If Luke Keaschall accumulates enough plate appearances for the Cape Cod Baseball League batting title, he may win it.
Given his performance over the last week, I wouldn’t bet against him.
Keaschall (San Francisco) is on an incredible hot streak at the plate, with eight consecutive multi-hit games to his name. He went 3-for-5 in a crucial Orleans win over Brewster on Tuesday and is now hitting .424 on the season.
It’s been a remarkable ride for Keaschall, beginning in the spring. Lightly recruited out of high school, he was USF’s top hitter in his freshman season, finishing with a .320 batting average.
Keaschall got an opportunity with Orleans a couple of weeks into the season, beginning his Cape League career on July 12. He had a hit in his debut, then took two 0-for-4’s.
Since then, he’s been one of the hottest hitters in the league.
A 2-for-3 night on July 16 started an 11-game hitting streak. The multi-hit streak began July 19 and hasn’t let up. He has totaled 20 hits in the eight game heater.
On Tuesday, Keaschall had three hits and scored a run, part of a solid effort for the Firebirds. Jared McKenzie (Baylor) added two RBI and four other players knocked in one run each. Thomas Schultz (Vanderbilt) went five scoreless innings for the win. Jared Southard (Texas) earned the save.
If Keaschall continues to get at-bats on his current pace, he likely will qualify for the batting title eventually.
For now, he’ll just keep doing what he’s doing.
Cotuit 13, Bourne 2
The Braves have lost three in a row, this one the toughest yet as Cotuit pounded out 14 hits and took advantage of three errors for a blowout win. Eric Brown (Coastal Carolina) led the Kettleer attack with two hits and five RBI. Noah Bridges (UNC Wilmington) added three RBI, and Brett Roberts (Florida State) homered. The top three hitters in the order – Jace Grady (Dallas Baptist), Carter Trice (Old Dominion) and Ryan Ritter (Kentucky) – all had multi-hit games, and every player in the Cotuit lineup had at least one hit. Ian Foggo (Lenoir-Rhyne) pitched four hitless, scoreless innings of relief for the win. Dalton Rushing (Louisville) hit his sixth home run for Bourne. Cotuit improves to 13-16-1 and is one point out of second place. Bourne is 21-6-3.
Y-D 10, Harwich 3
To go with Orleans’ win over East-leading Brewster, Y-D topped second-place Harwich as the chase pack made some noise. Back from Team USA and swinging a hot bat again, Brooks Lee (Cal Poly) went 5-for-5 with a home run, two doubles and two RBI. Dominic Keegan (Vanderbilt) hit his fifth home run. Tanner Smith (Oregon) had two hits and three RBI. Wyatt Hoffman (Pacific) went 2-for-5 with two RBI. Zachary Jacobs (UC Riverside) allowed one run in six innings of relief for the win. Harwich finished with 10 hits, including a home run by Jordan Beck (Tennessee), but not enough to show for it. Y-D is 12-12-7, five points behind Harwich (16-10-4) for second place.
Falmouth 10, Hyannis 5
The Commodores maintained their hold on second place in the West with a win over a Hyannis team that has been playing well lately. Three runs in the second, two in the fourth and two in the fifth staked the Commodores to a lead they never gave up. Taylor Smith (Texas A&M) paced with Falmouth with a 2-for-4 night and his fifth home run. Kristofer Armstrong (Florida) stayed hot, going 3-for-5 to raise his batting average to a team-high .318. Casey Harford (Tennessee Martin) and Luke Boyers (TCU) drove in two runs apiece. Antoine Jean (Alabama) pitched four solid innings and Charles Harrison (UCLA) got the win with two scoreless innings of relief. For Hyannis, Luke Mann (Missouri) had his third straight two-hit game. Clark Elliott (Michigan) ended a hot streak with an 0-for-4 but hit the qualifying mark for the batting title and now leads at .358. Falmouth is 13-14-2 and Hyannis is 7-23.
Chatham 10, Wareham 5
No one is completely out of it in the East, not with Chatham winning two in a row. The Anglers topped Falmouth on Monday and handled Wareham on Tuesday. The Gatemen jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but Chatham answered with three in the second and padded the lead from there. Danny Serretti (North Carolina) went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. Caeden Trinkle (Oklahoma State) also went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBI. Lyle Miller-Green (Chipola) added three hits and an RBI. The Vanderbilt duo of Matthew Hogan and Maxwell Romero Jr. drove in one run each. Trevor Martin (Oklahoma State) got the win out of the bullpen. For Wareham, Jim Jarvis (Alabama) homered for the second straight night. Chatham is 12-17-3 and Wareham is 11-15-5.
WHAT TO WATCH
Trey Dombroski (Monmouth) starts for Harwich against Falmouth. He ranks second in the league in strikeouts and fourth in ERA.
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