RIGHT FIELD FOG

On a night when baseballs were flying out of ballparks up and down the Cape, two Orleans pitchers didn’t allow any home runs – or triples, doubles, or singles, for that matter.

Mitchell Senger (Stetson) and Aaron Ochsenbein (Eastern Kentucky) combined on a no-hitter as the Firebirds beat Brewster 3-2.

It’s the second combined no-hitter of the CCBL season and the first in a nine-inning game. The other, by Harwich, was a seven-inning game in a doubleheader.

Senger was making his second start for the Firebirds since arriving from Team USA trials. The 6-foot-6 lefthander is following in the footsteps of several of his Stetson teammates. Brooks Wilson played for Orleans in 2016 and 2017, and Logan Gilbert was one of the league’s top pitchers with the Firebirds last summer.

Senger had a big hand in Stetson’s Super Regional run this spring, emerging as a dynamic weekend rotation member a year after an up-and-down freshman campaign. He had a 2.51 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 93.1 innings.

Six days after allowing two runs in five innings in his Cape debut, Senger was dominant against the Whitecaps. He retired the first 21 batters he faced, losing the perfect game when he hit the leadoff batter in the eighth with a pitch. A walk, a wild pitch and a couple of groundouts eventually brought two runs home, but Senger escaped with the lead and a no-hitter still intact.

Ochsenbein, who’s been a dominant reliever outside of one bad outing last week, was back on target in picking up the torch from Senger. He struck out the first two batters in the ninth, walked the third, then struck out the fourth to finish it off.

Spencer Steer (Oregon) and Nick Osborne (Tennessee Tech) backed the pitching duo with home runs to lead the Orleans offense.

 

Falmouth 8, Cotuit 1

Austin Langworthy (Florida) homered for the fifth time in five days and the Commodores blasted Cotuit to move one game over .500. Langworthy hit his first home run of the summer July 11 and has been on a ridiculous heater since. He homered again July 13, hit two on Saturday and tacked on another Sunday, belting a solo shot in the sixth. Kyle Stowers (Stanford) also homered for the Commodores and drove in three. Davis Sims (Murray State), Logan Davidson (Clemson) and Maverick Handley (Stanford) also knocked in runs. Adam Laskey (Duke) went six shutout innings for the win, allowing one hit and lowering his ERA to 0.89 across four appearances. A.J. Block (Washington State) notched a three-inning save to close out the win.

 

Y-D 5, Chatham 3

A battle of the top two teams in the East included a third foe as fog forced the game to be called after eight innings, with Y-D prevailing and stopping Chatham’s three-game winning streak. Andrew Daschbach (Stanford), Nicholas Quintana (Arizona) and Christian Koss (UC Irvine) homered for the Red Sox, while Adam Kerner (San Diego) had two hits and an RBI. Jensen Elliott (Oklahoma State) allowed three runs in five innings and earned the win. For Chatham, Blake Sabol (USC) homered for the third consecutive game, giving him a league-best seven on the season.

 

Wareham 7, Harwich 6

Wareham trailed 6-2 in the bottom of the ninth but scored four runs to tie the game, then won it in extra innings. A three-run double by Luke Roskam (Nebraska) highlighted the ninth-inning surge. Isaac Collins (Creighton) singled to lead off the 10th and eventually came around with the winning run on a wild pitch. The rally made a winner out of Pavin Parks (Kent State), the seventh pitcher of the day for Wareham. Collins finished with two hits, as did Austin Shenton (Florida International), who moved his league-high batting average back to .400. Tanner Morris (Virginia) homered for Harwich.

 

Hyannis 4, Bourne 3

League strikeout leader Jeremy Randolph (Wright State) had another solid start and the Hyannis offense had a little more Bourne for a West Division win. Randolph allowed one run in 5.1 innings and now has 36 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched. Bourne made some headway against the Hyannis bullpen, until Dylan Thomas (Hawaii) came on for a two-plus inning save, his seventh. Trevor Hauver (Arizona State) had two RBI and Brady Lindsly (Oklahoma) had one to lead the Hyannis offense.

 

What to Watch

Teams will head to Boston today for their annual Fenway Park workout in front of scouts.

 
The Falmouth Commodores almost always have a few players from Oregon State. The newest national champions actually haven’t sent anybody to Arnie Allen Diamond this summer, but Falmouth still has some champs to lean on from last year’s College World Series.

