The Boys of August

Y-D players stream onto the field after the final out of Wednesday's championship.
Y-D players stream onto the field after the final out of Wednesday’s championship.

 
If you want to win a Cape Cod Baseball League championship, your first objective should be to build a good team.

Your second objective should be to keep the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox out of the playoffs.

With an 8-1 win over Hyannis in game three of the title series Wednesday night, the Red Sox won their second consecutive Cape League crown and their fifth in 12 years. They’ve been the East Division’s No. 3 seed each of the last two years, hardly the favorite. They beat the East’s best team in the semifinals in both years. And they beat a sentimental favorite in the title round both times, dashing the dreams of clubs in long championship droughts in favor of more hardware for an already crowded trophy case.

It’s hard to quantify how they do it. But they keep doing it. Since the Cape League expanded to eight playoff teams in 2010, no first-place team has won the title. It’s always been an upstart, often a No. 3 seed, and nobody has done it better than the Y-D Red Sox.

Last year, they got off to a slow start in the regular season but were a much different team in the final two-thirds of the year. Though they only rose to third place, they went 24-19-1 and were playing some great baseball. When their pitching took over in the postseason, it was all over.

This run was more unlikely. The Red Sox started the summer with four consecutive losses. They made their push again but barely cleared the .500 mark and finished 22-22. They ranked third in the league in hitting, fifth in ERA. In a year where parity did not reign – where division winners Orleans and Hyannis led almost wire-to-wire – average marks would not be good enough.

The Red Sox needed a win or a Harwich loss on the final day of the season just to make the playoffs. The Mariners obliged and lost. That game finished a few minutes before Y-D’s finale ended. Learning that they were safely in the playoffs, the Red Sox took a deep breath — and lost. They hit the playoffs on a two-game slide.

But they were in. And when they’re in, they know what to do.

Three pitchers pieced together a strong opener and the Red Sox scored three in the eighth to beat Brewster. Ricky Thomas followed with six shutout innings in a 7-3, sweep-clinching win.

Top-seeded Orleans needed three games to win its first-round series but was off-and-running against the Red Sox, winning the opener 4-0. Order would be restored.

But just as it did last year, Y-D’s pitching staff began to flex its muscle.

Cory Malcolm, Ben Bowden and Chad Hockin never blinked in a 13-inning marathon that resulted in a 2-1 win for the Red Sox. It was an elimination game – with five elimination innings folded in – and the Red Sox stayed alive.

Dustin Hunt carried the torch in the third game. This wasn’t a Walker Buehler coming to the rescue from the College World Series and Team USA; this was a guy who pitches for Northeastern and started the year in the bullpen stepping up for an enormous performance.

In both games, the Y-D offense scuffled, but got it done, and the Red Sox moved on.

Sunday, Hyannis greeted the Red Sox with an 8-1 win. Again, the Red Sox had their backs against the wall. Again, order would be restored.

But that pitching…

And, out of nowhere, the offense.

Thomas stayed perfect on the summer with a dominant performance in game two and the Red Sox smashed 18 hits. They never trailed. After a rain-out Tuesday, it all came down to game three Wednesday night, back at McKeon Park in front of the Harbor Hawk faithful.

The Red Sox saved their best for last.

Gonzaga’s Brandon Bailey, the loser in game one of the Orleans series, struck out seven in six innings of one-hit baseball. The one hit? A bunt single. Ben Bowden followed him to the hill. The Vanderbilt lefty’s ability to dominate in long relief outings made him Y-D’s best playoff weapon, and he was on his game Wednesday. He struck out three in three innings of relief.

Both Bailey and Bowden pitched with a lead, as Y-D’s offense one-upped its 18-hit attack in game two with a 19-hit outburst Wednesday. An error let a run score in the first. Donnie Walton doubled in another in the fifth. Cole Billingsley blew the game open with a three-run homer in the eighth. The Red Sox did a good bit of their damage off Devin Smeltzer, who threw a no-hitter in June, and reliever Aaron Civale, who had a 0.36 ERA in the regular season.

Hyannis, a perfect 5-0 in the playoffs before Monday’s loss, found itself in an even more unfamiliar position.

