Author: Will Geoghegan

The two hottest teams in the league played the two coldest teams in the league last night, and the results were predictable.

Bourne won its fourth straight with a 5-2 victory over Harwich. It was the Mariners’ fifth loss in a row. Orleans won its fifth consecutive game with an 8-2 win over Y-D. It was also the fifth loss in a row for the Red Sox.

For both of the hot teams, Tuesday’s games were perfect examples of why they’re hot. Both Bourne and Orleans got out-hit by their opponents but managed to deliver all the timely hits they needed. On top of that, neither team made an error, and the pitching was solid too.

What you have there is an all-around effort.

For Bourne, the victory meant a lot in the standings. The Braves now sit alone in first place for the first time this season. Their win came on the strength of six strong innings from Nate Reed (Pittsburgh) and a three-inning save from Bob Revesz (Louisville). Jamie Johnson (Oklahoma) had two RBI to lead the Braves at the plate.

In Orleans, Tuesday’s game featured another offensive show. Angelo Songco (Loyola Marymount) and Matt Bowman (Nevada) hit home runs to send the Cardinals on their way. They’ve now scored 29 runs in their five-game winning streak.

As for the teams on the other end, the sky isn’t necessarily falling. Harwich has lost three of the five games by a single run. Y-D is a little more behind the eight ball thanks to a handful of blowout losses, but once things settle down after a lot of lineup shuffling, the Red Sox should be fine at the plate. On the mound, they need more consistency from their starting pitchers.

Elsewhere

• Falmouth out-slugged Wareham 9-8 thanks to a three-run rally in the eighth. With two outs, Joey Wong (Oregon State) started things with a single. After Trevor Coleman (Missouri) walked, Jimmy Cesario (Houston) hit a two-run triple. Cesario then scored on an error. For Wareham, Brett Eibner (Arkansas) hit a grand slam.

• Cotuit, which had lost eight of 10, broke out of the doldrums with a 5-2 victory over Hyannis. Nick Hernandez (Tennessee), who has delivered time and again for Cotuit, came up with seven impressive innings last night. He allowed one run on six hits and struck out eight to pick up the win. Jason Kipnis (Arizona State) and Jeff Schuas (Clemson) both had two RBI for Cotuit.

What to Watch For Tonight

• There’s a full slate of good pitching match-ups, and one will come in a battle for first place. Orleans sends Rob Rasmussen (UCLA) to the hill against Brewster’s Rob Gilliam (UNC Greensboro). Orleans is one point behind Brewster for first place.

• Andrew Carraway (Virginia) will go for Hyannis against Falmouth.

• Depending on where you look, Chatham will send either Sammy Solis (San Diego) or Justin Marks (Louisville) to the mound against Y-D’s Jerry Sullivan (Oral Roberts).

• Harwich will try to stop its losing streak with Billy Bullock (Florida) on the mound against Wareham’s Max Perlman (Harvard).

In the last five games — one turn through the rotation — Brewster’s starting pitchers have struck out 31 and allowed only four earned runs in 29 innings pitched.

Those are very good numbers, better considering how far Brewster’s starting staff has come. Before the season started, it looked like just one player, Vanderbilt’s Caleb Cotham, would be a solid Cape League starter. A lot of the other starter candidates had struggled in the spring, while a handful of other pitchers hadn’t started at all.

But the Whitecaps have figured it out of late, and whoever gets the ball seems to turn in a strong outing. The latest contributor is newcomer Evan Bronson (Trinity University), a former temporary player who joined the team last week after Y-D didn’t have room for him. Bronson made his first start last night and struck out nine in six shutout innings as Brewster beat Wareham 4-2.

While Cotham, Buddy Bauman (Missouri State) and Rob Gilliam (UNC Greensboro) have been solid all summer, the addition of Bronson well represents what the Whitecaps have done — they’ve pieced things together. Neither he nor Tim Clubb (Missouri State) were on the roster before the season started. Another of the starters, Vanderbilt’s Nick Christiani, started the summer as Brewster’s closer.

