out six in 4.2 scoreless innings and Danny Wilkinson (Villanova) struck out five of the six batters he faced in two shutout frames. Harwich goes to 11-7-3 and hasn’t lost since July 11, with a tie mixed in. Falmouth drops to 8-10-2. 

Chatham 4, Hyannis 1

Chatham had only four hits but made them count. Maxwell Romero, Jr. (Vanderbilt) hit a two-run homer to bring Chatham back from an early 1-0 deficit, and Garrett Martin (McLennan CC) blasted a solo shot one inning later. Lyle Miller-Green (Chipola) chipped in an RBI fielder’s choice and that was enough for the Anglers. Dylan Carmouche (Mississippi State) allowed one run in four innings. Cade Winquest (Texas Arlington) tossed four shutout innings, and Zachary Maxwell (Georgia Tech) picked up the save with a scoreless ninth. Caleb Pendleton (Florida Atlantic) homered for the only Hyannis run. Chatham is 9-11-3 and Hyannis drops its 12th straight to fall to 2-19. 

Orleans 3, Y-D 3

Both looking to make a move in the East, Orleans and Y-D had to settle for a 3-3 tie. The Firebirds came back from a 3-1 hole with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, and both teams were held off the board from there. Luke Keaschall (San Francisco) hit the game-tying home run for the Firebirds. David Marcano (NJIT) also went deep for Orleans. Garret Guillemette (USC) chipped in an RBI. Y-D’s offense was led by Chase Luttrell (Long Beach State), who hit a two-run triple and scored on an error on the same play. Reid McLaughlin (BYU) pitched two scoreless innings for Y-D to stop Orleans’ comeback. Zack Morris (Arkansas) gave up the triple to Luttrell, then was lights out, allowing just one more hit and striking out eight in 5.2 innings. Orleans is 8-8-4 and Y-D is 9-8-5. 

WHAT TO WATCH

Jake Brooks (UCLA) and his 0.43 ERA will try to slow down red-hot Bourne as Cotuit visits Doran Park. 

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