Trey Dombroski (Monmouth) does not give up home runs.
Literally.
The surface statistics are impressive enough for the Harwich ace, but dig deeper and his breakout summer in the Cape League looks even better.
The home runs are one such stat. He has not allowed a long ball all summer. He didn’t give up a homer in his spring season at Monmouth either. Last summer in the Atlantic Collegiate League? No homers. His shortened freshman season in 2020? Still no.
Dombroski has not given up a home run in his collegiate career.
With another homerless outing, he set the stage for a 4-1 Harwich win over Falmouth on Wednesday night. He tossed seven innings, allowed one run and struck out seven. His ERA now stands at 1.13 and he moved into a tie for the league lead in strikeouts with 45.
And there’s more from the file. The 6-foot-5 left-hander has paired those 45 strikeouts with just two walks in 31.2 innings. He issued one free pass Wednesday night, having handed out his first on July 8. Otherwise, not a one.
How about durability? Few pitchers are going seven innings in the Cape League these days. Dombroski has done it twice and he now leads the league in innings pitched.
And when it comes to limiting damage, nobody’s been better. Dombroski has given up a few more hits than some of his counterparts at the top of the pitching starts, but he has also surrendered just two extra-base hits, both of which were doubles.
Dombroski was great in the spring, too, putting up a 5-1 record and a 2.73 ERA. True to his summer form, he struck out 64 and walked only eight.
He actually started his time with Harwich in the bullpen, but after a lights-out relief performance on June 29 – 10 strikeouts in 3.2 innings – he moved into the rotation and has kept right on rolling.
Harwich backed him up with two runs in the seventh and another in the eighth for the win over Falmouth. Tatem Levins (Pittsburgh) had two hits and two RBI while Zack Prajzner (Notre Dame) homered.
Harwich improved to 17-10-4, maintaining its hold on second place in the East, and Dombroski picked up the win.
Brewster 5, Wareham 3
The Whitecaps trailed 3-0 with two innings to go but rallied for a dramatic win with five runs in the eighth. Chad Castillo (California Baptist) started the scoring with a two-run single. Kurtis Byrne (TCU) drove in the tying run with a base hit. An error on a sacf bunt allowed two more runs to score. Suddenly armed with the lead, the bullpen closed the door. In his first appearance of the summer, Greg Farone (Herkimer CC) struck out the side around a hit in the eighth and Michael Prosecky (Louisville) worked around a bit of trouble in the ninth, stranding the tying runs on base. The win puts Brewster at 19-9-3, three points better than second-place Harwich. Wareham is 11-16-5.
Bourne 8, Y-D 2
The first-place Braves had lost three in a row – their only losing streak of the season – but broke out with solid pitching and a 12-hit attack. Trystan Vrieling (Gonzaga) pitched three scoreless innings to start. Dylan Bowers (Northern Colorado) allowed two unearned runs but nothing else in four innings and earned the win. Tyler Stuart (Southern Mississippi) and Eric Adler (Wake Forest) finished it off. Y-D took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth, but Bourne quickly answered with two runs in the bottom half and pulled away with five runs in the eighth. Joe Lampe (Arizona State) each went 3-for-4 with one RBI to lead the attack. Dalton Rushing (Louisville) and Tanner Schobel (Virginia Tech) had two hits and drove in one run each. Bourne is 22-6-3 and Y-D is 12-13-7.
Cotuit 2, Hyannis 1
Cotuit won its second straight game and is back to sole possession of the all-important second spot in the West. First-inning offense was the only offense in this one, as Hyannis scored one run in the top half and Cotuit answered with two in the bottom. Neither team scored again. Eric Brown (Coastal Carolina) singled in Cotuit’s first run, then stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. And he wasn’t done running, as he scored the go-ahead run on a double steal with Noah Bridges (UNC Wilmington). Four pitchers combined to shut out Hyannis the rest of the way. Joseph Gieg (Boston College) went three scoreless for the win. Will Jacobsen (Harvard) got the save. Mark Adamiak (Alabama) and Evan Webster (Louisville) pitched well for Hyannis.
Chatham 13, Orleans 10
Chatham outlasted Orleans in a slugfest for its third straight win. The Anglers hit four home runs and finished with 16 hits. Maxwell Romero Jr (Vanderbilt) hit his fifth and Matthew Hogan (Vanderbilt) hit his fourth home run. Nolan McLean (Oklahoma State) went 3-for-3 with his first home run and Jake DeLeo (Georgia Tech) homered and drove in three. Caeden Trinkle (Oklahoma State) and Lyle Milller-Green (Chipola) added two hits each. Orleans did most of its scoring in the late innings but didn’t have enough to complete the comeback. Chase DeLauter (James Madison) moved into a tie for the league lead with his ninth home run. Trae Harmon (Stetson) added three hits. Chatham is 13-17-3 and Orleans falls to 12-14-4.
WHAT TO WATCH
It’s a league-wide off day on Thursday. Friday brings a matchup of first-place teams as Brewster visits Bourne.
RELATED POSTS
Chatham managed just one hit in Friday’s game against Wareham. It was a good one to get. Lyle Miller-Green (Chipola) hit a grand slam in the third inning as the Anglers work...
If Luke Keaschall accumulates enough plate appearances for the Cape Cod Baseball League batting title, he may win it. Given his performance over the last week, I wouldn’t bet against him.&...