Yarmouth’s Red Wilson Field has the shortest fences in the Cape Cod Baseball League. Home runs are more common there, and in turn, big run totals flow a little more easily.
And every once in a while, the floodgates really open.
Last night at Red Wilson, Chatham and Y-D combined for six home runs, 31 hits and 30 runs in a 16-14 Chatham victory. The 30 combined runs is the most in a Cape League game since 2010, when Y-D beat Orleans 23-10 in a playoff game . . . at Red Wilson Field. Two teams also hit 30 in the 2010 regular season, when Harwich beat Y-D 16-14 . . . at Red Wilson Field. (Two totals near 30 – a 17-12 game last year and a 16-10 game in 2012 – also happened in Yarmouth).
Red Wilson’s latest show belonged to the Anglers, who scored five runs in the top of the eighth inning and stopped the slugfest in the bottom half. With the sun setting on the three-hour, 20-minute game, it was called after eight.
Chatham hit two home runs and Y-D hit three. Chris Shaw (Boston College) had one of the blasts for Chatham as part of a big night. He went 4-for-6 with three runs scored and an RBI. Patrick Mazeika (Stetson) hit the other home run for the Anglers on his way to a 1-for-2, four-run, three-RBI game.
The Anglers trailed 13-11 going into the eighth, but exploded immediately. Kal Simmons (Kennesaw State) led off with a double and A.J. Murray (Georgia Tech) traded places with him on an RBI double. After a base hit by Shaw, Landon Lassiter (North Carolina) doubled in the tying run. Y-D went to its bullpen, but Mazeika greeted reliever Dimitri Kourtis (Mercer) with a three-run homer, the biggest and the final blow in the night’s power surge.
Kyle Davis (USC), who’s been one of the best relievers in the league this summer, came on to try and close the door for Chatham. Though even he couldn’t escape without giving up a run – his second of the year – Davis stranded two runners when he ended the game with a strikeout. Davis got the save for Zack Burdi (Louisville), who had gotten out of a jam in the seventh.
Simmons and Landon Cray (Seattle) had three hits each for Chatham, while Murray and Mazeika drove in three runs apiece. Chatham has now scored the second-most runs in the league after ranking in the middle of the pack before last night.
Y-D got two home runs from Hunter Cole (Georgia), plus one each from Rob Fonseca (Northeastern) and Ryan Hissey (William & Mary).
Hyannis 14, Cotuit 2
The Harbor Hawks weren’t at Red Wilson Field but may as well have been in the late innings of a 14-2 victory over Cotuit at Lowell Park. Leading 3-0 into the seventh, Hyannis scored 11 runs over the final three innings. The Harbor Hawks (9-4) have now scored the most runs in the league and are 3-0 against rival Cotuit (6-7). Bobby Melley (Connecticut), who was hitting .250 coming in after a huge spring for the Huskies, broke out with a 4-for-4, four RBI night. Kyle Survance (Houston) homered and drove in two, Daniel Kihle (Wichita State) went 2-for-2 with two RBI and Jarret DeHart (LSU) had two RBI. Tate Scioneaux (SE Louisiana), pitching without a big lead, went six scoreless innings with three strikeouts for his third win in as many starts.
Bourne 5, Orleans 2
Making his ninth career Cape League start, Ryan Kellogg (Arizona State) turned in perhaps his best performance as the West-leading Braves (10-3) topped Orleans (5-8). Kellogg went six scoreless innings, striking out four and scattering six hits. Thomas Hatch (Oklahoma State) and Lucas Laster (Mississippi State) finished off the win. Kellogg’s battery mate and ASU teammate Brian Serven homered for the Braves. Gavin Collins (Mississippi State) and Blake Allemand (Texas A&M) added two hits each.
Harwich 4, Wareham 1
The Mariners remained even with Bourne for the best record in the league thanks to a victory over Wareham. Michael Boyle (Radford) allowed just an unearned run in 5.1 innings for the win. Jacob Evans (Oklahoma) struck out four in 2.2 innings of relief and Seth McGarry (Florida Atlantic) pitched a perfect ninth for his first save. Sal Annunziata (Seton Hall) homered to lead the offense, while Kyle Barrett (Kentucky) had three hits from the top of the lineup. Barrett owns a six-game hitting streak and is batting .400 on the year.
Falmouth 8, Brewster 3
The Commodores (5-7-1) snapped a five-game winless streak with a victory over Brewster (5-8). Steven Duggar (Clemson) went 3-for-4 with two RBI to lead the offense, which hadn’t scored more than five runs since June 15. Cameron O’Brien (West Virginia) added three RBI, while Trever Morrison (Oregon State) and Conner Hale (LSU) had two hits each. Matt Eureste (San Jacinto North) went 1-for-4 and continues to lead the league in hitting with a .414 average. On the mound for Falmouth, Matt Hall (Missouri State) turned in one of the team’s best starts of the summer, striking out five in seven scoreless innings. Hall is now tied for the league lead in strikeouts.
What to Watch
A good pitching match-up is lined up in Orleans, where the Firebirds send Brett Lilek (Arizona State) to the mound against Harwich’s James Mulry (Northeastern). Lilek, a standout this spring, struck out six in four scoreless innings in his first Cape League start. Mulry has a 1.39 ERA in two starts.