The thing to remember is that piecing together a rotation doesn’t necessarily mean piecing it together from the scrap heap. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

• Bronson, a junior lefthander, pitches for Trinity University in Texas, where he went 9-3 this year with a 2.28 ERA and 102 strikeouts against 19 walks in 82 innings. He was a 36th-round pick of the Brewers in June.

• Clubb, a third-year sophomore at Missouri State, was the Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year this season after going 11-0 with a 2.52 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 103.2 innings. He was labeled as a potential first-day pick in the draft but slipped all the way to the 42nd round.

• Christiani, who closed games for Orleans last summer, went into the weekend rotation at Vanderbilt this spring and pitched well, going 6-3 with a 4.97 ERA. He was a 32nd-round pick in June.

So there’s clearly talent there, and that talent is starting to deliver. It’s no coincidence that this solid run of starting pitching has coincided with a solid stretch for the team. Brewster has won four of its last five and is sitting in first place with the best record in the league.

Elsewhere

• Orleans continued its hot streak with its fourth straight win, and it was another offensive one. The Cardinals got home runs from Angelo Songco (Loyola Marymount), Kyle Spraker (Loyola Marymount) and Tim Wheeler (Sacramento State) to out-slug Y-D 10-7. The three home runs matched Orleans’ season total heading into last night. With the victory, Orleans improved to 11-8.

• Chatham improved to .500 and sent Cotuit back to .500 with a 7-4 victory. Jake Thompson (Long Beach State) turned in his best start of the summer, allowing two runs in five innings to pick up the win. Brad Boxberger (USC) notched his eighth save. The A’s offense, which is trying to find its way after injuries to two starters (Aaron Miller and Devin Lohman), put up its highest run total since June 26. Kyle Bellows (San Jose State) went 3-for-5 with three RBI. For the Kettleers, the loss was their third in a row and their eighth in 10 games.

• Bourne squeaked past Harwich 5-4 in 10 innings to move into a tie with Hyannis for first place in the West. Kyle Roller (East Carolina) hit a solo home run, his first of the year, to give Bourne a lead in the top of the 10th. Eric Pettis (UC Irvine) worked a perfect bottom of the 10th to secure the victory.

• Falmouth and Hyannis both scored two runs against the other team’s starter, but the Commodores put up four runs against the Mets’ bullpen to post a 6-2 victory. A.J. Pollock (Notre Dame) hit a three-run home run to key the late rally.

What to Watch For Tonight

• Orleans will try to stay hot with another game against Y-D. Martin Viramontes (Loyola Marymount), who has a 1.80 ERA, will get the ball for the Cardinals against Y-D’s Eddie Burns.

Perfect Game Crosschecker’s Summer 16 is always a cool feature. It’s a ranking of the top summer league teams in the country, regardless of league. Obviously, it doesn’t mean anything, but it’s a neat thing to check out.

It’s also nice that the Cape League is always prominently featured.

But the most recent Summer 16, which came out July 1, has a different look. The Vienna Senators of the Clark Griffith League claimed the top spot. As PG Crosschecker’s Allan Simpson notes, it’s the first time in the history of the Summer 16 that a Cape League team hasn’t resided at the top.

This doesn’t say anything about the talent level on the Cape. Just something about how that talent is dispersed. There’s parity across the board, and because of that, no team has been able to separate itself.

The good thing? The parity should make for a wild second half of the season. Even if it’s not played out atop the Summer 16.

Last Sunday, the Orleans Cardinals were on the wrong end of a 5-0 shutout. It was a loss that dropped their record to 5-7 and pushed them into last place in the Eastern Division.

But something has clicked since then.

The Cardinals beat Harwich 2-1 last night for their fifth win in six games. They’re now 10-8 and sitting in second place, just behind Brewster.

The difference throughout much of the streaj has been offense. The Cardinals struggled mightily in the first two weeks of the season, scoring only 25 runs in 12 games. They’ve scored 26 runs in the five games since. With a solid pitching staff, that’s a recipe for a turnaround.

