RIGHT FIELD FOG

Chatham and Falmouth both played through the rain Thursday night, hosting the only games that weren’t postponed.

Their reward was more baseball, but they eventually didn’t mind.

Chatham beat Bourne 4-1 in 11 innings Friday night and Falmouth also won in 11 innings, topping Hyannis 6-3.

The Anglers lost their rain-soaked game Thursday and allowed a run in the bottom of the first inning Friday, but that would be Bourne’s only offense of the day. Jack Perkins (Stetson) struck out five in five innings, R.J. Freure (Pittsburgh) and Jack DeGroat (Liberty) struck out six of the 12 batters he faced in three hitless innings of relief.

The dominant pitching set the stage for Chatham to tie the game in the fifth on an RBI fielder’s choice by Ashton McGee (North Carolina). In the eleventh, the Anglers took the lead on a two-run single by Josh Stowers (Louisville) and padded it with a Cody Roberts (North Carolina) RBI single.

DeGroat made the lead stand up, striking out the next two batters and ending the game with a groundout.

In Hyannis, Falmouth needed a bit more heroics after falling behind 3-2 in the seventh. An RBI fielder’s choice by Trevor Larnach (Oregon State) tied the game in the eighth. Then in the 11th, Hunter Steinmetz (Missouri State) put the cherry on top of a big night with a two-run double to put the Commodores ahead. Steinmetz finished 4-for-5 with two doubles. Clayton Daniel (Jacksonville State) also knocked in a run.

After Ian Koch (Western Illinois) had gone two scoreless innings of relief, Ryan Zeferjahn (Kansas) took over once Falmouth grabbed the lead and pitched a perfect ninth for his third save.

Falmouth improved to 13-13-1. Chatham’s extra-inning win put it at 13-15.

Orleans 5, Cotuit 1

The Firebirds won a battle of division leaders thanks to four runs in the third inning and two-hit baseball from three pitchers. Joey Murray (Kent State) allowed one run on one hit and struck out four in five innings for the win. Riley Thompson (Louisville) and Graeme Stinson (Duke) closed out the win. Cotuit, which came in with the highest-scoring offense in the league, was held to a double and a single. Romy Gonzalez (Miami) and Jaxx Groshans (Kansas) led the Orleans offense with one RBI each. Cotuit starter Jason Bilous (Coastal Carolina) struck out six through the first two innings but was touched up for a pair of unearned runs in the four-run third inning.

Y-D 2, Brewster 1

The Red Sox broke a second-place tie with the the Whitecaps and – thanks to Cotuit’s loss – now own the second-best record in the league behind Orleans. Brewster led 1-0 into the eighth inning as Paul Milto (Indiana) tossed seven innings of one-hit, shutout baseball. But against the bullpen, Y-D tied the score in the eighth on a Nico Hoerner (Stanford) RBI single. In the ninth, Alfonso Rivas (Arizona) singled home the go-ahead run, and Riley McCauley (Michigan State) struck out the side in the bottom half to seal Y-D’s comeback win. Brendan Nail (Western Carolina) earned the win after striking out seven in three innings of relief.

Harwich 4, Wareham 3

Break up the Mariners. The East bottom-dweller has won three straight games, the only team in the league currently sporting that long a win streak. To get it to three, the Mariners had to get through Wareham starter Justin Montgomery (California Baptist), who hadn’t allowed a run yet this season. They took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Cobie Vance (Alabama) and a two-run single by Cameron Simmons (Virginia). Vance also doubled home a run in the third and Montgomery was chased after 2.1 innings. Harwich made the lead stand up as Cole Aker (North Carolina) went 4.2 innings for the win, allowing three runs. Protecting a shrinking lead, Austin Hansen (Oklahoma) and Logan Browning (Florida Southern) combined for 4.1 scoreless innings of relief.

What to Watch

Cotuit, Bourne and Falmouth are separated by one point each at the top of the West standings. Two of them face off tonight when the Braves host the Commodores. The All-Star rosters will also be released today.

Brewster beat Falmouth 5-3 in a rain-soaked and rain-shortened five inning game Thursday night.

It was not too short to keep Michael Curry (Georgia) off the bases.

The Cape League’s leader in on-base percentage kept alive an under-the-radar streak when he walked in the third inning. Curry has played in 20 of Brewster’s 27 games and has reached base in every single one of them.