Through an incredible eight innings, Y-D pitchers had faced the minimum. The Harbor Hawks finally made some headway, showing the grit that helped them author a special year, but it happened with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

A run came in, but Bowden got a ground ball, flipped to first for the final out, and waited for the dog pile.

Somehow, some way, they had done it again.

I’d like to be able to break it down, pinpoint exactly how these last two Y-D teams have gotten hot at exactly the right time. Pitching is certainly the No. 1 factor. They play good defense, too. And the lineup – with the reinforcements that every team needs – has its mainstays, too, guys like Billingsley and Walton.

It doesn’t pan out every year, but it has worked to perfection two summers in a row.

Falmouth felt the sting last year. Hyannis was the victim this year. The franchise was on the cusp of its first title since 1991, back when they were the Mets. They’ve had their own tremendous run in recent years, winning three division titles in the last five years. But the top prize has proved elusive, and Y-D kept it that way.

They called it the YDynasty back in 2007, when the Red Sox won their second consecutive Cape League championship and their third in four years. Those teams were all No. 1 seeds.

These teams have been different – No. 3 seeds without the star power that made those ’04, ’06 and ’07 teams so good. But they hit the same finish line.

If 12 years can count as one dynasty, then dust off the YDynasty label.

The Boys of August fit right in.
 

Beating the Best

Gio Brusa gets a high five from Scott Pickler as he rounds third base after his first-inning home run Saturday night.
Gio Brusa gets a high five from Scott Pickler as he rounds third base after his first-inning home run Saturday night.

 
The summer of 2007 was the last time a team with the best regular-season record in the Cape League went on to the league championship. Even with a team as good as the 2015 Orleans Firebirds, the streak lives on.

Defending champion Yarmouth-Dennis ousted Orleans Saturday night at Eldredge Park, riding dominant pitching for the second consecutive day to a 2-1 victory. The Red Sox, who had lost game one, also won by a 2-1 score in Friday’s game two, which went 13 innings. Orleans – which had the same record as the 2007 Y-D Red Sox, the last team to win with the best mark – is out by the narrowest of margins.

With Mitchell Jordan (Stetson) on the hill Saturday and the offense chomping at the bit after being limited for 13 innings the night before, Orleans seemed poised for a rebound. Instead, Y-D found a way.

Dustin Hunt (Northeastern), who had a 4.96 ERA this spring and began his summer in the Y-D bullpen, drew the start. He had delivered some pretty good performances and quietly struck out 33 in 22.2 innings. Saturday, he was a whole lot better than pretty good. Hunt struck out 10 and gave up just two hits in 7.2 innings. Neither of the hits went for extra bases.

And he pitched with a lead. Gio Brusa (Pacific), the third batter of the game, hit the first home run that Jordan has surrendered all summer in staking the Red Sox to the 1-0 lead. Brusa was at it again in the eighth, hitting a two-out double and scoring on a Donnie Walton (Oklahoma State) single.

Hunt struck out the first two batters in the eighth before Evan Bell (Indiana) relieved him. The Firebirds quickly started their comeback, getting a base hit by Sean Murphy (Wright State) and an error in left field that allowed him to score. Another error put runners on first and third, but Y-D escaped with a force-out at second base.

In the ninth – with the middle of the order up – Bell struck out home run king Bobby Dalbec (Arizona) and retired standout Kyle Lewis (Mercer). After a single by Willie Abreu (Miami), Chad Hockin (Cal State Fullerton) relieved Bell and ended the game with a strikeout.

It was a fitting finish – Y-D pitching allowed Orleans two runs in the last two games – all 22 innings of them – and the Red Sox are moving on because of it.

For Orleans, it’s a tough ending. As a fan, I like to see great teams do great things. But as is often the case in the Cape League, the great things can come from anybody.

Y-D will be in the finals for the sixth time in the last 10 years, a remarkable stretch.

The championship series begins tonight at McKeon Park.
 

More of the Same

Ryne Birk catches a throw as Cotuit's Jeren Kendall slides underneath him in Monday's playoff game.
Ryne Birk catches a throw as Cotuit’s Jeren Kendall slides underneath him in Monday’s playoff game.

 
Cotuit went 0-for-6 against Hyannis in the regular season. If ever the Kettleers were going to break through, game one of their playoff series Monday looked like a pretty good time. They had ace Jon Woodcock (Virginia Tech) on the hill and the regular-season slate was wiped clean.