Last night, they kind of won the old-fashioned way, getting just enough offense to scrape by. The Cardinals rallied from a 1-0 deficit with a two-run eighth inning to grab the lead. Tim Wheeler (Sacramento State) and Matt Bowman (Nevada) singled to start the eighth and each moved up a base on a throwing error. A wild pitch brought Wheeler home with the tying run, and Bowman trotted home on an RBI single by Rich Poythress (Georgia).

The bullpen held the slim lead, with Kyle Kamppi (Georgia Southern) picking up his seventh save. Isaac Morales (Cal State LA) got the win in relief of Matt Thomson (San Diego) who allowed one run in five innings.

Elsewhere

• Harwich’s Chris Manno (Duke) was impressive in the losing effort last night, allowing just one hit through 6.1 shutout innings.

• Wareham also continued a little hot streak, beating Y-D 4-3 for the team’s third straight win. The Gatemen are still in last place but only four games behind first-place Hyannis in the loss column. Last night, starter Robby Broach (Tulane) turned in a strong performance and the bats came alive in the eighth inning to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead. A double by Aaron Baker (Oklahoma) brought in Brett Eibner (Arkansas) and Baker scored the go-ahead run on a single by Connor Rowe (Texas).

• Hyannis picked up its league-best 11th win with a 5-2 victory over Cotuit, who was in a tie with the Mets for first place. Alex McRee (Georgia) allowed one run in seven innings for the Mets, and Russell Brewer (Vanderbilt) picked up his league-leading ninth save. Ben Paulsen (Clemson) and Chris Dominguez (Louisville) each had two RBI to lead Hyannis. Reliever Sam Brown (NC State) was a bright spot for Cotuit, striking out five in four shutout innings.

• Charles Brewer (UCLA) turned in his best performance of the summer as Chatham squeaked past Brewster 3-2. Brewer struck out eight and allowed one earned run in 5.2 innings. Nick Christiani (Vanderbilt) pitched well in his first start for Brewster, but the A’s capitalized on errors to score two unearned runs.

• Bourne used a pitching committee and a four-run seventh inning to beat Falmouth 5-3. Five different Braves took the hill, with Bob Revesz (Louisville), the third reliever, picking up the win. A two-run single by Jordan Henry (Ole Miss) was the big blow in the second.

What to Watch For Tonight

• Hyannis will try to stay on top of the Western Division with Austin Hudson (Central Florida) on the mound against Falmouth. Hudson has a 1.56 ERA in four starts. The probable starter for Falmouth is Chris Gloor, who actually had an X by his name on the team stats page not to long ago. I guess he’s coming back?

The third week of the Cape League summer was marked by how even it was. With the late arrivals now in the fold, all the teams have most of the players they thought they’d have. The playing field is as level as it’s been. It’s not a stretch to think the third week was a reflection of that.

A lot of teams had good weeks and a few had bad weeks.

But there isn’t that much separating the two. Orleans, Hyannis and Bourne has the best weeks. They went 4-2. Cotuit had the worst week, going 2-5. Through it all, the teams have remained tightly-bunched. Even Cotuit, with that rough week, is still in a tie for first place.

Here’s a look at the week that was for each team. This is going to be the main part of the Sunday Wrap from now on. Teams are listed according to the standings.

EASTERN DIVISION

Brewster Whitecaps
Overall Record: 10-6-3
This Week: 3-2-1
The week started with a tie and two losses, but Brewster bounced back with three consecutive wins, including an impressive 12-3 victory over Cotuit. Slugging third baseman Connor Powers (Mississippi State) had the best offensive week, going 7-for-26 with a home run, and most impressively, 10 RBI. On the mound, Tim Clubb (Missouri State) improved to 4-0, while Caleb Cotham (Vanderbilt) turned in two impressive starts.

Harwich Mariners
Overall Record: 9-7
This Week: 3-2
The Mariners ended last week in second place and stayed there throughout most of this week. But the big news was the arrival of North Carolina star Dustin Ackley, who adds punch to an already dangerous lineup. Ackley went 5-for-13 in his first four games. Another late arrival, Oklahoma’s J.T. Wise, also had a great week, going 9-for-20. The Mariners did lose one major contributor as St. John’s outfielder Brian Kemp was dropped from the roster.

