With the second-best team ERA and opponents batting average in the league, Harwich’s pitching figured to give it a chance against top-seeded Chatham in the first round of the playoffs.
Boy, did it ever.
Connor McCullough (Kansas State) and Joe Boyle (Notre Dame) combined on a no-hitter as the Mariners beat Chatham 1-0 for a 1-0 series lead in the East Division semis.
According to one source, it’s just the second postseason no-hitter in the league’s modern era.
@HarwichMariners pitch the first playoff no-hitter since @harborhawks (then Mets) Richard King no hit Wareham on August 11, 1991. King's catcher was future @RedSox backstop Jason Varitek. @Official_CCBL @codball
— Sportstats21 (@Sportstats211) August 3, 2019
It’s been quite a summer for history making in Harwich. Two Mariners hit three home runs in one game, becoming just the ninth and 10th players in league history to do it. And now, the Mariners have thrown two no-hitters. Jacob Palisch (Stanford) also did it.
For McCullough and Boyle to do it in the regular season, against the top seed, is just amazing.
McCullough has had his share of dominant moments this year, with some history against Chatham. His best start of the season featured eight shutout innings and nine strikeouts versus the Anglers.
This time, he went six innings and struck out five. He hit a batter in the first inning and walked three – all in the fourth inning – but got out of the bases-loaded jam.
Boyle, the flamethrower, was the perfect pitcher to finish it off. He was perfect over the final three innings and struck out six of the nine batters he faced. He fanned the last two batters of the game to close out the no-hitter.
Chatham’s pitching was pretty good too. Daniel Federman (Miami) pitched five shutout innings, but Harwich scratched across the game’s lone run in the sixth inning as Hal Hughes (LSU) singled, moved up on a wild pitch and a dropped third strike and scored on a sacrifice fly by Chris Galland (Boston College). Hughes, who hit .170 in the regular season, went 3-for-3
Harwich will try to clinch the series Saturday when it hosts the Anglers.
Wareham 8, Cotuit 7
It was a wild one at Spillane Field. Wareham exploded for six runs in the bottom of the first inning. Cotuit got one back, then delivered a six-run inning of its own in the fourth – off Ian Bedell, one of the best pitchers in the league, no less – en route to a 7-6 lead. Wareham came back to tie the game in the seventh and walked off in the 10th. Trey Lipscomb (Tennessee) and Benjamin Sems (Kansas) led the early surge with two RBI each. After Cotuit’s rally, the Gatemen pulled even on an RBI double by Adrian Del Castillo (Miami). Lipscomb then played hero in the 10th, coming through with a walk-off single to score Matt McClain (UCLA) with the winning run. Lipscomb, who spent most of the summer in the California Collegiate League, just made his Wareham debut three days ago. After Bedell struggled, three Wareham relievers – Trey Dillard (Missouri), Tanner Bibee (Cal State Fullerton) and Jason Ruffcorn – combined on 6.2 scoreless innings of relief. For Cotuit, Joey Loperfido (Duke) had a home run and two RBI.
Falmouth 3, Bourne 2
In another one-run game, West top seed Falmouth slipped past Bourne. The Commodores scored a run in the first and two in the second. The Braves came back with two in the sixth but would get no closer. Zach DeLoach (Texas A&M), Jackson Coutts (Rhode Island) and Blake Dunn (Western Michigan) drove in the runs for Falmouth. Staked to the lead, Carmen Mlodzinski (South Carolina) went five shutout innings with three strikeouts. Brendan Rivoli (Virginia) and Jake MacKenzie (Fordham) had RBI for the Braves, but Tyler Ras (Alabama) and Zach Brzycky (Virginia Tech) stopped the rally there, with three shutout frames.
Y-D 7, Orleans 6
It’s been a few years since we’ve had a patented Y-D playoff surge. It’s happened before with the Red Sox as the three seed, and they took the first step Friday. Y-D built a lead in the middle innings and held on through a white-knuckle ninth inning for a win over second-seeded Orleans. Andrew Eyster (South Carolina) homered and Tate Samuelson (Cal Poly) had two RBI to lead the Y-D attack. Erik Tolman (Arizona State) struck out eight and allowed one run in 4.2 innings. It was a 7-1 game going into the bottom of the ninth, when Orleans struck for five runs and was looking for more with the bases loaded. Oscar Carvajal (Fresno State) escaped to seal the win.
What to Watch
Harwich and Y-D both have a chance to clinch their series at home, while Falmouth and Wareham will try to do it on the road.