Exactly one week after Bourne ended Falmouth’s 11-game win streak, the Commodores didn’t let the Braves end their season.
Falmouth clinched a trip to the West Division finals with an 8-2 victory over Bourne in game three of their divisional round series, bouncing back from a loss in game two with a win in the clincher.
Franco Aleman (St. John’s River) set the stage with a dominant pitching performance. He struck out six and took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. The Braves broke up the no-hit bid there and scored a pair of runs, which made it a 5-2 game, but Falmouth added insurance in the eighth and held on. Aleman earned the win. Logan Hofmann (Northwestern State) pitched two scoreless innings of relief for the save.
Two homers accounted for much of Falmouth’s offense. Trei Cruz (Rice) hit a three-run bomb in the third and Steven Moretto (Cal State Sacramento) did the same in the eighth. Jackson Coutts (Rhode Island) added two hits and an RBI. Eight of nine hitters in the order scored one run for Falmouth.
Falmouth will make its second straight appearance in the West finals a year after falling to eventual league champ Wareham.
Cotuit 4, Wareham 1
There will be a new Cape League champion this year after Cotuit toppled defending champ Wareham in game three of the West semis. The Kettleers came out ahead after a busy first inning with a 2-1 lead, then added to it with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Three pitchers combined to limit Wareham to just the first-inning run. Nick Jones (Georgia Southern) started and allowed one run in three innings. After a scoreless frame by Harrison Cohen (George Washington), Casey Schmitt (San Diego State) moved over from third base and dominated for the final five innings, striking out seven and allowing just two hits. Matthew Mervis (Duke) started the scoring for the Kettleers with a solo home run in the first inning, and Parker Chavers (Coastal Carolina) had an RBI double. Coltyn Kessler (Kentucky) and Cody Pasic (Maine) drove in one run each.