Orleans Cardinals
Overall Record: 9-8
This Week: 4-2
A week ago, the Cardinals were sitting in last place, mired in a terrible offensive slump. But the offense woke up a bit this week, and not surprisingly, that came with good results. In the week’s first game, Orleans got shutout, but over the next five, the Cardinals scored 24 runs, just one shy of the total number of runs they’d scored all season, before that stretch. Matt Bowman (Nevada) led the way, going 7-for-17 in the week. The Cardinals also benefited from the arrival of Georgia slugger Rich Poythress, who went 4-for-7 in his first two games. On the mound, Orleans got strong performances from Miami’s Eric Erickson and UCLA’s Rob Rasmussen.

Chatham A’s
Overall Record: 8-10
This Week: 2-3
At this point, I thought Chatham would be putting everything together. Instead, more things fell apart. Injuries sent three key contributors home, and it was learned that North Carolina pitcher Alex White, Chatham’s expected ace, won’t pitch at all this summer. So it’s still a work in progress for the A’s. The good news is that Grant Green and Cory Olson are still scorching. Olson’s average dropped but he still went 7-for-21 this week and is hitting .500. Green went 8-for-19 and is hitting .429. As for the pitching, Sammy Solis (San Diego) improved to 3-0 with his third strong start of the summer.

Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox
Overall Record: 7-10-1
This Week: 2-4
The Red Sox continued to hit the ball well, but that didn’t matter much because they gave up 29 runs in six games this week. Considering that, it’s amazing they even won two. But they managed to outslug Bourne 10-6 and rode the one good pitching performance of the week — seven strong innings from Craig Fritsch — to beat Orleans. Offensively, the Red Sox took a hit with the loss of Greg Miclat and Jared Mitchell. But Boston College’s Tony Sanchez was a bright spot, going 7-for-15 with a pair of grand slams and 10 RBI.

WESTERN DIVISION

Hyannis Mets
Overall Record: 10-7
This Week: 4-2
Hyannis continued to play solid and steady baseball, getting solid pitching and just enough offense. Russell Brewer (Vanderbilt) continued his bullpen dominance as he picked up saves in three of the Mets’ four wins. On the offensive side, Ben Paulsen (Clemson) had a home run and four RBI. Trent Ashcraft (East Carolina) went 11-for-25.

Cotuit Kettleers
Overall Record: 10-8
This Week: 2-5
Cotuit was riding high this time last week, but an offensive slump coincided with a rough week. The Kettleers lost five games, including the week’s finale when they nearly got no-hit by Wareham’s Brandon Workman. Across the board, the Kettleers struggled, with nearly everybody’s batting average taking a dip. They also lost standout infielder Robbie Shields (Florida Southern) for the summer due to an injury.

Bourne Braves
Overall Record: 9-9
This Week: 4-2
Much like Orleans, Bourne got hot this week and moved out of the basement. The stretch started with a dramatic 15-inning victory over Falmouth and continued with two straight wins. Jordan Henry (Ole Miss) was the star at the plate, going 13-for-29 on the week. As for the pitching, Bryce Stowell (UC Irvine) was a revelation. His first start came in the 15-inning game, when he tossed six no-hit innings. Then Saturday night, Stowell struck out 10 and allowed three his in eight shutout innings.

Falmouth Commodores
Overall Record: 7-9-1
This Week: 2-3
It was an up-and-down week for the Commodores, who still weren’t able to get over the hump. They were one game under .500 this time last week, and they’ve remained in the same range. Part of the problem has been the starting rotation, which continues to lack standout performers. There have been standouts at the plate, though. A.J. Pollock (Notre Dame) went 9-for-14 this week to take over the league lead in batting average.

Wareham Gatemen
Overall Record: 6-11-1
This Week: 2-3-1
Wareham’s tough start continued this week, but at least the week ended with a major bright spot. Texas pitcher Brandon Workman was two outs away from a no-hitter Saturday night. He ended up with a complete-game, two-hit shutout as Wareham won 4-0. It was the team’s second straight win. At the plate, LSU star Blake Dean finally arrived, while Baylor’s Raynor Campbell went 6-for-16.