Florida’s Austin Langworthy hit two home runs and teammate Tyler Dyson tossed five shutout innings as the Commodores toppled first-place Wareham 3-0 on Saturday.

Langworthy is in his second summer as a Commodore. Highly touted as a freshman for the Gators last season, he hit .243 for Falmouth after arriving from Omaha.

With Florida bowing out earlier in Omaha this season, Langworthy got to town as the calendar turned to July. He struggled out of the gates but has been hot lately, with Saturday’s two-homer game giving him four homers in his last four games.

Langworthy’s accounted for all three runs Falmouth scored in Saturday’s win. He’s now hitting .196, but with the four homers and 12 RBI.

Dyson – the winning pitcher in last year’s championship-clinching victory – had an up-and-down sophomore season for the Gators but has been impressive in Falmouth.

The right-hander allowed two runs on two hits in his debut July 8 and was even better Saturday. He allowed one hit – a single – in his five scoreless frames and struck out eight.

The opponent made the performance all the better. Wareham had been shut-out only once this season. Saturday, with Dyson, Mitchell Miller (Clemson) and Nick Mikolajchak (Sam Houston State) not allowing any extra-base hits.

With the Gators leading the ay, Falmouth moved to 14-14-1.

 

Chatham 8, Harwich 3

There’s finally one player alone atop the home run leaderboard as Chatham’s Blake Sabol (USC) hit his sixth of the summer to lead the Anglers to a win over Harwich. Sabol has homered in two straight games and three of his last five. Chatham has won all of those games and is now three games over .500. Jorge Arenas (Stetson) added two RBI in the latest win, while Drew Mendoza (Florida State) and Colin Simpson (Oklahoma State). Greg Jones (UNC Wilmington) had two hits and stole his league-leading 11th base. Chatham got dominant pitching, too, with Alek Manoah (West Virginia) striking out 11 and allowing two runs in six innings.

 

Cotuit 9, Hyannis 5

Both teams scored three runs in the first inning, but Cotuit added on from there and held off Hyannis. Zachary Biermann (Coastal Carolina) and Jonathan Robertson (Creighton) homered for the Kettleers. Ryan Reynolds (Texas) and Michael Salvatore (Florida State) drove in two runs each. Seth Shuman (Georgia Southern) allowed one earned run in five innings for the win. Garrett Gayle (Rice) pitched 1.1 hitless innings of relief to keep Hyannis from getting a comeback going.

 

Y-D 7, Brewster 2

Y-D smacked 17 hits, including two home runs, and eased past Brewster. Noah Campbell (South Carolina) hit his fourth homer of the summer and Patrick Bailey (NC State) hit his first as part of a 3-for-5 day. Andrew Daschbach (Stanford) chipped in two RBI. Karl Kaufmann (Michigan) struck out seven across 5.1 shutout innings for the win.

 

Orleans 6, Bourne 1

Orleans snapped four-game skid with strong pitching performances and steady offense. Kevin Kelly (James Madison) celebrated his all-star selection with six shutout innings and six strikeouts. Three relievers finished off the win, with Adam Erickson (Stony Brook) and Aaron Ochsenbein (Eastern Kentucky) each striking out three in a single inning. Pat DeMarco (Vanderbilt) had a huge day to lead the offense, going 4-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI.

 

What to Watch

Chatham has started to solidify its spot in second place in the East and will try to get closer to first-place Y-D when it hosts the Red Sox.

Orleans had Chatham’s number in the first three meetings between the rivals, winning a pair of shutouts and a 9-3 decision.

The Anglers finally returned the favor Friday night.

Two pitchers combined on a shutout and, after not leading at any point in those first three games, Chatham scored single runs in the second, third, fourth and sixth innings for a 4-0 win.

Dan Hammer (Pittsburgh) dominated in a starting role for the Anglers, allowing three hits in six shutout innings. He struck out four and didn’t walk a batter. Hammer had been pitching mostly in long relief, with only one other start on his resume.

Jack Conlon (Texas A&M) was even better in relief, going three scoreless innings without allowing a hit.

Blake Sabol (USC) hit his fifth home run, moving into a tie for the league lead, to spark the Chatham offense. Greg Jones (UNC Wilmington) and Drew Mendoza (Florida State) also drove in runs, while John Rave (Illinois State) had two hits.

The win is the second in a row and the fourth in five games for the Anglers, who are 14-12-1 and ahead of Harwich by three points for second place in the East.

