Month: August 2021

An estimated 5,217 people watched Wednesday’s game in the Cape Cod Baseball League championship series. It was the largest crowd in the history of Stony Brook Field, every spare inch of real estate occupied by a beach chair of a blanket. People sat on the ground under the bleachers, peering through the fence. Kids sat on the railing of the stairs to the school building. Every spot on the outfield fence was taken. 

It was a beautiful scene, fitting for this summer’s Cape League return after its canceled 2020 season. Fans turned out in droves all summer, soaking up everything they missed. If you bring it back, they will come. 

Also, you had a feeling this would be it. 

Four years ago, the Brewster Whitecaps played more games than any team in Cape Cod Baseball League history on their way to the championship. Three games in the East Division semis, three more in the East finals, three in the title series. 

Not this time. 

In a condensed playoff bracket, Brewster swept Harwich in the East Division finals, then did the same against Bourne in the championship series, finishing it off with a wild 10-6 victory on Wednesday. The four straight wins added up to another title for the Whitecaps. Those 5,217 fans had a lot to cheer about. 

Brewster was coming off a 2-0 victory in game two of the championship series but found out quickly that game two would require a different route. Never one to go quietly in its historic season, Bourne hit two home runs in the top of the first inning, its first five batters staking the team to a 5-0 lead before an out was recorded. 

The first steps on the long road back were delivered by starting pitcher Chris McElvain (Vanderbilt), who retired three batters in a row after the second home run. He continued to settle in remarkably well, following up the bad first inning with four scoreless frames. He got out of trouble in the second by getting three straight outs with runners on first and second. In the fourth, Bourne had first and third with two ours and McElvain struck out Dalton Rushing – one of the home run hitters from the first inning – to end the threat. Brewster couldn’t have turned the game around without him. 

The comeback began quickly as Brewster scored two runs in the home half of the first inning. Spencer Jones (Vanderbilt) led off with a single, and Zach Neto (Campbell) cranked a two-run homer to the trees beyond the left-field fence. Neto has been one of the poster boys for Brewster’s playoff run. He went home in mid-July with an injury. When it healed, he made the almost unheard-of decision to come back. The move says a lot about Neto and his team. If guys are flying back from Florida just for the playoffs, your team has a real good vibe. 

Brewster continued to chip away. Jake Thompson (Oklahoma State) had an RBI double in the third inning and Chad Castillo (California Baptist) scored on a fielder’s choice in the fourth to make it 5-4. After a leadoff walk in the fifth, Castillo singled home the tying run and Kurtis Byrne (TCU) drove in the go-ahead run with a double. 

Bourne came back against the Brewster bullpen in the sixth. Colby Thomas (Mercer) led off with a triple and Peter Burns (Boston College) followed with a perfect squeeze bunt to plate the tying run. The  Braves threatened for more in the sixth and seventh innings but couldn’t break through against Brendan Girton (Texas Tech) and Brennen Oxford (Wake Forest). 

With one swing of the bat, Brewster got the lead back in the bottom of the seventh. Tony Bullard (Arizona) smashed the first pitch he saw for a home run and the 7-6 lead. The Whitecaps didn’t stop there. Castillo doubled and later came around on a wild pitch. Jones poked a double over third base to score two more runs, making it 10-6. 

Oxford got through the eighth, allowing a double to Tanner Schobel (Virginia Tech) but nothing else against the dangerous top of Bourne’s lineup. 

Closer Dale Stanavich (Rutgers) had pitched the night before, so Brewster turned to Teddy McGraw (Wake Forest), who had started and pitched well in the Harwich series. Clearly pitching with some adrenaline, McGraw got two quick outs. With the crowd on its feet, McGraw finished off the game and the championship with a strikeout. 

Champs.

Congrats @WhitecapsCCBL pic.twitter.com/3QpymKmlWk

— Right Field Fog (@rightfieldfog) August 11, 2021

The Whitecaps raced onto the field for a dog pile. They donned championship shirts and hats. Castillo was presented with the Playoff MVP award after hitting .400 in the playoffs. 

While the trophy was presented, the Braves gathered in right field for one last team huddle. It was an amazing summer in Bourne. The team’s historic start will always have a place in Cape League annals. They lost only nine games in the regular season and delivered a memorable performance to beat Cotuit in the West Division finals. 

