Nick Romano (Central Florida) hit an RBI double in the sixth inning of Sunday’s game for Hyannis.
And that was just the beginning – for his family and for his team.
Later in the inning, twin brother Ryan Romano (Florida State) crushed a grand slam as the Harbor Hawks put up seven runs and cruised to a 12-7 victory over Orleans.
Natives of Tampa, the Romano brothers started their collegiate careers in the juco ranks at St. Johns River State College. They went their separate ways from there, Nick to Central Florida and Ryan to Florida State. Neither had great spring seasons, but reunited on the Cape, they’ve been solid contributors for the Harbor Hawks.
Hyannis trailed 6-5 going into the sixth inning. After Dominic Johnson (Oklahoma State) singled and Zane Harris (Wright State) walked, Nick Romano started the scoring with a double that tied the game. A bases-loaded walk to Mitchell Hartigan (Florida Atlantic) plated the go-ahead run. Ryan Proto (UMass Lowell) added an RBI single before the big hit. After his brother started the scoring, Ryan Romano ended it with a flourish. He smacked the first he pitch he saw over the fence in left field for the grand slam.
It was the first home run of the year for Romano, who is up to 11 RBI. For Nick Romano, the double was his third of the season and he’s at three RBI.
Johnson added three hits, while Clark Elliott (Michigan) and Kyle Ball (Stetson) had two each. Cooper McKeehan (BYU) got the win with five strong innings of relief and seven strikeouts.
After its brutal losing skid, Hyannis has won four out of its last seven. It lost a game Saturday in which it scored 16 runs. Twelve did the trick in this one.
Falmouth 5, Chatham 4
Kristofer Armstrong (Florida) hit a walk-off solo home run to send the Commodores to a 5-4 win over Chatham. Falmouth has won four straight games and is now alone in second place in the West, with a one-point edge on Cotuit and Wareham. Armstrong has homered in the last two wins and has six on the year. On Sunday, Armstrong went 2-for-3, his first hit going for an RBI double in the fourth. At that point, Falmouth had a 4-3 lead but Chatham tied the game in the top of the fifth. It remained a deadlock until the ninth. Facing a pitcher in David Falco (Maryland) who hadn’t allowed a run since June, Armstrong fell behind in the count 0-2, worked it back to 2-2, then crushed the game-winning blast over the fence in right field. Kodie Kolden (Washington State) added three hits for Falmouth, and Andrew Hall (Oregon) had two. Jace Bohrofen (Oklahoma) scored two runs and had one RBI. Reliever Lucas Gordon (Texas) set the stage for the win with two scoreless innings of relief, all six of his recorded outs coming via strikeouts.
Harwich 7, Bourne 4
Harwich also won its fourth straight and toppled league-leading Bourne to do it. The Mariners scored four runs in the fourth and three in the seventh. Its bullpen didn’t let the Braves get any of their usual magic going in the late innings. Dylan Phillips (Kansas State) stared the scoring with a bang, smashing a grand slam for the 4-0 lead. It’s his third consecutive game with a home run and he has his batting average up to .355. Brock Wilken (Wake Forst) also went deep for his sixth of the year, and Pres Cavenaugh (UNC Greensboro) went 3-for-5 for his third consecutive multi-hit game. Eric Reyzelman (LSU) pitched six strong innings for the win, allowing two runs and striking out seven. Owen Coady (Penn) picked up his fourth save with a scoreless ninth. Harwich is now 16-8-4, just one point behind Brewster for first place in the East. Bourne is 21-4-3.
Wareham 1, Cotuit 1
Wareham and Cotuit entered the night as part of a three-way tie for second place. With their 1-1 deadlock and Falmouth’s win, they’re now tied with each other for third place. Wareham scored first in this one, going up 1-0 in the third on a Tommy Troy (Stanford) sacrifice fly. Mack Anglin (Clemson) pitched four scoreless innings to keep his team in front. It was zeroes for Cotuit until the seventh, when Luke Gold (Boston College) hit a solo home run to tie it. It was an impressive at-bat for Gold, who fouled off five pitches before hitting his fifth home run of the summer. Cotuit kept the game tied in the late innings, finishing off six scoreless innings by the bullpen. Two guys from George Washington did the honors. Trevor Kunci took the first three frames and Harrison Cohen handled the last three.
Brewster 4, Y-D 4
Brewster and Y-D played to a tie for the third time this season. Y-D scored all of its runs in a big fourth inning, while Brewster scored single runs in the second, third and fourth, then forced the tie with one more in the sixth. Zach Lew (Cal State Fullerton) drove in two runs to lead the Red Sox. Tanner Smith (Oregon) and Cade Hunter (Virginia Tech) knocked in the other runs. Tyler Dellerman (Charleston) drove in Brewster’s first run. The second run scored on a passed ball, and the third came in on an error. Trey Faltine (Texas) tied the game in the sixth with an RBI single. Both bullpens finished strong. Christian Culpepper (Cal Baptist) went two scoreless innings for Y-D. Connor Staine (Maryland) and Hunter Owen (Vanderbilt) combined for four shutout innings for the Whitecaps.
WHAT TO WATCH
Brewster and Harwich have really emerged in the East over the last two weeks, but they haven’t played each other in that time span. That changes Monday night as the Mariners host the Whitecaps. Harwich, just one game back, could vault into first place with a win.
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