 

Brewster 2, Harwich 1

The Whitecaps are hanging around. They topped Harwich Friday in extra innings for their third win in their last four games. After being held scoreless since the first inning, they broke through in the top of the 11th on an RBI single by Cameron Eden (California). Jeff Criswell (Michigan) pitched a scoreless bottom of the 11th to close out the win. For Harwich, Ricky DeVito (Seton Hall) didn’t factor in the decision but struck out eight in six innings. With the recent success and Orleans losing four straight, Brewster is now just four points behind the Firebirds for fourth place.

 

Wareham 8, Cotuit 2

Wareham scored four runs in the first inning and never looked back in a win over Cotuit. Sahid Valenzuela (Cal State Fullerton) went 3-for-4 with a homer, three runs scored and two RBI. Austin Shenton (Florida International) regained the league lead in batting after a mini-slump with a 3-for-5 day. Pavin Parks (Kent State) went 2-for-3 with three RBI. For the second straight start, Will Proctor (Georgia) allowed one run in five innings.

 

Hyannis 5, Bourne 2

Bourne was looking to move within a point of the second place Harbor Hawks but instead fell five points back as the Harbor Hawks won for the third time in four games. Pedro Pages (Florida Atlantic) and Tommy Jew (UC Santa Barbara) each homered to pace the Harbor Hawk offense. Zack Kohn (Central Michigan) allowed two runs in five innings for the win before passing the torch to a dominant bullpen. Bourne managed just one hit off the trio of Riley Self (Mississippi State), Adam Elliott (Louisville) and Dylan Thomas (Hawaii), with Thomas picking up his league-best sixth save.

 

Y-D 4, Falmouth 2

Y-D rallied from an early deficit for a win over the Commodores. Quin Cotton (Grand Canyon), Bradlee Beesley (Cal Poly) and Zach Zubia (Texas) drove in one run each for the Red Sox. Making his second start, Michael Henley (Texas) gave up two runs in five innings for the win. Braidyn Fink (Oklahoma) pitched three innings of one-hit relief. Ryne Nelson (Oregon) tallied his third save.

 

What to Watch

Hyannis and Cotuit meet at McKeon Park with the Barnstable Patriot Cup series tied at two games apiece.

Noah Campbell (South Carolina) made his Cape League debut for Y-D in a doubleheader against Cotuit June 17. He went 0-for-3 in the first game and 0-for-1 in the second. Y-D lost both game, falling to 2-4-1.

Campbell and the Red Sox have both been on a different trajectory since.

Campbell owns a 16-game hitting streak and the Red Sox are 12-3-1 in those games. Overall, they’re 13-4-3 since the doubleheader loss.

There are many reasons for Y-D’s rise to the top of the East – they own the best team batting average in the league – but Campbell has stood out with his consistency. A 19th-round pick out of high school, he headed to South Carolina, where he batted .270/.372/.380 in 47 games this spring.

His Cape League success is especially impressive given his age. Plenty of players who have gone on to very good careers struggled when they took on the Cape League after their freshman seasons, but Campbell has thrived.

He shook off the doubleheader start with a 1-for-4 performance three days later and has logged at least one hit in every game since. His batting average sits at .385, good for third in the league.

Thursday, Campbell went 1-for-3 and hit his third home run of the summer as Y-D beat Orleans 11-8. It was his second home run in the last three games, and it provided a spark, staking Y-D to a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

Andrew Daschbach (Stanford) also went deep for his fourth homer of the year. Jonathan DeLuca (Oregon) added three hits and Zach Ashford (Fresno State) scored three runs. Quin Cotton (Grand Canyon) had two hits, a run scored and an RBI.

Tommy Mace (Florida) allowed three earned runs in five innings for the win.

Y-D currently owns a six-point edge at the top of the East standings. As long as Campbell keeps hitting, they may keep winning.

 

Falmouth 4, Hyannis 3

Falmouth blew a 3-0 lead in the top of the ninth but erased that with a walk-off in the bottom half. Maverick Handley (Stanford) played hero, doubling to score Logan Davidson (Clemson) with the winning run. Davis Sims (Murray State), Edouard Julien (Auburn) and Will Brennan (Kansas State) added RBI for the Commodores. Mitchell Stone (Oklahoma State) went five shutout innings before the Hyannis rally, which was powered by RBI from Will Holland (Auburn), Eric Rivera (Florida Atlantic) and Adam Elliott (Louisville). Falmouth has won two in a row and is tied with Bourne for third place in the West, three points behind second-place Hyannis.