As the season went on, it became clear that Bourne wasn’t alone in being head and shoulders above the rest. The Cape League’s return was blessed with two great teams. Brewster went 22-11-3 in the regular season. 

And when the playoffs came, the Whitecaps just kept winning. 

Nobody wanted to miss it. 

Brewster delivered the best pitching performance the Cape League championship has seen since, well, the last time Brewster was there. 

Three pitchers combined on the first shutout in the finals since the 2017 title clincher as the Whitecaps beat Bourne 2-0 on Tuesday night at Doran Park for a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. 

Griffin Green (Virginia Tech), Michael Prosecky (Louisville) and Dale Stanavich (Rutgers) did the honors for Brewster. Bourne’s pitching was fantastic as well, but two runs in the third inning were enough. It added up to the same final score as the 2017 championship game three between the teams, when Brewster won 2-0 for the title. 

Bourne and Brewster had the top two team ERAs in the league during the regular season, but more of the same on stats like that is never a given in the Cape League playoffs. After all, Brewster’s best pitcher reached his innings limit a few weeks ago. 

In that vein, Green had been really good all season but had made only one other start. He saved his best for the playoffs, striking out seven and allowing just three hits in five scoreless innings. He didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning. It was his longest outing of the year and his season-high in strikeouts. 

Prosecky has been a really valuable weapon in the Brewster bullpen all year, the kind of versatile reliever you need in the era of innings limits and short starts. He delivered his fourth consecutive scoreless outing and his second dominant playoff performance with 3.1 scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and struck out five. 

Prosecky was in line to finish it off before handing out two walks in the bottom of the ninth. Brewster still had closer Dale Stanavich (Rutgers) in its back pocket and went to him. The lefty struck out both batters he faced to finish off the win. 

Brewster pitchers racked up 14 strikeouts and didn’t allow an extra-base hit. They were great with runners on base, too, consistently escaping trouble. Bourne left nine men on base. 

Chris Lanzilli (Wake Forest) and Kurtis Byrne (TCU) provided all the offense Brewster needed in the second inning. Lanzilli doubled and moved to third on a groundout. After a walk to Will Simpson (Washington) and a stolen base, Byrne doubled both of them home for the 2-0 lead. 

Bourne’s Jake Bennett (Oklahoma) allowed just those two runs in five strong innings. Kenneth Turner (Hartford) pitched three scoreless innings of relief and Tyler Stuart (Southern Miss) tossed a perfect ninth. 

The game was delayed by an hour as the infield dirt required significant work after Monday’s rainout. From what I heard, it was touch-and-go for a while. Kudos to the teams and organizations for getting the job done. 

Game two is set for Wednesday at 4 p.m., at Stony Brook Field. Brewster hasn’t lost yet in the playoffs, having swept Harwich in the East finals. But we know what Bourne did after its loss in game one of the West finals. 

The Bourne Braves are still here. 

After a lopsided loss to Cotuit in game one of their best-of-three West Division finals series, the top-seeded Braves were undeterred. They came back with two straight wins, clinching a trip to the Cape Cod Baseball League championship series with a 5-1 win on Sunday. 

Bourne was the best team in the league from day one, racing to a historic start and cooling down only a little. Still, it’s hard to maintain that level, especially when as some key players departed. And especially with a streaking Cotuit team on the other side. Particularly at the plate, the Kettleers were playing better than anyone in the league over the final week of the season, a trend that continued in the 15-6 game one win. 

Bourne has shown many of those extra traits that make great teams great this summer – comebacks, streaks, late-inning magic. This was one more example. Bourne regrouped from the loss for a 10-4 win in game two, then finished it out with a strong all-around performance in the decider. 

Cotuit took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning. The Braves immediately answered and then some, scoring five runs in the bottom half of the inning. The strength of Bourne’s full lineup was on display, as four players – including the eight and nine hitters in the order – drove in a run. Dalton Rushing (Louisville) went 2-for-4 with an RBI and is hitting .417 in the playoffs. Hunter Jump (Kentucky), Colby Thomas (Mercer) and Peter Burns (Boston College) also knocked in a run. 

