Harwich got the hardware. Brewster got the championship berth.
Before Saturday’s playoff game at Whitehouse Field, Cape League officials presented the Mariners with a rare awards doubled. Brock Wilken (Wake Forest) was named League MVP and Trey Dombroski (Monmouth) won Outstanding Pitcher honors. It’s the first time since 2011 that those awards went to the same team.
But Brewster’s success against the Mariners continued. The Whitecaps built a lead, held off a late push, scored the go-ahead run on a controversial call in the ninth and clinched a sweep and a trip to the Cape League championship series with a 5-4 win.
With the sweep included, the Whitecaps went 6-1 against Harwich this summer, all the difference between two teams that emerged at the top of the East Division standings. Both playoff matchups were tight, with Brewster winning the opener 2-0 before the dramatic victory on Saturday.
The Whitecaps grabbed the lead in the middle innings and pushed it to 4-1 in the eighth. Harwich got a Dylan Phillips (Kansas State) sac fly and a two-run double by Carter Putz (Notre Dame) to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth.
A one-out single by Will Simpson (Washington) started the rally in the ninth for Brewster. A walk and a fielder’s choice loaded the bases with one out. On a 1-2 pitch to Zach Neto (Campbell), Harwich pitcher Owen Coady (Penn) was called for a balk that sent the go-ahead run home.
I wasn’t there. When I heard about the call, I hoped – given the situation – that it was an egregious, you-have-to-call-it balk. From the video, maybe it was the right call, but I don’t see anything at that level of obvious.
Unfortunate to see a call like that in such a key spot.
With the lead, Brewster finished off the win. Dale Stanavich (Rutgers) allowed both the run-scoring plays in the eighth but dominated in the ninth, striking out the side to close out the victory.
Before the late drama, Brewster got a home run from Trey Bullard (Arizona) plus two hits and an RBI by Jake Thompson (Oklahoma State). Starter Teddy McGraw (Wake Forest) was terrific, striking out nine and allowing just one run in six innings of work.
Brewster is back in the finals for the first time since its 2017 title run.
Bourne 10, Cotuit 4
Buckle up. It’s been a wild ride in Bourne and Cotuit’s last four games against each other and there’s more to come after Bourne evened the West Division finals with a win Saturday night.
On July 27, Cotuit won 13-2. On Aug. 2, Bourne won 13-1. The playoff opener went to the Kettleers by a 15-6 score. Bourne came back with a vengeance for a 10-4 win on Saturday.
Those are some crazy swings. The latest shouldn’t come as a surprise when you consider the track record and Bourne’s success this summer. Did you think they were going to go quietly.
After Friday’s loss, the Braves took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, pounded 12 hits and broke the game open with four runs in the fourth and four more in the eighth.
Christian Knapczyk (Louisville) went 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Dalton Rushing (Louisville) went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Hunter Jump (Kentucky) hit a three-run home run to add to the lead in the fourth inning. Peter Burns (Boston College) also went deep.
On the mound, Austin Parsley (UNC Greensboro) allowed one run on just two hits in six innings for the win.
Jace Grady (Dallas Baptist) state dhot for Cotuit with a home run in his seventh consecutive multi-hit game.
Game three is set for Sunday at 6 p.m., at Doran Park.
AWARD WINNERS
Wilken and Dombroski took Cape League top honors for Harwich. The last teammates to do so were Bourne’s Travis Jankowski and Ryan Eades in 2011.
There were probably a number of candidates for the MVP honor, with no obvious, runaway choice. Wilken gets the nod with terrific all-around numbers. He had a slash line of .302/.430/.519 with six homers and 26 RBI.
Dombroski got the edge over Brewster’s Bryce Hubbart (Florida State) and Wareham’s Adam Mazur (Iowa) for top pitching honors. He led the league in ERA and finished tied with Hubbart for the league lead in strikeouts.
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