 

Cotuit 2, Wareham 2

Cotuit rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth and the teams played one more inning before darkness forced an ending. Brady Smith (Florida), who has a hit in six of his seven games since arriving in Cotuit, delivered the game-tying RBI single in the ninth, plating Ryan Reynolds (Texas). Stephen Schoch (UMBC) logged his eighth consecutive scoreless relief outing to keep the game tied in the 10th. Ryan Lefner (St. Louis) was also impressive in relief with three shutout innings. Starter John Baker (Ball State) allowed two runs in five innings and struck out four. Zach Humphreys (TCU) had three hits, including a home run, for Cotuit. Isaac Collins (Creighton) had three hits for Wareham.

 

Chatham 5, Bourne 3

Three Chatham pitchers combined to allow just four hits and the Anglers made an early lead stand up for a win over Bourne. Austin Bergner (North Carolina) struck out eight and didn’t allow an earned run in 5.2 innings. Troy Miller (Michigan) went 2.1 hitless frames – the second time he hasn’t surrendered a hit in as many appearances – and Greg Veliz (Miami) pitched the ninth for his third save. Michael Busch (North Carolina) hit a two-run home run in the first inning to stake Chatham to the lead. Colin Simpson (Oklahoma State) and John Rave (Illinois State) added RBI.

 

Harwich 7, Brewster 5

Harwich racked up 13 hits in a win over Brewster. Tanner Morris led the charge, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. Ben Norman (Iowa) went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Andre Lipcius (Tennessee) went 2-for-5 with one run driven in. Jorge La Sorsa (St. John’s) earned the win with four strong innings of relief and George Kirby (Elon) picked up his first save.

 

What to Watch

Bourne has a chance to inch closer to Hyannis as it hosts the Harbor Hawks tonight.

 
A doubleheader wouldn’t seem to be the ideal scenario for a scuffling team to break out, but it was for Chatham on Tuesday. Losers of two straight and four of their last five, the Anglers swept a twin bill at Falmouth with 1-0 and 7-2 victories in the seven-inning games.

Hunter Gaddis (Georgia State) and Greg Veliz (Miami) combined on the shutout in the opener. Neither totaled big strikeout numbers – just one each – but they surrendered only three hits. Gaddis allowed one hit in five innings and Veliz allowed a pair over the final two innings.

T.J. Sikkema (Missouri) was almost as good. He went the distance – giving the league its first complete game of the year, though of the seven-inning variety – and struck out seven. But a run in the top of the first inning stood up for the rest of the game. John Rave (Illinois State) doubled and scored on an RBI single by Adam Fogel (Hawaii).

Chatham found more offense in the second game, racing to a 5-0 lead over the first four innings and finishing with nine hits. Blake Sabol (USC) went 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Kyle McCann (Georgia Tech), Drew Mendoza (Florida State) and Colin Simpson (Oklahoma State) also drove in runs.

Kyle Hurt (USC) allowed two runs in five innings for the win. Troy Miller (Michigan) didn’t allow a hit in two innings of relief, notching his third consecutive scoreless outing.

The wins moved Chatham back over .500 at 12-11-2. With Harwich losing its fourth in a row Tuesday, the Anglers are now in second place in the East.

 

Y-D 5, Harwich 4

Y-D rallied from a four-run deficit to tie the game late then won in the 10th. After singles by Andrew Daschbach (Stanford) and Noah Campbell (South Carolina), Bradlee Beasley (Cal Poly) delivered the walk-off single in the 10th. Campbell, Jonathan DeLuca (Oregon) and Reese Albert (Florida State) also drove in runs for the Sox. Trenton Denholm (UC Irvine), Sam Kessler (West Virginia) and Ryne Nelson (Oregon) teamed up for 5.1 scoreless innings of relief, which paved the way for the comeback.

 

Cotuit 12, Orleans 7

Cotuit erupted for seven runs in the eighth inning to turn a 7-5 deficit into a 12-7 lead. Ryan Reynolds (Texas) homered to start the parade and Zachary Biermann (Coastal Carolina) had a pinch-hit, two-run single to highlight the surge. Stephen Schoch (UMBC) pitched two scoreless innings out of the bullpen for the win. Adam Oviedo (TCU) also homered for Cotuit and Peyton Burdick (Wright State) drove in two runs. For Orleans, Carter Aldrete (Arizona State) hit two home runs for the second straight game, giving him four in a span of seven at-bats and moving him into a tie for the league lead with five. Philip Clarke (Vanderbilt) also homered.