The five runs were more than enough for Bourne’s pitchers. Late addition Matt Jachec (Indiana State) proved to be a perfect reinforcement in his second start. He struck out nine and allowed only an unearned run in seven strong innings. Benjamin Ethridge (Southern Mississippi) tossed a scoreless eighth before Bourne handed the ball to the league’s best closer. Eric Adler (Wake Forest) pitched a perfect ninth, ending it with a strikeout that sent the Braves to the title series. 

It’s the end of the road for Cotuit, who did a great job putting things back together after a slump in mid-July. The defending champs did that label proud. 

But the summer of Bourne rolls on. 

The championship series begins Monday night as the Braves host Brewster. It’s a rematch of the 2017 Cape League finals, which the Whitecaps won. It’s also the first championship meeting between division winners since 2005, when Orleans beat Bourne. 

Harwich got the hardware. Brewster got the championship berth. 

Before Saturday’s playoff game at Whitehouse Field, Cape League officials presented the Mariners with a rare awards doubled. Brock Wilken (Wake Forest) was named League MVP and Trey Dombroski (Monmouth) won Outstanding Pitcher honors. It’s the first time since 2011 that those awards went to the same team. 

But Brewster’s success against the Mariners continued. The Whitecaps built a lead, held off a late push, scored the go-ahead run on a controversial call in the ninth and clinched a sweep and a trip to the Cape League championship series with a 5-4 win.

With the sweep included, the Whitecaps went 6-1 against Harwich this summer, all the difference between two teams that emerged at the top of the East Division standings. Both playoff matchups were tight, with Brewster winning the opener 2-0 before the dramatic victory on Saturday. 

The Whitecaps grabbed the lead in the middle innings and pushed it to 4-1 in the eighth. Harwich got a Dylan Phillips (Kansas State) sac fly and a two-run double by Carter Putz (Notre Dame) to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth. 

A one-out single by Will Simpson (Washington) started the rally in the ninth for Brewster. A walk and a fielder’s choice loaded the bases with one out. On a 1-2 pitch to Zach Neto (Campbell), Harwich pitcher Owen Coady (Penn) was called for a balk that sent the go-ahead run home. 

I wasn’t there. When I heard about the call, I hoped – given the situation – that it was an egregious, you-have-to-call-it balk. From the video, maybe it was the right call, but I don’t see anything at that level of obvious. 

Unfortunate to see a call like that in such a key spot. 

With the lead, Brewster finished off the win. Dale Stanavich (Rutgers) allowed both the run-scoring plays in the eighth but dominated in the ninth, striking out the side to close out the victory. 

Before the late drama, Brewster got a home run from Trey Bullard (Arizona) plus two hits and an RBI by Jake Thompson (Oklahoma State). Starter Teddy McGraw (Wake Forest) was terrific, striking out nine and allowing just one run in six innings of work. 

Brewster is back in the finals for the first time since its 2017 title run. 

Bourne 10, Cotuit 4

Buckle up. It’s been a wild ride in Bourne and Cotuit’s last four games against each other and there’s more to come after Bourne evened the West Division finals with a win Saturday night. 

On July 27, Cotuit won 13-2. On Aug. 2, Bourne won 13-1. The playoff opener went to the Kettleers by a 15-6 score. Bourne came back with a vengeance for a 10-4 win on Saturday. 

Those are some crazy swings. The latest shouldn’t come as a surprise when you consider the track record and Bourne’s success this summer. Did you think they were going to go quietly. 

After Friday’s loss, the Braves took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, pounded 12 hits and broke the game open with four runs in the fourth and four more in the eighth. 

Christian Knapczyk (Louisville) went 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Dalton Rushing (Louisville) went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Hunter Jump (Kentucky) hit a three-run home run to add to the lead in the fourth inning. Peter Burns (Boston College) also went deep. 

On the mound, Austin Parsley (UNC Greensboro) allowed one run on just two hits in six innings for the win. 

Jace Grady (Dallas Baptist) state dhot for Cotuit with a home run in his seventh consecutive multi-hit game. 

Game three is set for Sunday at 6 p.m., at Doran Park. 

AWARD WINNERS

Wilken and Dombroski took Cape League top honors for Harwich. The last teammates to do so were Bourne’s Travis Jankowski and Ryan Eades in 2011. 

There were probably a number of candidates for the MVP honor, with no obvious, runaway choice. Wilken gets the nod with terrific all-around numbers. He had a slash line of .302/.430/.519 with six homers and 26 RBI. 

