At some point, you have to think it’ll even out a little bit.
But right now, teams from the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Eastern Division are doing a lot of winning. Even Mother Nature wants in on the act.
Last night, while Harwich and Orleans kept on winning, and while Y-D and Brewster picked up victories, Chatham trailed Bourne 3-0. Then a pop-up thunderstorm crossed over Doran Park and postponed the game before it could become official.
As a result, it was an undefeated night for the East, and that’s fast becoming the norm. Orleans is 8-1, Harwich is 7-2, Chatham is 6-2 and Y-D is 5-4. Fourth-place Y-D would be tied for first in the West, where Falmouth’s 5-4 mark is the best. Even Brewster, who’s 3-6 in the East, would be fourth in the West.
Last night featured an all East vs. West schedule, and it went like you’d expect based on those standings. Orleans won its sixth straight game in dominating fashion, rolling past Falmouth 14-0. Harwich blitzed Cotuit 9-2 for its fifth win in a row. Y-D slugged past Wareham 12-1. And Brewster slipped past winless Hyannis 4-3.
Those first two are the most impressive. Orleans and Harwich have looked like they’re a step ahead of everybody and the step is starting to get bigger.
Orleans was winning close ones early in the season and wasn’t swinging the bats all that well. Now, the Firebirds have scored eight, eight and 14 in their last three games. Conrad Gregor (Vanderbilt) hit another home run last night after blasting two the night before, while Mike Montville (Maryland) and Austin LaBruna (Duke) also hit homers. The team’s leading hitter, Pi’ikea Kitamura (Hawaii) went 3-for-4 to raise his average to .351. Nine players drove in runs for the Firebirds.
Jarrett Arakawa (Hawaii) allowed just two hits in five shutout innings, and four relievers combined to allow one hit.
As for Harwich, the Mariners scored nine runs for the second night in a row. Slugger Austin Wilson (Stanford) hit two home runs and brought his average to .556 in three games. Sam Dove (Georgia Tech) and Brett Austin (NC State) also hit home runs. The Mariners now have a league-best 15 home runs, six more than Y-D, who’s next closest.
Harwich also got two hits from newcomers Brian Ragira (Stanford) and JaCoby Jones (LSU), while Philip Ervin (Samford) went 1-for-5.
On the mound, Eddie Campbell (Virginia Tech) allowed two runs in five innings, and the bullpen pitched 3.2 scoreless innings.
And if you’re wondering, Harwich and Orleans play each other on Tuesday. I guess something will finally give that night.
Elsewhere
What to Watch
The top two offensive teams in the league meet in Harwich at 4 p.m., as Y-D comes to town to take on the Mariners.