But Hyannis simply rolled on.

The top-seeded Harbor Hawks touched up Woodcock for eight runs – five of them earned – and built an 8-0 lead en route to a 10-3 victory at McKeon Park.

Woodcock ranked fourth in the league in ERA, but Hyannis had done a little damage against him in his final regular-season start, scoring three runs in 3.2 innings.

This time, the Harbor Hawks scored three runs in the first, one in the second and two in the third in racing to the early lead. Dakota Hudson (Mississippi State) pitched six strong innings for the win, allowing just two unearned runs. Zach Girrens (St. Louis) picked up a three-inning save.

Jacob Noll (Florida Gulf Coast) and Ryne Birk (Texas A&M) both homered for the Harbor Hawks. Noll added a single and finished with four RBI. Colby Bortles (Ole Miss) and Jake Rogers (Tulane) drove in two runs each, while Bobby Melley (Connecticut) continued his triumphant return with a 3-for-3 night. He was coming off a 4-for-5 performance in the season finale, his first Cape game since June 14.

Cotuit showed some life late with two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh. Spencer Gaa (Bradley) had two hits and an RBI.

It was too little, too late, just as it has been all season for Cotuit against Hyannis. The Kettleers will have one more chance to change that.
 

Orleans 4, Chatham 1

East top seed Orleans also took care of business in its opener, rallying from an early 1-0 deficit to beat Chatham 4-1. The Anglers struck first and pushed a run across against Mitchell Jordan (Stetson), a pretty rare feat. But Jordan would go the next 5.2 innings without allowing another run. He struck out four. Kit Scheetz (Virginia Tech) and Kyle Serrano (Tennessee) – who apparently is sliding to the bullpen – finished the job. The Firebirds took the lead in the second against Chatham starter Zac Gallen (North Carolina) and added two more runs in the fifth. Kyle Lewis (Mercer), Willie Abreu (Miami) and Nick Zammarelli (Elon) knocked in one run each. Abreu, who went 2-for-3, has a five-game hit streak that includes two home runs, giving Orleans one more dangerous hitter.
 

Y-D 3, Brewster 2

The only upset of the day happened at Stony Brook Field, where No. 3 Y-D rallied against the Brewster bullpen for a 3-2 victory over the No. 2 Whitecaps. Pitching figured to be the key for the Whitecaps – who had the league’s best batting average but the second-worst ERA – and Hunter Martin (Tennessee) gave them exactly what they needed. He went 6.2 shutout innings, keeping Brewster in front 1-0. Anthony Arias (Fresno State) relieved him with two outs in the seventh and got a quick third out but Y-D started the eighth with a single and a walk. The Red Sox then greeted new pitcher Thomas Hackimer (St. John’s) with two straight run-scoring singles and a sacrifice fly. Donnie Walton (Oklahoma State) and Dallas Carroll (Utah) had the base hits while Mike Donadio (St. John’s) delivered the sac fly. The Whitecaps got one run back in the bottom of the eighth but nothing else. Chad Hockin (Cal State Fullerton) then struck out two in a scoreless ninth.
 

Bourne 7, Wareham 1

The Braves scoed five runs in the second inning and never looked back in a 7-1 victory over Wareham. Reid Humphreys (Mississippi State) went 2-for-4 with three RBI to lead Bourne’s 10-hit attack. C.J. Chatham (Florida Atlantic) went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Pete Alonso (Florida) had two hits. Cody Sedlock (Illinois), who opened the season in the Bourne bullpen but transitioned to the rotation for three regular-season starts in July, showed why that was a good move. He went seven innings and gave up just one run, striking out five. Bryan Baker (North Florida) pitched the final two innings.
 

Award Winners

A number of Cape League awards were presented Monday, most notably the MVP and Pitcher of the Year honors.

The MVP went to Brewster’s Nick Senzel, and deservedly so. The Tennessee standout was solid early in the season then got hot and never cooled off. He ended up hitting .364 – second only to Andrew Calica – and led the league in RBI with 33. He is Brewster’s first MVP since J.C. Holt in 2003.

Senzel also took home Top Prospect honors.