Dombroski got the edge over Brewster’s Bryce Hubbart (Florida State) and Wareham’s Adam Mazur (Iowa) for top pitching honors. He led the league in ERA and finished tied with Hubbart for the league lead in strikeouts. 

The first day of playoff baseball on Cape Cod since 2019 looked a lot like the last one. 

The still-reigning champion Cotuit Kettleers stormed to a 15-6 victory over top-seeded Bourne and a 1-0 lead in the West Division finals. 

It’s no surprise the Kettleers played well, given how well they’ve been playing lately. The draft hit the Kettleers hard and they hit a slump soon after, losing seven of 10 games in mid-July. They broke out with a 13-2 win over Bourne on July 27, the beginning of a surge to the finish line in which they won six of their final seven games. Their bats were especially hot, with the team rising to the top of the league’s leaderboard in batting average and runs scored. 

On the flip side, Friday’s result was a surprise because of how good Bourne has been all summer. While it’s true the Braves have lost some stars and cooled off since their historic start, I wouldn’t count them out. And Cotuit’s one loss in the stretch run? A 13-1 defeat to the Braves. 

But for one night at least, it was all Cotuit. The Kettleers offense was at it again, smackign 18 hits and building a 7-0 lead in the first three innings. After Bourne worked back to 7-3, the Kettleers made sure there wouldn’t be more of that Bravo magic with five runs in the sixth and three in the seventh. Every player in the starting lineup – and two subs – had at least one hit. 

Nathan Martorella (California) went 3-for-5 with a home run, a double and three RBI. Scorching hot leadoff hitter Jace Grady (Dallas Baptist) went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI – his sixth consecutive multi-hit game. Matthew Suggs (UNC Wilmington) also homered in a 2-for-3 night. 

Cotuit’s now-fearsome 3-4-5 hitters – Ryan Ritter (Kentucky), Eric Brown (Coastal Carolina) and Noah Bridges (UNC Wilmington) – all had two hits. 

The pitching was good, too, though it didn’t need to be. Quinn Matthews – a late emerging ace for the Kettleers – struck out nine and allowed one earned run in five strong innings. Harrison Cohen (George Washington) pitched the final four innings, allowing two earned and striking out five. 

Bourne got three hits from Tanner Schobel (Virginia Tech) and two RBI from Max Anderson (Nebraska).

Game two is set for Saturday at 4 p.m., at Lowell Park. 

Brewster 2, Harwich 0

Harwich hadn’t lost a game that ace Trey Dombroski (Monmouth) started this summer. Dombroski was good again, but Brewster changed that trend with strong pitching of its own and just enough offense in a 2-0 win. Brain Fitzpatrick (Rutgers) struck out eight and scattered six hits across 4.1 shutout innings. Michael Prosecky (Louisville), who’s been really valuable in a relief role – went 3.2 scoreless frames with four strikeouts, including two in the eighth when Harwich had runners on second and third. Dale Stanavich (Rutgers) pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save. Harwich threatened several times but left 11 runners on base. Dombroski had a shutout into the fourth, when Brewster got a double from Chris Lanzilli (Wake Forest) and an RBI single by Chad Castillo (California Baptist). Castillo delivered again in the sixth with an RBI single to score Zach Neto (Campbell), who had doubled. Brewster leads the series 1-0 as it shifts to Whitehouse Field Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. 

The race for the batting title is coming down to the final day of the regular season. 

Clark Elliott (Michigan) made his move on Tuesday. 

On the heels of an 0-for-4 night that dropped him out of the top spot, Elliott went 3-for-3 in Hyannis’ win over Bourne at McKeon Park and regained the lead.

Harwich’s Pres Cavenaugh (UNC Greensboro) – the leader for much of the last few weeks – is just behind him at .333. With a late surge, Cotuit’s Ryan Ritter (Kentucky) is up to .330 and Wareham’s Tres Gonzalez (Georgia Tech) is at .328. The last regular season games for everybody are on Wednesday night.

In his first full season with Michigan in the spring, Eliott batted .270 with a .403 on-base percentage. He made his Hyannis debut two weeks into the season on July 5 and took an 0-for-5 in his first game, then an 0-for-3 the next night. 

Suffice it to say, things got better. 

