It’s been a tough summer in Bourne, but the Braves have shown a flair for the dramatic all season.
Even with the leading man in that drama — Mason Robbins — heading home, the Braves still put on a pretty good show last night.
Trailing Orleans 4-3, they scored a run in the eighth to tie the game. After Orleans jumped back on top in the top of the ninth, the Braves scored two runs and walked off with the 6-5 victory.
L.J. Mazzilli (UConn) doubled and scored the tying run in the eighth on a squeeze bunt by Jordan Patterson (South Alabama). Then in the ninth, with the bases loaded and two outs, Justin Leeson (Georgetown) — Robbins’ replacement in right field — rapped the first pitch he saw into right field to score two and give Bourne the victory.
Leeson had two hits to lead the Braves’ charge, as did Mazzilli. Patterson and Joe Jackson (The Citadel) had the other RBI.
The comeback gave standout reliever Tim Giel (Columbia) his first win of the season.
The victory, coupled with a Hyannis loss, moves the Braves two points ahead of the Harbor Hawks for the fourth and final playoff spot with seven games remaining.
Elsewhere
Cotuit beat Chatham 3-2 to stretch its win streak to nine, which matches Harwich for the longest streak of the summer. Chatham trailed most of the way but tied the game in the eighth. Cotuit came right back, though, and won the game on a bases-loaded walk to Jacob Valdez (San Jose State). Patrick Biondi (Michigan) got the ninth-inning rally started with a base hit, part of a two-hit day for Biondi, who’s hitting .410. Tim Kiene (Maryland) added two RBI for the Kettleers. Jordan Smith (Western Carolina) got the win with 3.1 strong innings of relief. Starter Brad Bixler (Florida Gulf Coast) struck out eight and gave up a run on two hits in 4.2 innings.
Falmouth is apparently back on track. After losing eight straight, the Commodores have won four in a row, including a 6-1 victory over East leader Harwich last night. John Simms (Rice) was outstanding on the mound, striking out 11 and allowing just an unearned run on two hits in six innings of work. Relievers Sam Paterson (Montana State), John Colella (Holy Cross) and Johnny Magliozzi (Florida) each threw a hitless inning. Drew Dosch (Youngstown State) went 2-for-3 with his seventh homer to lead the offense. For Harwich, Phillip Ervin (Samford), who was hit by a pitch in the All-Star Game, was out of action for the second straight night.
Y-D snapped a five-game skid with an 8-1 victory over Brewster. The Red Sox hadn’t totaled double-digit hits in any game in the losing streak, but they were back to their old ways in this one, finishing with 14 hits. Robert Pehl (Washington) homered and Zak Blair (Mercyhurst) drove in two. Carlos Asuaje (Nova Southeastern), Sean Dwyer (Florida Gulf Coast) and newcomer Morgan Mickan (Texas State) each had two hits and an RBI. On the mound, Alex Gonzalez (Oral Roberts) struck out seven and allowed one run in six innings. Joey DeNato (Indiana) picked up a three-inning save with a scoreless outing.
Four Wareham pitchers combined on a shutout as the Gatemen topped Hyannis 6-0. Kendall Graveman (Mississippi State) struck out five and scattered seven hits in six innings for the win. Clay Chapman (Florida Southern), Nick Rumbelow (LSU) and Colby Suggs (Arkansas) finished it off, with Suggs striking out the side in the ninth. At the plate, Kyle Schwarber (Indiana) had a huge day, going 4-for-4 with an RBI.
What to Watch
Cotuit is running away with first place in the West, but there’s still a battle for the rest of the playoff spots. The most interesting match-up in that race tonight is Falmouth at Wareham at 7 p.m. The Commodores lead the Gatemen by two points for second place.
RELATED POSTS
How did you find out that Mason Robbins was leaving, Will? It seems that this time of year most of this type of info does not appear in the Pointstreak Transactions listing, which is too bad.
Has anybody heard if Phil Ervin is injured? Is he still with Harwich?
I was listening to the Bourne game the other night and they were talking about Robbins. I don’t know why these late departures don’t get included on the transactions page.
Why did Robbins leave? Is he injured?
Phil Ervin injured his hand in the all-star game, but is playing again in Harwich. I was wondering why Robbins left, too.