Mitchell Jordan, another shoo-in, won Pitcher of the Year honors. Jordan tied a CCBL record with a 0.21 ERA, while going 6-0 for Orleans. He is the second straight Firebird hurler to take top honors. Kolton Mahoney won it last year.
 

What to Watch

Brewster at Y-D, 4 p.m.
Hyannis at Cotuit, 4 p.m.
Bourne at Wareham, 7 p.m.
Orleans at Chatham, 7 p.m.

Orleans will have its other ace, Eric Lauer, on the hill as it tries to finish off a sweep of Chatham at Veterans Field. Lauer finished the regular season as the league leader in strikeouts.
 

Up in the Air

Harwich kept Chatham from clinching a playoff spot while keeping its own hopes alive.
Harwich kept Chatham from clinching a playoff spot while keeping its own hopes alive.

A quick Daily Fog today. The biggest news? Nobody else clinched a playoff spot last night. Still four berths up for grabs.

Harwich 5, Chatham 2

Chatham scored two in the first as it tried to clinch a playoff bid but Harwich rallied for the 5-2 win. Coupled with a Y-D win, Chatham and the Red Sox are now tied for third place. Harwich is four points back of them and still in the mix. The Mariners got RBI from Sheldon Neuse (Oklahoma), Adam Pate (North Carolina) and Connor Justus (Georgia Tech) on the comeback trail. Cam Vieaux (Michigan State) settled in after giving up the two first-inning runs and went four innings. Hunter Newman (LSU) and Zach Schellenger (Seton Hall) shut-out the Anglers over the final five innings.
 

Falmouth 10, Wareham 3

The Commodores have won two straight and now find themselves just a point out of fourth place and three points out of third in the West. Five different players had two hits in a 13-hit barrage that included eight runs over the first two innings. Logan Ice (Oregon State), Evan Skoug (TCU) and Boomer White (Texas A&M) all scored twice in addition to their two hits. Joseph Camacho (Alabama State), making just his second start, gave up three runs in 6.2 innings for the win.
 

Y-D 4, Brewster 3

Y-D scored three in the sixth and held off a late push by Brewster to move into a third-place tie with Chatham. Gio Brusa (Pacific) led the Red Sox with his eighth home run, to go with two RBI. Cole Billingsley (South Alabama) and Tommy Edman (Stanford) added two hits each. Dustin Hunt (Northeastern) started for Y-D and pitched four scoreless innings with six strikeouts. Mason Kukowski (Yale) got the win in relief and Chad Hockin (Cal State Fullerton) picked up the save.
 

Hyannis 6, Cotuit 2

Hyannis finished off a six-game season sweep of Cotuit with a 6-2 victory at Lowell Park. That means more than a quarter of the first-place Harbor Hawks’ 23 victories have come against the rival Kettleers. Thomas Burrows (Alabama) gave up one run in five innings for the win. He struck out five. Marc Skinner (Troy) and Aaron Civale (Northeastern) kept Cotuit from rallying. Jake Rogers (Tulane) led the Hyannis offense with three hits and two RBI. Austin Hays (Jacksonville) added two hits. For Cotuit, Will Haynie (Alabama) hit his eighth home run.
 

Orleans 4, Bourne 1

Fresh off their division-clinching win Thursday, the Firebirds made it two wins in a row with a victory over Bourne. John Kilichowski (Vanderbilt) served notice that he might provide a major boost to a playoff rotation with 5.1 scoreless innings in his third appearance since his late arrival. He struck out seven and gave up three hits. Willie Abreu (Miami) led the Orleans offense with his second home run of the summer. Ronnie Dawson (Ohio State) added two hits and an RBI.
 

What to Watch

It’s the second-to-last day of the regular season, and literally every game features at least one team fighting for a playoff spot.
 

Four-for-Four

Nick Solak

Nick Solak and Bourne improved to 4-0 against Hyannis this summer with a win Wednesday.
Nick Solak and Bourne improved to 4-0 against Hyannis this summer with a win Wednesday.

 
For most of the summer, the West Division standings have had Hyannis at the top and nobody else particularly close. The Harbor Hawks are 17-13 right now and no other team is even above .500.

But in that landscape, a funny thing has happened: Bourne has consistently gotten the better of the first-place Harbor Hawks.