Elliott record his first hit on July 8. After one more 0-for-3 put his batting average at .077, delivered six two-hit games in his next seven starts. He added four more multi-hit games soon after, with his average topping out at .381. 

He’s had a few 0-for-4’s since then, including Monday’s, but his 3-for-3 night has him right back on track. He led off the bottom of the first with an infield hit, then had a single to left in the third inning. After walks in his next two at-bats, he finished his night with a double in the eighth.

Elliott’s performance helped Hyannis win 10-2 over Bourne. Central Florida teammates Nick Romano and Trent Taylor both hit home runs and Mark Adamiak (Arkansas) was fantastic on the mound, striking out 11 in 6.2 innings. 

Cotuit 10, Y-D 5

Y-D scored five runs in the top of the first inning, but Cotuit scored 10 unanswered the rest of the way for the win. Jace Grady (Dallas Baptist) and Nick Martorella (California) had three hits each to pace a 16-hit onslaught. Carter Trice (Old Dominion) and Brett Roberts (Florida State) drove in two runs apiece. Michael Ciminiello (Seton Hall) came out of the bullpen in the second inning and started the shutout effort with 2.1 scoreless frames. Logan Maitland (UMass Dartmouth) was credited with the win. Y-D had taken the lead thanks to a grand slam by Kody Huff (Stanford) in the top of the first. 

Wareham 3, Falmouth 1

Wareham pitchers struck out 14 batters in a 3-1 win over Falmouth. Making his third start since a mid-July arrival, Blake Sodersten (Cal State Northridge) was dominant over six innings, allowing an unearned run on two hits and striking out 10 of the 21 batters he faced. Hunter Schilperoort (Pacific) kept it going with four strikeouts over three scoreless frames. Jimmy Crooks (Alabama) had two hits and an RBI to lead the Gatemen offense. 

Chatham 11, Brewster 6

With the playoffs looming, it was a staff day for Brewster’s pitching, and Chatham took advantage, scoring in six of its eight turns at the plate in a victory. Lyle Miller-Green (Chipola) hit his eighth home run in a 3-for-4 night and also took over the league lead in RBI with 28. Maxwell Romero Jr. (Vanderbilt) and Joshua Rivera (Florida) each had two hits and two RB. Danny Serretti (North Carolina) went 2-for-4 with a home run. Porter Brown (TCU) had three hits, including a home run, for Brewster. Zachary Maxwell (Georgia Tech) was credited with the win in relief for Chatham. 

Harwich 2, Orleans 2

Orleans scored two in the fifth to take the lead, but Harwich answered with one in the sixth and the teams played to a 2-2 draw. Chase DeLauter (James Madison) and Trae Harmon (Stetson) drove in the runs for the Firebirds. Tatem Levins (Pittsburgh) scored Harwich’s first run on a wild pitch. Josh Hood (Penn) tied the game with a sacrifice fly. Both starters pitched well. Jack Filby (UCLA) allowed one run in five innings for Orleans. Beau Keathley (Cincinnati) went four scoreless for Harwich. 

WHAT TO WATCH

Will Orleans teammates Tyler Locklear or Chase De Lauter share the home run crown or will one break ahead on the final day? They each have nine heading into the season finale. 

Bourne beat Cotuit 13-1 on Monday night. Then the Kettleers clinched a playoff spot anyway when Falmouth lost. 

Then the Kettleers probably started thinking about the loss to Bourne again. 

Because the Braves await them in the playoffs.

Cotuit had been red hot, with five straight wins. Bourne had cooled off a bit lately, going 5-5 in its last 10 games. But Monday’s win can serve as a reminder that the Braves are still very much here. 

The victory included strong pitching from a reinforcement. Matt Jachec (Indiana State) made his CCBL debut and allowed one run in six innings for the win. Xavier Lovett (Mississippi State) struck out four and walked four but didn’t allow a hit in three scoreless innings en route to his second save. 

At the plate, Tanner Schobel (Virginia Tech) had two hits and three RBI, while Dalton Rushing (Louisville) and Colby Thomas (Mercer) each had two hits and two RBI. Max Anderson (Nebraska) homered for the second consecutive game and Benjamin Huber (UConn) had three hits and scored three runs. 

The win puts the Braves at 24-8-3. Cotuit is 17-17-1. 

