Posted on by Will Geoghegan

Daily Fog: Big Day

Somebody’s going to make a move in the Eastern Division. Things have been static for a while so the opportunity is certainly there.

After last night, maybe it’ll be Orleans.

The Firebirds visited Harwich for a doubleheader. By the time it was over, they were just two points back of the Mariners for second place. Orleans won the first game 3-1 then completed the sweep with a 4-3 win in game two.

Jason Wheeler (Loyola Marymount) got the win in the first game with 5.1 innings of work. Kurt Heyer (Arizona) finished it off. Reed Gragnani (Virginia) doubled home two runs, and Andrew Aplin (Arizona State) had a double and a triple.

In game two, Orleans trailed 2-0 going into the sixth inning, but Aplin continued his big day with a three-run homer. Aplin also made a leaping catch to get Orleans out of a jam in the final frame. Trevor Gott (Kentucky) picked up his league-leading ninth save.

The Firebirds are now 16-16-3, two points back of Harwich and three behind first-place Brewster.

Elsewhere

  • Hyannis got a strong start by Matt Dermody (Iowa) and seized an opportunity in the sixth to win a first-place showdown with Brewster by a 3-1 score. Dermody struck out seven in six innings of work and allowed just a run. With the game tied in the sixth, Joey DeMichele (Arizona State) reached on an error. He broke for second on the next pitch, which Chadd Krist (Cal) lined into center field. DeMichele then headed for third and the throw got away, which allowed him to score the go-ahead run. Hyannis then made it 3-1 when Adam Walker (Jacksonville) plated Krist with a single.

  • Chatham won for the fifth time in six games, beating Bourne 5-2. Buck Farmer (Georgia Tech) went seven strong innings for the win. Richie Shaffer (Clemson) led the offense with three RBI. Chatham is now five points out of the final playoff spot in the East.

  • Joe Bircher (Bradley) was surprisingly left off the all-star team (more all-star discussion tomorrow), but he certainly looked like an all-star last night. Bircher struck out seven in six innings in a 4-2 Falmouth win over Wareham. The strikeouts moved Bircher back into the league lead with 41. Barrett Barnes (Texas Tech) had two RBI to lead the Commodore offense.

  • Y-D rallied from a 5-0 hole to tie Cotuit 7-7 in 10 innings. The Red Sox tied the game in the ninth when Stephen Piscotty (Stanford) scored on a wild pitch. After Cotuit took the lead in the top of the 10th, Y-D’s Tyler Hanover (LSU) doubled home Mason Katz (LSU) to tie the game again. When the inning ended, the game was called due to darkness. For Cotuit, Victor Roache (Georgia Southern) hit a two-run home run, which ties him for the league lead in homers with six. That means he now leads all three Triple Crown categories.

    • What to Watch
    Game: Chatham visits Y-D in a battle of teams that are suddenly getting closer to each other in the standings. Y-D has a five-point edge on Chatham in the race for the final playoff spot.
    Player: James Ramsey (Florida State) has been steadily climbing the ranks for Y-D. Now an all-star, Ramsey is second in the league with five home runs and is hitting .314.

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    3 Replies to “Daily Fog: Big Day”

    2. Aplin’s catch at Harwich was spectacular. When he jumped he caught the fence at mid-thigh and tumbled over backwards landing outside the fence still holding the ball.

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