With a 3-2 victory Wednesday night at Doran Park, the Braves moved to 4-0 against Hyannis this summer. That’s nearly a third of their 13 total wins on the season. Hyannis still owns a six-point lead on the second-place Braves but it would be a whole lot bigger if not for their head-to-head series.

Wednesday, the Harbor Hawks took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning and made it 2-0 in the sixth. Starter Vance Tatum (Mississippi State) was cruising with the lead and took a no-hitter into the fifth.

Even from that beginning, Bourne still found a way.

The Braves scored three runs in the sixth inning, with a double by Jacob Robson (Mississippi State) and a single by Camden Duzenack (Dallas Baptist) setting up RBI for Pete Alonso (Florida), Corey Julks (Houston) and Reid Humphreys (Mississippi State).

Bourne’s Indiana State bullpen tandem then took over. Ryan Keaffaber, who had served up a home run in the top of the sixth, worked a scoreless seventh and college teammate Austin Conway followed with two perfect innings en route to his seventh save.

The Harbor Hawks got two hits from Blake Tiberi (Louisville), who now qualifies for the batting average leaderboard – and vaulted to the top spot with his .380 average. They also got the first home run of the summer from recent arrival Matt Thaiss, who won a national championship with Virginia.

But against Bourne, nothing the Harbor Hawks do has mattered much.

The Braves have their number.
 

Orleans 12, Harwich 3

Orleans is on its third streak of at least four wins this summer thanks to a 12-3 drubbing of Harwich last night. The Firebirds scored five runs in each of the first two innings as they put the game away quickly. Nick Zammarelli (Elon), who’s quietly been one of the team’s steadiest performers, had a loud night, hitting a three-run homer in the first and knocking in two with a single in the second. He finished 2-for-4 with five RBI. Willie Abreu (Miami) and Alex Call (Ball State) drove in two runs each. Leadoff man Bryan Reynolds (Vanderbilt) scored three runs. Starting pitcher Kyle Serrano (Tennessee) allowed two runs in four innings. Carmen Benedetti (Michigan) got the win in relief.
 

  • Y-D 4, Falmouth 3
  • The Firebirds aren’t the only hot team in the East, as Y-D pushed its win streak to five in dramatic fashion with a 4-3 walk-off victory over Falmouth. With the game tied 3-3 in the ninth, the Red Sox strung together four straight singles, with the fourth one winning the game. Tommy Edman (Stanford) delivered it, plating Joshua Vidales (Houston) with the winning run. Earlier in the at-bat, Edman had failed to get down a squeeze bunt, which caused the runner from third to get tagged out in a rundown. Edman then came through and now has a hit in 10 straight games and ranks fourth in the league in hitting at .341. Vidales and Cole Billingsley (South Alabama) each had three hits. Chad Hockin (Cal State Fullerton) made his first appearance of the summer and got the win with three innings of relief. Y-D improved to 16-14, tied with Brewster for third place in the East.
     

    Brewster 2, Cotuit 1

    The Whitecaps stayed hot with a little late drama as well, edging Cotuit for their third straight win. Trailing 1-0 in the ninth, the Whitecaps tied it on a J.C. Escarra (Florida International) RBI single and won it later in the inning when Escarra raced in from third on a wild pitch. Brewster had been shut-out by Jon Woodcock (Virginia Tech) but had managed to stay within a run thanks to a strong pitching performance of its own. Alex Schick (California) gave up one run in 6.1 innings Four relievers teamed up for the final 2.2 innings and allowed just one hit.
     

    Chatham 2, Wareham 1

    The Anglers rallied from an early 1-0 deficit to slip past Wareham at Veterans Field. Daulton Jefferies (California) made his return from Team USA for the Gatemen and allowed one run in four innings, but Chatham pushed through against the Gatemen bullpen, plating the go-ahead run in the seventh on an RBI single by Todd Czinege (Villanova). Brandon Miller (Millersville) earned the win with three scoreless innings of relief. Cameron Stone (Stony Brook) and Aaron McGarity (Virginia Tech) finished off the victory. Aaron Barnett (Peppedine) added two hits and an RBI for the Anglers.
     

    What to Watch

    Nothing on the schedule today. When games get going again Friday, Orleans will host Brewster in a battle of streaking East teams.