Brewster 4, Hyannis 0

Brewster is the East Division champ after a win over Hyannis and Harwich’s loss to Orleans. The Whitecaps scored early to take control in this one, and their pitching staff allowed just three hits in the shutout effort. Spencer Jones (Vanderbilt) went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI. Jake Thompson (Oklahoma State) and Chris Lanzilli (Wake Forest) drove in the other runs. Chris McElvain (Vanderbilt) struck out four and gave up two hits in five innings for the win. Teddy McGraw (Wake Forest) surrendered one hit in three innings and Brendan Girton (Texas Tech) pitched a perfect ninth. 

Wareham 7, Falmouth 4

The Gatemen played spoiler in the victory over Falmouth, who needed to win out to have a shot at sneaking into the playoffs. Home runs powered the Wareham offense. Cade Fergus hit a two-run shot in the third for a 2-0 lead. Jim Jarvis (Alabama) hit a two-run homer of his own in the fifth and Tommy Troy (Stanford) went back-to-back with him on a solo shot. Jarvis, Troy and Fergus each finished with two hits and two RBI. Falmouth was shut out for the first five innings as Adam Mazur (South Dakota State) lowered his league-best ERA even further, but Falmouth broke through for four runs in the sixth. All of the runs were charged to Mazur, bumping his ERA to 1.55. Still a terrific summer for him. Carter Rustad (San Diego) came out of the bullpen and struck out seven over 3.2 innings to finish out the win. 

Orleans 1, Harwich 0

Four Orleans pitchers shut out a Harwich team that hadn’t been held scoreless since July 11. Nathan Florence (Hartford) didn’t allow a hit in three innings. Zack Morris (Arkansas) struck out five in 4.1 innings and was credited with the win. Nick Wallerstedt (Arizona State) pitched one scoreless inning, and Jared Southard (Texas) struck out both batters he faced in the ninth for the save. The game’s lone run came in the second inning when Luke Keaschall (San Francisco) doubled and scored on an RBI single by Jared McKenzie (Baylor). Harwich starter Cam Schlittler (Northeastern) was the hard-luck loser after allowing just the one run in five innings. 

Y-D 8, Chatham 1

If the playoff field was the usual size, we might be looking at another magical run by Y-D. As it is, the Red Sox have to settle for finishing strong. They continued to hit the ball well en route to their fourth straight win, bringing the run total in the streak to 34. Tanner Smith (Oregon) went 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Brooks Lee (Cal Poly) hit his sixth home run as part of his fourth consecutive multi-hit game. Zach Lew (Cal State Fullerton) added two hits. Jacob Meador (TCU) made his first start after a summer spent in the bullpen and was terrific, allowing one run in six innings, with eight strikeouts. Christian Culpepper (Cal Baptist) pitched three scoreless innings of relief, his eighth shutout appearance of the summer. 

WHAT TO WATCH

Cotuit has clinched and Y-D is out, but the way both teams are playing, it should be a playoff atmosphere as they meet each of the last two days of the season. Y-D is on the four-game win streak and Cotuit had won five straight before Monday’s loss. 

Cotuit beat Falmouth on Sunday, completing an impressive showing in the season series with its top competition for a playoff berth. 

The Kettleers went 4-1 against the Commodores, including two huge wins this weekend. The teams entered the back-to-back stretch in a tie for the second playoff spot in the West. Now Cotuit has a leg up with just three games remaining in the regular season. 

Cotuit’s first two wins over Falmouth were both by one run. Then the Commodores won the next one. But the last two have dovetailed with Cotuit’s offensive breakout. The Kettleers now lead the Cape League in team batting average and have totaled double-digit runs in four of their last five games. On Saturday, they beat Falmouth 16-6 before a 12-9 win on Sunday. 

The Kettleers powered up the offense with three home runs. Eric Brown (Coastal Carolina) hit his fifth, Jace Grady (Dallas Baptist) hit his fourth and Matthew Suggs (UNC Wilmington) blasted his first homer of the summer. Ryan Ritter (Kentucky), Noah Bridges (UNC Wilmington), and Brett Roberts (Florida State) drove in two runs each. 

Falmouth did some damage of its own and made things interesting in the ninth with three runs. Joseph Gieg (Boston College) stopped the bleeding for the Kettleers. 