There have been some good pitching performances this summer, including a five-inning perfect game, but this one tops them all.

Wareham’s Brandon Workman (Texas) took a no-hitter into the ninth inning last night and though he lost it there, he still finished with a complete-game two-hit shutout and 13 strikeouts as Wareham beat Cotuit 4-0.

To date, the best pitching performances this year have all come over six or seven innings, so just the fact that Workman put in nine makes it special. The fact that it was almost a no-hitter makes it that much more special.

For Workman, this is pretty huge. A 6’5, 228-pound righthander, he was drafted in the third round out of high school last year but opted to take his power arm to the University of Texas. His first season certainly wasn’t as good as he hoped. He finished with a 5-2 record but a 5.06 ERA.

This summer, he’s been good from the beginning, but he took it to another level last night. He got through one out in the ninth before Mike Bianucci (Auburn) singled to break up the no-hit bid. Cotuit followed with another hit before Workman buckled down to get the final two outs.

Workman finished with 13 strikeouts and only three walks. He faced four batters over the minimum. The other impressive thing is that Workman did all this against Cotuit, who has been the top hitting team in the league for most of the summer.

Workman now has a 2-1 record and a 1.98 ERA. His 38 strikeouts are tops in the league by a wide margin.

Elsewhere

• Workman got run support last night thanks to the first hit of the year by Blake Dean (LSU), an RBI single in the first inning. Ryan Pineda (CS Northridge) had two RBI and Raynor Campbell (Baylor) had one.

• Cotuit is no longer the best hitting team on the Cape. Workman’s gem dropped the Kettleers’ team average to .268. Y-D is hitting .289. Despite a rough stretch, Cotuit is still tied for first place in the Western Division..

• Bourne picked up its sixth win in seven games with a 6-1 victory over Hyannis. Bourne’s Bryce Stowell (UC Irvine) would have been the star of the night if not for Workman. Stowell went eight shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out 10. Those were the first three hits Stowell has allowed this summer. He went six no-hit innings in his first start, but got a no-decision when the game stretched for 15 innings. This time, Stowell got the win and did it against his former team. He played for Hyannis last summer.

• Another strong pitching performance carried Brewster past Y-D 4-2. Caleb Coltham (Vanderbilt) turned in his second strong start in a row, allowing one run on two hits in six innings. Brent Milleville (Stanford) wnet 3-for-4 to lead the Whitecaps at the plate.

• The Chatham-Orleans and Harwich-Falmouth games were rained out.

What to Watch For Tonight

• Brewster’s Nick Christiani (Vanderbilt) was a closer last summer, a starter this spring and looked like he’d be a closer again this summer. But he will make his first start tonight as Brewster visits Chatham.

• Cotuit will host Hyannis in a battle for first place. The teams are currently tied atop the Western Division standings. Mario Hollands (UC Santa Barbara), who has a 5.79 ERA, will take the hill for Cotuit against Hyannis’ Alex McRee (Georgia), who’s making his second start. He went three innings in his first start after arriving from the College World Series.

It didn’t look like too many big changes happened at the final roster deadline, but that was until this note popped on the Chatham A’s web site today.

The A’s will go the rest of the summer without Aaron Miller, Devin Lohman, Dylan Brown, and most notably, Alex White.

Miller, Lohman and Brown are all injured, while White — who never actually pitched for Chatham — will be shut down for the summer due to the heavy innings load he took this spring.

All in all, these are tough losses for a Chatham team that’s already having trouble getting over the hump. Lohman, a middle infielder from Long Beach State, was hitting .341 with a team-high 12 RBI. Kyle Seager should fill his spot at second base, but it’s still a big loss.

Miller, an outfielder from Baylor, was only hitting .209, but he was expected to be a major piece of the puzzle for the A’s this summer. Same for Brown, an outfielder from Oklahoma State.

But considering the trouble Chatham’s pitching staff has had this summer — they have a league-worst 4.56 ERA — White is probably the biggest loss. The sophomore from North Carolina was the ACC Pitcher of the Year this season, and he will head into his junior year as one of the top pitchers and top prospects in the nation. In fact, I had a feeling he was going to take home the league’s top prospect award this summer.