 

Brewster 8, Wareham 1

Brewster delivered one of its best performances of a tough summer, steadily building a lead and quieting Wareham’s talented lineup. Dominic Canzone (Ohio State) went 4-for-5 with three RBI. Brandon Martorano (North Carolina) drove in two runs, while Michigan teammates Jesse Franklin and Joseph Donovan knocked in one each. Coming off a rough start in his last time out against Y-D, Chris Murphy (San Diego) allowed three hits and struck out six in five shutout innings. Brady Basso (Oklahoma State) pitched one scoreless inning of relief and Owen Griffith (Clemson) allowed one run in three innings for the save.

 

What to Watch

It should be a good pitching matchup in Orleans as the Firebirds’ Andrew Abbott (Virginia) puts his 1.12 ERA on the line against Harwich’s Tyler Baum (North Carolina), who hasn’t allowed a run in two starts.

A night after Hyannis beat Wareham to create a tie atop the West Division, both teams held serve with wins Monday. The Harbor Hawks topped Harwich 4-3 while the Gatemen beat Brewster 4-1.

Wareham has one more win under its belt but two ties by Hyannis mean the teams both have 30 points.

Hyannis broke a 3-3 tie in the seventh and received dominant bullpen work for the win over Harwich. Davis Wendzel (Baylor) broke the deadlock with one swing, mashing a leadoff homer in the seventh. Four relievers – Keegan James (Mississippi State), Riley Self (Mississippi State), Adam Elliott (Louisville) and Brett Schulze (Minnesota) – combined for 4.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen to keep Harwich off the board.

Hyannis also got a solid start from Jeremy Randolph (Wright State), who allowed two earned runs in 4.2 innings. His nine strikeouts moved him into the league lead with 31.

Matthew Barefoot (Campbell), Pedro Pages (Florida Atlantic) and Todd Lott (Louisiana-Lafayette) joined Wendzel in driving home runs.

For Wareham, Connor Lunn (USC) tossed five shutout innings, striking out one and allowing two hits. It was his second five-inning, scoreless outing in five appearances this summer.

The offense backed him with a run in the second inning and three in the seventh that broke things open. Ryan Kreidler (UCLA) hit his first home run of the summer and Jakob Goldfarb (Oregon) had two RBI.

Wareham will have a chance to gain some separation tonight when it faces Brewster again, while Hyannis is idle.

 

Falmouth 6, Y-D 3

The Commodores got a boost from some recently arrived reinforcements and pitched well in a win over East leader Y-D. Matt Wallner (Southern Miss) – last spring’s national freshman of the year – went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in his second Cape League appearance. Herbert Iser (San Jacinto) went 2-for-4 with a run scored in his Falmouth debut. Kyle Stowers (Stanford) also had two hits and a run scored. Adam Laskey (Duke) went six strong innings for the win, striking out eight and allowing one run.

 

Orleans 9, Chatham 3

Chatham finally managed some runs against Orleans after two shutouts last week but the Firebirds had plenty of offense to make up for it. Carter Aldrete (Arizona State) hit two home runs, while J.J. Bleday (Vanderbilt) and James Free II (Pacific) blasted one each, giving Orleans a league-best 22 homers on the year. Pat DeMarco (Vanderbilt) added two hits and two runs scored. Making his Orleans debut after Super Regionals and Team USA trials, Mitchell Senger (Stetson) allowed two runs in five innings for the win. Orleans has won two straight and sits just one point behind Chatham for third place.

 

Bourne 9, Cotuit 3

The Braves rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the fifth then piled on from there for its third consecutive win. Thaddeus Phillips (UConn) drove in three runs and Chase Murray (Georgia Tech) knocked in two. Phillips, Anthony Prato (UConn), Tyler Fitzgerald (Louisville) and Gabe Holt (Texas Tech) each had two hits. Andy Archer (Georgia Tech) earned the win in his first appearance with two scoreless innings of relief.

 

What to Watch

Y-D has opened up a sizeable lead in the East but hasn’t faced second place Harwich in a while. The Mariners visit Red Wilson Field this evening.

A historic season and postseason run by Tennessee Tech meant a late arrival to Orleans for outfielder Nick Osborne.

But he is making up for lost time.