Michael Curialle (UCLA) homered for Falmouth, while Anthony Hall (Oregon) and Kris Armstrong (Florida) head totaled three hits. 

Cotuit has won five in a row overall and sits at 17-16-1, controlling its own destiny on the chase for the playoff spot. Falmouth, at 14-17-2, would need some help from the Kettleers to sneak in. 

Harwich 11, Brewster 7

The playoff field in the East is set after Harwich got its first vicory of the season over Brewster to clinch a spot. Those two teams will meet in the East Division finals. Zack Prajzner (Notre Dame) led the 11-hit attack with four knocks, to go with three runs scored and an RBI. Matt McDermott (Coastal Carolina) had two hits and two RBI. Brock Wilken (Wake Forest) and Dylan Phillips (Kansas State) drove in two runs each. Eric Reyzelman (LSU) struck out seven and allowed two runs in five innings for the win. Brewster got home runs from Chris Lanzilli (Wake Forest), Cooper Weiss (Coastal Carolina) and Trey Faltine (Texas). Harwich is 19-11-4 and Brewster is 21-10-3. The division title and home field for the playoffs is still up for grabs between these two. 

Chatham 3, Orleans 2

Two Orleans pitchers combined for 18 strikeouts, but Chatham scored on the long ball and got good pitching of its own in a 3-2 win. Nolan McLean (Oklahoma State) staked Chatham to a 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the first inning. Dominic Tamez (Alabama) hit a two-run shot in the fifth. That proved to be enough for Cy Nielson (BYU) and Bryce Osmond (Oklahoma State). Nielson allowed one run in five innings. Osmond fanned six in four innings, allowing just an unearned run. For Orleans, Orion Kerkering (South Florida) struck out nine in five innings. Jake Saum (UCLA) gave up only one hit and also struck out nine. The win clinched the season series for Chatham against its rival. 

Y-D 9, Hyannis 2

It’s going to be too late for a playoff push, but Y-D has won three in a row, as a 13-hit attack and solid pitching got the Red Sox past Hyannis. Brooks Lee (Cal Poly) has been fantastic since returning from Team USA, and he went 2-for-5 to put his average at .421. Zach Lew (Cal State Fullerton) added two hits and two RBI. Kody Huff (Stanford), Chase Luttrell (Long Beach State) and Danniel Rivera (Southern New Hampshire) also had two hits. Patrick Gallagher (UConn) got the win with six strong innings, allowing two hits and striking out four. Owen Stevenson (San Francisco) pitched shutout baseball the rest of the way for a three-inning save. Luke Mann (Missouri) hit his fifth home run for Hyannis. 

Wareham 10, Bourne 3

A nine-run fifth inning helped Wareham snap a four-game slide with a victory over Bourne. Tommy Troy (Stanford) had a double and a two-run homer in the big inning, finishing 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBI. Jim Jarvis (Alabama) added four hits and two RBI. Jack Brannigan (Notre Dame) had two hits and two RBI. Cole Kirschsieper (Illinois) pitched four shutout innings for the Gatemen. Jack Noble (Long Beach State) got the win in relief. Bourne got a home run from Max Anderson (Nebraska). 

WHAT TO WATCH

Wareham’s Adam Mazur (South Dakota State) will try to secure the Cape League ERA title as he gets the ball against Falmouth. He enters with a 0.38 ERA. 

Cotuit’s current roster was hit harder than most by the draft, with 11 players departing after hearing their nakes called. No surprise that the Kettleers hit a rough patch soon after the proceedings. Beginning July 16, they lost seven of 10 games. 

But the Kettleers have clearly put things back together, with their offense to thank. 

In a key matchup with Falmouth on Saturday, the Kettleers racked up 20 hits en route to a 16-6 victory. It’s their fourth straight win, and in three of those games, the offense has really been humming, with 13, 12 and now 16 runs on the board. 

Up and down the lineup, the Kettleers have guys who have gotten hot. On Friday, Jace Grady (Dallas Baptist) went 4-for-6 with a home run, three runs scored and three RBI. Grady is hitting .474 in the win streak. 

Eric Brown (Coastal Carolina) also had four hits, including a home run, plus three runs scored and two RBI. He was hitting .236 before the winning streak and is now up to .274. 

