Wednesday was a night of dominant pitching in the Cape League, with five games yielding a total of 102 strikeouts and three teams notching shutouts.
That makes it tough to spotlight one performance, especially one that didn’t produce a win, but it’s also hard to look past what Graeme Stinson did for Orleans.
The big lefty from Duke made his return to the Firebirds and struck out 12 in five shutout innings. If you’re doing the math, that means all but three of the outs he recorded came via punch-out.
It’s nothing new for Stinson, who struck out 32 in 18.1 innings mostly out of the bullpen for the Firebirds last summer. This spring, he pushed the ratio even higher, striking out 98 in 62 innings. He was second on the team in strikeouts, just behind a starter who threw 32 more innings than him.
Stinson pitched mostly in relief for the Blue Devils this spring but shined in a key postseason spot, drawing the start and pitching six shutout innings against a powerful Texas Tech team in the super regional.
Stinson is likely ticketed for the weekend rotation next year. He’s also headed to Team USA trials this summer, but if he spends any significant time in Orleans, it’ll be a bonus for the Firebirds. He announced himself by striking out two in the first inning and maintained that pace throughout. He walked one and allowed three hits. With just this one, five-inning outing in the books, Stinson is tied for sixth in the league in strikeouts, with everyone else around him having pitched at least twice.
Unfortunately for Stinson and Orleans, Cotuit scored five runs in the seventh after he had departed. A two-run single by Matt McCourt (Mt. Aloysius) started the big frame, and an RBI single by Beau Brundage (Portland) gave Cotuit the lead.
It was an impressive comeback for the Kettleers, who improved to 6-3 on the summer. It gave them what might be a rare win by a Graeme Stinson opponent this summer.
Wareham 9, Hyannis 0
The first place Gatemen had everything working in a blowout of Hyannis. Connor Lunn (USC) struck out eight and allowed two hits in five innings, and three relievers finished off the shutout. On the other side, the Gatemen sprinted to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning and never looked back. The UCLA duo of Jeremy Ydens and Ryan Kreidler both had three hits and three RBI to lead the charge. The league’s leading hitter Austin Shenton (Florida International) added one RBI.
Y-D 1, Falmouth 0
The Red Sox scored the game’s lone run in the top of the first inning, and three pitchers made the lead stand up. Brant Hurter (Georgia Tech) struck out seven and surrendered one hit in five innings. Chandler Fidel (Arkansas Little Rock) worked a third of an inning and Sam Kessler (West Virginia) struck out four in a 10-out save. The one run for Y-D came off an Andrew Daschbach (Stanford) RBI.
Chatham 7, Brewster 0
Davis Daniel (Auburn) and Hunter Gaddis (Georgia State) each pitched four dominant innings as the Anglers raced past Brewster. Making his debut, Daniel struck out six and allowed one hit in his stint. Gaddis, who went four scoreless innings in another shutout of Brewster June 14, went four strong again, giving up one hit and striking out five. Michael Kirian (Louisville) struck out two in the ninth to close out the win. Brewster held Chatham scoreless for three innings, but Chatham steadily built a lead from there. Spencer Torkelson (Arizona State) hit his fourth home run of the summer and John Rave (Illinois State) drove in two runs.
Bourne 4, Harwich 3
There was no shutout at Doran Park, but the Braves had some pretty good pitching anyway. Bryan Hoeing (Louisville) struck out six and gave up one earned run in five innings. Nick Morreale (Georgetown) delivered his third scoreless outing of the summer, and Jacob Wallace (UConn) notched his league-best third save. Spencer Brickhouse (East Carolina) homered and drove in three to lead the Bourne offense while Spencer Horwitz (Radford) went 3-for-3.
What to Watch
Mason Feole (UConn) makes his second start – and I would guess his last before Team USA – for Wareham as the Gatemen visit West rival Bourne. Feole pitched four perfect innings in his 2018 debut.