So, this is obviously tough news for the A’s, and it’s got to be tough for these players, as well, especially the ones who got hurt. Hopefully they’ll all recover and be doing what they do best next spring.

As for the A’s, two reinforcements have been signed — Tennessee catcher/first baseman Yan Gomes and UCLA outfielder Gabe Cohen. Gomes is a sophomore who hit .315 this season with five home runs. Cohen, a freshman All-American last season, struggled to a .204 average this year. He was originally on the Falmouth roster.

In every game last night, a pitcher picked up a save.

That’s a pretty rare occurrence, especially considering the closing trends in the league this summer. Six of the 10 teams don’t seem to have a true closer. Combined, those six teams have 17 saves.

But when you consider another part of the trend, maybe it’s not so rare to see five saves on one night. Or at least three. That’s because, in the midst of a season without many saves, three closers are making up for it.

Hyannis’ Russell Brewer, Orleans’ Kyle Kamppi and Chatham’s Brad Boxberger have put up some ridiculous save numbers in the early going. Together, they’ve combined for almost half of the total number of saves in the league this season. Each of them has saved at least two-thirds of their team’s wins. They’ve also allowed only two runs between them.

Brewer, a redshirt freshman from Vanderbilt, leads the pack with eight saves, and he still hasn’t allowed a run — earned or unearned. He has struck out nine in nine innings, and has surrendered only five hits.

Kamppi and Boxberger are just behind Brewer with six saves each. Kamppi, a junior from Georgia Southern, pitched well out of the bullpen last summer for Orleans and moved into the closer’s slot this year. He has allowed one run this summer, with 13 strikeouts in 12 innings. Boxberger, a sophomore at USC and another returning player, was a starter last summer for Orleans. Now in Chatham and in the closer’s role, he’s been unhittable. In 8.1 innings, he has allowed three hits and struck out 15. He has allowed one run.

In all, it’s pretty remarkable what this trio is doing. And the marks they’re leaving may stick around for awhile. The Cape League record for saves is 16, which was set by Bourne’s Ryan Speier in 2001. Brewer is currently on pace for 22 saves, Kamppi is on pace for 16 and Boxberger is on pace for 15. Those paces will likely slow down, but even still, we may have some closers chasing history come August.

Elsewhere

• Missouri State’s Tim Clubb didn’t allow an earned run in six innings as he picked up his league-best fourth win of the season in leading Brewster past Harwich 4-2. The victory gives Brewster the most points in the league. The Whitecaps don’t have the most wins, but by virtue of three ties, their 9-6-3 record is the best in the league. Clubb dropped his ERA to .35. He has won every game he’s started and has allowed only one earned run on 13 hits in 26 innings. Last night, a three-run fifth inning made a winner out of him. A two-run triple by Mike Freeman (Clemson) was the big blow.

• Hyannis got a strong performance from Graham Stoneburner (Clemson) to beat Y-D 5-2. Stoneburner allowed one unearned run and struck out five in six innings of work, out-dueling Y-D’s Jerry Sullivan (Oral Roberts), who allowed five runs in just three innings. Trent Ashcraft (East Carolina) had three hits to pace the Mets. He is now hitting .400. Matt Nuzzo (Brown) also had three hits.

• Cotuit broke out of a skid with a 3-1 victory over Falmouth. The Kettleers had lost five of six and two in a row. With a shuffled lineup, Cotuit didn’t get a lot of offense, but got enough thanks to a two-RBI day from Evan Crawford (Indiana). Seth Blair (Arizona State) went seven innings for the Kettleers, allowing one run on four hits. For Falmouth, A.J. Pollock (Notre Dame) went 2-for-5 to remain atop the batting leaders list.

• Wareham got its first win since June 28 with a 4-3 victory over Bourne. Brett Eibner (Arkansas) went 2-for-5 with four RBI and Chris Hicks (Georgia Tech) picked up a tough save. Max Perlman (Harvard) got the win for Wareham with seven strong innings.