Brett Roberts (Florida State) was the third player with a four-hit night, going 4-for-5 with three runs and two RBI. He’s logged a hit in five of his last six games. 

Ryan Ritter (Kentucky) is riding an eight-game hitting streak and has raised his average from .218 to .325. He went 2-for-4 on Saturday and now ranks fifth in the league in hitting. 

The list goes on, but suffice it to say, the Kettleers are clicking. Saturday’s game was a good one to win, too. Thought Cotuit sat ahead of Falmouth in the basic standings, the playoff field is being chosen based on points per game to account for teams possibly playing different numbers of games this summer. By that measure, the teams were tied for the second playoff spotheading into Saturday’s game. 

With the Kettleers winning, they’re tied no longer. 

Brewster 8, Harwich 4

Harwich is really good, but Brewster is a perfect 4-0 against them this summer, a big reason why the Whitecaps have a hold on first place in the East. The latest win featured a five-run rally in the eighth inning, after Harwich had taken a one-run lead. Chad Castillo went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Trey Bullard (Arizona) went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Jake Thompson (Oklahoma State), Chris Lanzilli (Wake Forest), Nick Biddison (Virginia Tech) and Trey Faltine (Texas) all had one RBI as Brewster’s entire lineup got in on the act. Brewster’s pitching was good throughout but its bullpen was especially strong. John Mikolaicyk (Hofstra) worked out of trouble for 1.2 scoreless innings and Brendan Girton (Texas Tech) struck out two in the ninth for his first save. The Mariners got a home run from Dylan Phillips (Kansas State). Brewster is 21-9-3 and Harwich is 18-11-4. 

Y-D 12, Hyannis 2

The Red Sox have won two in a row and still have an outside shot to catch Harwich for the second playoff spot in the East. More games like this would help, as the Red Sox scored early and often and totaled 16 hits. Kody Huff (Stanford) was the star of stars, going 4-for-6 with two home runs and six RBI. Wyatt Hoffman (Pacific) had three hits and two RBI, Tanner Smith (Oregon) had two hits and Brooks Lee (Cal Poly) had two hits. Dominic Keegan (Vanderbilt) drove in a run. Off his 12-strikeout performance, Adam Maier (British Columbia) came back to earth a bit, but still pitched well. He gave up two runs in four innings. Ryan Wiltse (St. Mary’s) pitched three scoreless innings of relief with five strikeouts for the win. Joe Moran (Taylor) was also good out of the bullpen with two hitless frames. Y-D is 14-13-7 with four games remaining. Hyannis is 7-26. 

Bourne 5, Wareham 4

The Braves seemed to be headed for a second straight loss, but they rallied from a 4-1 deficit with three runs in the seventh and took the lead with one in the eighth en route to a comeback win over Wareham. Christian Knapczyk (Louisville) raced in on a wild pitch to start the comeback scoring. Dalton Rushing (Louisville) followed with an RBI single and Benjamin Huber (UConn) – in his Cape League debut – knocked in the tying run with a two-out hit. In the eighth, Hunter Jump (Kentucky) singled and Bourne eventually loaded the bases. Joe Lampe was hit by a pitch to force in Jump with the go-ahead run. After solid relief work by Cole Chudoba (UConn) and Kelsey Ward (Embry-Riddle), Eric Adler pitched 1.1 hitless innings for his seventh save of the season. Bourne goes to 23-7-3. Wareham has lost four straight and is 11-18-5. 

Chatham 5, Orleans 3

Orleans scored two in the top of the first, but Chatham took control in the middle innings en route to its second win over the Firebirds in four days. Nolan McLean (Oklahoma State) went 2-for-4 with two RBI to lead the Angler attack. Joshua Rivera (Florida) also had two hits and knocked in one run. Jake DeLeo (Georgia Tech) doubled and drove in a run. Alexander McFarlane (Miami) allowed three runs in five innings for the win. Sebastian Keane (Northeastern) tossed three scoreless innings of relief and Kade Bragg (Weatherford) worked a scoreless ninth for the save. For Orleans, Trae Harmon (Stetson) went 3-for-4 with two RBI. Chatham is 14-18-3 and Orleans 12-16-4. 

WHAT TO WATCH

Cotuit and Falmouth will meet agains as they battle it out for the second playoff spot in the West. This will be their final meeting of the regular season.