Chatham’s emergence in the second half of the season provided another contender in a division that was starting to look very top-heavy. The Anglers are three games over .500 and have played fairly well against East leader Yarmouth-Dennis, going 2-2-2 in the six-game series.
But the Anglers won’t catch the Red Sox.
Y-D clinched the East Division regular-season title and postseason top seed with Saturday’s 8-5 win over Harwich. The Red Sox improved to 24-11-5 and hold a 10-point edge on Chatham with just four games remaining in the regular season.
The Red Sox fell behind the 5-0 in the title-clinching game but rallied with six runs in the sixth inning and two more in the ninth. Nicholas Quintana (Arizona) had an RBI single and Vito Friscia (Hofstra) drew a bases-loaded walk to start the comeback. Noah Campbell (South Carolina) then completed it with one swing of the bat, smashing a grand slam to give Y-D the 6-5 lead.
Quin Cotton (Grand Canyon) and Quintana drove in runs in the ninth for insurance, which the Red Sox didn’t end up needing. Mitchell Tyranski (Michigan State), Trenton Denholm (UC Irvine) and Ryne Nelson (Oregon) combined for six scoreless innings of relief to seal the win.
Wareham 11, Orleans 2
The Gatemen moved back into first place with a win over Orleans and a loss by Hyannis. The Gatemen scored seven runs in the first three innings off Orleans starter Mitchell Senger (Stetson), who a few weeks ago was part of a combined no-hitter. The 16-hit attack was paced by Oliver Dunn (Utah), who went 4-for-6 with two runs and two RBI, and Lael Lockhart (Houston), who went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. Ryan Kreidler (UCLA) also homered and Jeremy Ydens (UCLA) drove in two runs. Tyler Keysor (Miami) allowed two runs in five innings for the win and Ryan Stoudemire (Charleston Southern) dominated in relief, allowing one hit in four scoreless innings.
Falmouth 9, Bourne 6
The Commodores won in dramatic fashion over Bourne as Davis Sims (Western Kentucky) hit a walk-off, three-run home run in the bottom of the 10th. Falmouth had trailed 6-3 before scoring two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth. Sims was the hero in extra innings, coming up with two runners on and blasting the game-winner on a 2-0 pitch. It was the sixth home run of the season for Sims, who finished 2-for-6 with four RBI. Maverick Handley (Stanford) also went deep for Falmouth. The Commodores got strong relief work from Nick Mikolajchak (Sam Houston State) to make the winning rally possible. Mikolajchak struck out six in three scoreless innings. Falmouth needs one more win or a Bourne loss to clinch a playoff spot. For the Braves, Tyler Fitzgerald (Louisville) went 5-for-5, and Ashton Bardzell (Hartford) homered.
Chatham 9, Hyannis 2
The Anglers raced to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning and gave up just three hits to Hyannis in a 9-2 win. Colin Simpson (Oklahoma State) hit a grand slam in a 2-for-3, six RBI performance. Blake Sabol (USC) had three hits and scored two runs. Tristin English (Georgia Tech) had two hits and an RBI. Jack Conlon (Texas A&M) went four hitless innings, and the bullpen picked up where he left off. John McMillon (Texas Tech) earned the win with two innings of relief and three of his mates finished it off.
What to Watch
Orleans and Brewster own the worst two records in the league, but one of them is going to make the playoffs, and Sunday’s matchup between them will help decide that. The Firebirds currently have a one-point edge in the standings. This is the last meeting of the teams in the regular season.