In his eighth game with the Firebirds Sunday, Osborne hit his fourth home run, a walk-off shot in the ninth that gave Orleans a 9-8 victory over Brewster.

Osborne had a big hand in Tennesee Tech’s success this season, batting .312 with 12 home runs and also pitching out of the bullpen. It represented a breakout junior campaign for Osborne, who had three career home runs in less than 100 career at-bats. The Golden Eagles broke out, too, winning more games in the regular season than any other team in the country and pushing Texas to the brink in Super Regionals.

With Orleans, Osborne hasn’t slowed down. He went 3-for-5 with a home run in his debut June 29 and has logged at least one hit in seven of eight games, with five of those as multi-hit performances. It adds up to a .448 batting average. He also has 11 strikeouts in 6.2 innings on the mound, with a 5.40 ERA.

Sunday’s game brought more success, especially when Orleans needed it most. With his team trailing 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth, Osborne came to the plate with a runner on first and one out. He then smacked a 2-2 pitch out of the park to win the game for the Firebirds.

Osborne’s blast capped a wild late-innings rally for the Firebirds, who trailed 8-1 in the seventh inning. Four runs in the seventh, two in the eighth and two in the ninth got them off the mat.

Osborne finished 2-for-3 with three RBI. Pat DeMarco (Vanderbilt) added a home run and two RBI and Spencer Steer (Oregon) had two hits. Shay Smiddy (Louisville) pitched three scoreless innings of relief to set the stage for the rally.

 

Hyannis 9, Wareham 5

Hyannis moved into a tie for first place in the West with a victory over Wareham, who has been atop the division for most of the summer. The Harbor Hawk offense steadily took control, scoring in six different innings. Davis Wendzel (Baylor) and Tommy Jew (UC Santa Barbara) each had two RBI, while Seth Gray (Wright State) had three hits. Todd Lott (Louisiana-Lafayette) and Braden Comeaux (Rice) chipped in two, as did Will Holland (Auburn), who recently returned from Team USA trials. Starter Gavin Hollowell (St. John’s) allowed three runs in 4.1 innings, while Ryan Pepiot (Butler) continued a strong summer in the bullpen with 3.2 innings for the win. Pepiot took over the league lead in strikeouts with 28, which have come in 17.1 innings.

 

Bourne 3, Falmouth 2

Bourne totaled just four hits but that proved to be enough for a narrow win over Falmouth. Spencer Brickhouse (East Carolina) hit a two-run homer in the first inning for his league-best 19th and 20th RBI of the summer. The long ball staked Bourne to a lead that it never lost, with an RBI single by Anthony Prato (UConn) providing a crucial insurance run in the seventh. Austin Pope (Fairfield) struck out seven and allowed one run in five innings for his best start of the summer. Zach Peek (Winthrop), Nick Morreale (Georgetown) and Michael McAvene (Louisville) combined for the final four innings, with McAvene earning the save. For Falmouth, Kyle Stowers (Stanford) hit his third home run of the summer.

 

Y-D 10, Chatham 1

Y-D sent 14 men to the plate in a nine-run fourth inning and blew past Chatham at Red Wilson Field. Five hits, two walks, two hit-by-pitches and an error paved the way for the big inning. Noah Campbell’s (South Carolina) three-run double was the big blow. Campbell finished 2-for-3, while Jonathan DeLuca (Oregon) was 3-for-5. Andrew Daschbach (Stanford) and Nicholas Quintana (Arizona) each had two RBI. Jensen Elliott (Oklahoma State) was the beneficiary of all the offense, allowing one run in 5.1 innings for the win. Mitchell Tyranski (Michigan State) shined in relief, striking out five in 3.2 scoreless innings. Y-D is 13-6-4 and holds a seven-point cushion for the top spot in the East.

 

Cotuit 4, Harwich 1

Anthony Veneziano (Coastal Carolina) pitched six dominant innings to lead Cotuit past Harwich. Coming off a good outing in his second start of the summer July 1, Veneziano allowed just one hit and struck out five in six scoreless frames for the win. Stephen Schoch (UMBC), Joseph Walsh (Boston College) and Garrett Gayle (Rice) finished it off for him. Michael Toglia (UCLA) led the offense with his third home run, finishing with two RBI. Cory Wood (Coastal Carolina) helped out his college teammate with two hits and two runs scored.

 

What to Watch

Orleans won both games of a July 4 series with rival Chatham and will try to make it three in a row when it visits Veterans Field tonight.