• Eric Erickson (Miami) went six strong innings and Brad Stillings (Kent State) and Kyle Kamppi (Georgia Southern) combined for three shutout innings of relief to lead Orleans past Chatham 5-2. Erickson struck out six and allowed two runs. Tim Wheeler (Sacramento State), Nate Freiman (Duke) and Rich Poythress (Georgia) each had three hits to lead the Cardinals.

What to Watch For Tonight

• Orleans and Chatham will meet for the second night in a row, with Isaac Morales (Cal State L.A.) scheduled to go for Orleans and Joe Serafin (Vermont) going for Chatham.

• Caleb Coltham (Vanderbilt), who was dominant last time out, will try to keep Brewster rolling against Y-D, who counters with Baylor’s Craig Fritsch, their best starter.

Hyannis beat Harwich 5-4 in 13 innings last night and Chatham beat Falmouth 6-5 in 10 innings.

Those were the fourth and fifth extra innings games this week, which is a really high number. I think it speaks to how tightly-packed everything is. No team has separated itself, not even a little bit. The result is games that are long on drama and short on separation.

The Hyannis-Harwich game last night looked similar to the 15-inning Bourne-Falmouth game from Sunday in that both starters were tremendous, but were long gone by the time the game ended. This time, Hyannis pitcher Andrew Carraway (Virginia) kept dominating, striking out eight in six shutout innings. He now leads the league in ERA at .45. Harwich’s J.J. Hoover (Calhoun CC), making his second start, allowed one earned run in five innings.

After that it was up to the bullpens, and Hyannis finally got to Michael Morrison (Cal State Fullerton) in the bottom of the 13th. Morrison had gone two scoreless innings, but Hyannis scratched two across after Harwich had taken the lead in the top of the inning. An RBI single by Chris Dominguez (Louisville) was the game-winner.

In Chatham, the A’s won an extra-innings game after losing one on Tuesday. This time, Kyle Bellows (San Jose State) doubled in the 10th, moved to third on an error and scored the winning run on another error. That made a winner out of reliever Carmine Giardina (Central Florida), who went three scoreless innings.

Elsewhere

• Justin Marks (Louisville) made his first start for Chatham and allowed five runs in four innings.

• Orleans posted a 4-2 victory over Wareham behind solid pitching from Rob Rasmussen (UCLA) and an offense that continues to slowly wake up. The Cardinals have scored 19 runs in their last four games, after scoring just 25 in the first two weeks of the season. Alex Hassan (Duke) had two hits to lead the Cardinals. Rich Poythress (Georgia) started at third for Orleans, his first appearance since arriving from the College World Series. He went 1-for-3. For Wareham, Blake Dean (LSU) was in the lineup for the second time.

• Tony Sanchez (Boston College) hit his second grand slam of the season to power Y-D past Bourne 10-6. Eddie Burns (Georgia Tech), who was the all-star starter last year, made his third start of the summer and got his first win.

• Brewster handed Cotuit its fifth loss in six games, rolling to a 12-3 victory. Connor Powers (Mississippi State) hit a grand slam to lead the way.

What to Watch For Tonight

• Or today, if you’re in Bourne. The Braves will play their Fourth of July game at 2 p.m. They’ll send Nick McCully (Coastal Carolina) to the mound against Wareham, who goes with Max Perlman (Harvard).

• Jerry Sullivan (Oral Roberts) will make his second start for Y-D as the Red Sox host Hyannis.

• Tim Clubb (Missouri State) will try to improve to 4-0 as Brewster takes on Harwich. Sean Black (Seton Hall) goes for the Mariners.

• North Carolina’s Adam Warren will get his first start for Chatham. The A’s will visit Orleans, who will send Eric Erickson (Miami) to the hill.

There are only four teams over .500 right now, and if you asked me to name them without looking at the standings, the Bourne Braves would not be one of my choices.

But the Braves are indeed one of those teams.

Thanks to a five-game winning streak, the Braves are now 8-7. They beat first-place Cotuit 5-2 last night. In my mind, this has been a quiet winning streak. I’m not sure why. It could be that I was lost in all the roster changes to notice.

Quiet or not, it’s the longest winning streak of the year by any team.