 
Austin Shenton’s batting average just keeps going up.

This time of year, players who have gotten off to hot starts are usually cooling down. Averages in the .400s are dropping into the .300s, where they’ll remain for the rest of the summer. Maybe someone hangs above .400 a little longer after a late arrival.

Shenton (Florida International) has played in every game for Wareham this summer, a full half-season as the Gatemen hit the midway point Thursday.

And his batting average just keeps going up.

With a 3-for-5 day in a 13-1 blowout of Bourne, Shenton bumped his league-best mark to .435. He’s on a 10-game hitting streak and has logged two straight three-hit performances. The next best qualified hitter is .073 points behind him.

Shenton is no stranger to success with the bat. After a year at a junior college, he hit over .400 for the Bellingham Bells of the West Coast League last summer and was named the fourth-best prospect in the circuit by Baseball America. In his first year at Florida International this spring, he batted .344 with nine home runs.

Wood bats and Cape League pitching haven’t slowed him down. He started the summer with hits in eight of his first nine games. After going 0-for-7 in a three-game hitless streak – his only cold stretch of the summer – he’s 17 for his last 35 in the 10-game heater.

Thursday brought one of his best games yet. He picked up two singles then homered in his final at-bat, his second bomb of the summer. He finished with three runs scored and two RBI.

The good night was part of another strong showing by the first-place Gatemen. Pavin Parks (Kent State) had three RBI and Lael Lockhart (Houston) had two. Jeremy Ydens (UCLA) scored four runs. Ryan Garcia (UCLA) allowed one run in five innings for the win and Easton Lucas (Pepperdine) was dominant in a four-inning save.

As for Shenton, he’s bidding to become the fourth straight Wareham player to win the league batting title. Andrew Calica did it – while hitting over .400 – in 2015, Cole Freeman topped the leaderboard in 2016 and Tanner Dodson won the crown last year.

Shenton stands a good chance – his batting average just isn’t going down.

 

Falmouth 17, Cotuit 7

The Commodores blasted four home runs and matched the league season-high in runs in a blowout win over Cotuit. Davis Sims (Murray State) went deep twice to lead the homer parade. Cameron Cannon (Arizona) hit one homer and racked up six RBI. Logan Davidson (Clemson) also homered in a 3-for-6, 2 RBI night. Kyle Stowers (Stanford) added three hits and Austin Langworthy (Florida) – after a slow start in his first four games in Falmouth – broke out with a two-hit, two-RBI night. Michael Toglia (UCLA) hit his first two home runs of the season for Cotuit, but the Kettleers could not keep up with Falmouth’s 18-hit barrage. Mitchell Miller (Clemson) earned the win in relief for Falmouth with two scoreless innings.

 

Orleans 3, Chatham 0

Orleans shut-out Chatham for the second night in a row. Joey Lancelotti (North Carolina) out-dueled his Carolina teammate Austin Bergner, tossing five innings of three-hit baseball with eight strikeouts. Four relievers kept the shutout going, with Aaron Ochsenbein (Eastern Kentucky) closing it out for his fifth save. Orleans got all its offense in the third inning against Bergner, as Sal Gozzo (Tulane) homered and Carter Aldrete (Arizona State) hit a two-run double.

 

Harwich 6, Brewster 0

The Mariners led throughout and three pitchers combined on a shutout for a win over Brewster. Kyle Mora (UCLA) allowed four hits in five innings for the win. Caleb Freeman (Texas Tech) followed with three innings and Andrew Misiaszek (Northeastern) tossed the final frame. Danny Casals (Maine) had two RBI to lead the Harwich offense. Aaron Schunk (Georgia), Andre Lipcius (Tennessee) and Ben Norman (Iowa) knocked in one run each.

 

Y-D 7, Hyannis 7

Trailing 7-6, Y-D scored a run in the bottom of the eighth to pull even in what proved to be its last chance as the game was called due to darkness. Zach Ashford (Fresno State) tied the game with a two-out, two-strike RBI double off Hyannis relief ace Dylan Thomas (Hawaii), who was bidding for his fifth save. Quin Cotton (Grand Canyon) led the Red Sox with three hits and an RBI. Braden Comeaux (Rice) went 2-for-4 with three RBI to lead Hyannis.

 

What to Watch

The top two teams in the East will meet at Red Wilson Field as Y-D hosts Harwich.