For Bourne, it started with an 8-3 victory over Y-D last Friday. Nick McCully’s fog-shortened perfect game made it two the next night. On Sunday, the Braves beat Falmouth in 15 innings. They blew past Wareham 13-4 on Tuesday and eased past Cotuit last night. In the five games, Bourne has scored 31 runs and allowed only 11. In their first ten games, they scored 39 runs and allowed 58.

So what changed? Clearly the pitching settled down. Victor Black (Dallas Baptist), McCully (Coastal Carolina),Bryce Stowell (UC Irvine), Ricky Bowen (Mississippi State) and Nate Reed (Pittsburgh) have all turned in quality starts during the streak. That’s probably the biggest difference.

But the offense has heated up too, which coincided with the arrival of Wichita State’s Dusty Coleman. The Braves lost their first two with him in the lineup, but they haven’t lost since. Coleman is hitting .367.

Jordan Henry (Ole Miss), a former SEC Freshman of the Year, has also caught fire. He’s eight for his last 11 and is now hitting .350. Kyle Roller (East Carolina) also is hot, but he’s been hot from the beginning. He’s hitting .380 to lead the team, and he also has 12 RBI.

All in all, it’s enough to make the Braves look like a contender. But it’s also a reminder that at this stage in the game, nobody’s out of it. The best team in the league and the worst team are currently separated by 4.5 games. A win streak like the one Bourne is on would erase that pretty quick.

Elsewhere

• Chatham climbed out of last place with a 5-2 victory over Y-D. Grant Green (USC) continued to crush the ball, going 4-for-5 with a home run. He’s now hitting .452, good for second in the league. Cory Olson (UC Irvine), who’s also on fire, went 2-for-5 and scored the eventual winning run, while Kyle Seager (North Carolina) picked up his first two hits of the summer. Sammy Solis (San Diego), who hadn’t allowed an earned run before last night, allowed two, but still struck out six and picked up the win. Brad Boxberger (USC) got his sixth save. For Y-D, Jeff Inman (Stanford) pitched well in his first start, striking out nine in five shutout innings.

• Also of note for Chatham, highly-touted freshman Matt Harvey (North Carolina) came out of the bullpen last night for his first Cape League appearance. He worked two scoreless innings.

• A.J. Pollock (Notre Dame) went 5-for-5 to take over the league lead in batting average and power Falmouth past Wareham 3-2. Pollock scored the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth on a single by Jimmy Cesario (Houston).

• A day after the Orleans Cardinals had their best offensive game of the season, they ran into a team that had a better one. Harwich pounded out 12 hits and blew past Orleans 11-3. J.T. Wise (Oklahoma) went 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Dustin Ackley (North Carolina) went 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Billy Bullock (Florida) allowed one run in 7.2 innings to pick up the win for the Mariners.

• The bullpen shined as Hyannis picked up a 7-4 win over Brewster. Ryan Sharpley (Notre Dame) relieved starterAlex McRee (Georgia) and worked four impressive innings, striking out eight and allowing just one run. Matt Ridings (Western Kentucky) worked a scoreless eighth and Russell Brewer (Vanderbilt) picked up his league-best seventh save with a scoreless ninth. Brewer still hasn’t allowed a run this summer, earned or unearned. At the plate for Hyannis, three players — Luke Murton (Georgia Tech), Ben Paulsen (Clemson) and Curt Casali (Vanderbilt) — hit home runs.

What to Watch For Tonight

• Harwich visits Hyannis in what should be a big-time pitchers’ duel. Andrew Carraway (Virginia) will make his fourth start for the Mets, while J.J. Hoover (Calhoun CC) goes for Harwich. Between them, they’ve allowed three runs and struck out 25 in 22.2 innings.

• Another nice match-up in Brewster as Buddy Bauman (Missouri State) takes his 1.02 ERA to the mound for the Whitecaps against Cotuit’s Matt Fairel (Florida State). A late arrival from the College World Series, Fairel allowed one run in his first start.

• Finally, Chatham will sends its first pitching reinforcement to the hill as Justin Marks (Louisville) makes his first start. The A’s also have the UNC duo of Adam Warren and Alex White waiting in the wings.