Curry, who hit .297 with a .384 on-base percentage for the Bulldogs this past season, has notched hits in 14 of his 20 games with Brewster and is batting .328. With his on-base percentage at .487 – more than the usual gap between average and OBP – he’s clearly had a knack for finding his way to first. He’s drawn the fourth-most walks in the league and has been hit by three pitches. Somehow, they’ve been spaced out perfectly, filling the holes on nights without hits.

Thursday, he drew a walk as part of a five-run inning that proved decisive in Brewster’s win. Darius Hill (West Virginia), A.J. Graffanino (Washington) and Mickey Gasper (Bryant) drove in runs. The Whitecaps actually added seven runs in the top of the sixth but when the game was called, the score reverted to the last full inning completed.

Bradley Spooner (Saddleback CC) struck out five in 3.2 innings and Robert Broom (Mercer) picked up the win with 1.1 scoreless innings of relief. The victory was the second straight for Brewster, which moved into a tie in points with Y-D for second place in the East.

Curry had a hit in the inning that didn’t count, but wiping it out didn’t matter for his streak. He had already been where he usually is – on base.

It should be noted that there are actually quite a few other Cape Leaguers who have been on base in every game they’ve played – Hyannis’ Jake Mangum (Mississippi State), Y-D’s Alex McKenna (Cal Poly), Wareham’s Willie MacIver (Washington), Orleans’ Jimmy Herron (Duke) and Falmouth’s Clayton Daniel (Jacksonville State).

But none of them have done it at the .487 clip of Curry.

Hyannis 3, Chatham 1

In the only other game that wasn’t rained out, Hyannis took advantage of two unearned runs to get the lead and limited Chatham to just a second-inning run for a 3-1 win. Facing Cameron Bishop (UC Irvine), who struck out eight of 11 batters faced in his last outing, Hyannis capitalized on three second-inning errors to grab a 2-0 lead. Ryan Olenek (Ole Miss) homered later in the game for insurance. Bishop ended up striking out five in five innings, but the two unearned runs sent him to the loss. Hyannis starter Brooks Crawford (Clemson) allowed one run in 4.1 innings for the win. Ethan Larrison (Indiana State) earned the save.

What to Watch

Weather permitting, some intriguing matchups are on tap tonight. Orleans visits Cotuit in a battle of first-place teams. Brewster and Y-D face off in a battle for second place in the East. And Justin Montgomery (California Baptist) puts his 0.00 ERA on the line when Wareham visits Harwich.

Orleans and Y-D have begun to separate themselves atop the East division. The Firebirds own the best record in the league. Y-D is tied for the second-best mark.

They are not, however, getting a whole lot of separation from each other.

Y-D’s comeback 8-7 win Tuesday was the third one-run game in four meetings between the teams, with the other game decided by two runs.

This one was the most dramatic yet. Orleans scored four runs in the seventh to take control. But the deficit and impending darkness were no trouble for the Red Sox, who scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to win it.

Kyle Isbel (UNLV) led the Red Sox a homer, three RBI and three runs scored, including the game-winning run. Alfonso Rivas (Arizona) had the game-winning RBI. Amazingly, the rally came against Orleans closer Josh Hiatt (North Carolina), who had yet to allow a run this season.

Orleans had some more impressive numbers, with Stephen Scott (Vanderbilt) homering and notching his second six RBI game of the summer. Jimmy Herron (Duke) also homered and Ethan Paul (Vanderbilt) had three hits.

In the end, the Red Sox had the offense when it counted and moved to 3-1 in the season series with the Firebirds. Orleans still holds a three-point edge in the standings.

Chatham 10, Cotuit 5

The Anglers won their second straight game and handed Cotuit its first loss since July 1. The Kettleers led 2-0, but Chatham scored five runs in the second inning and pulled away from there. Josh Stowers (Louisville) went 2-for-3 with a home run, three runs scored and four RBI. Jacob Olson (South Carolina) had two doubles and Josh Shaw (St. John’s) drove in two runs. Adam Wolf (Louisville) earned the win in relief. For the Kettleers, Griffin Conine (Duke) hit his sixth home run and took over the league lead in RBI with 23.

Harwich 3, Bourne 1

A pair of LSU reinforcements provided the offense and Brian Christian (Northeastern) tossed seven shutout innings as Harwich snapped a five-game losing streak. Antoine Duplantis (LSU) went 3-for-4 with a home run and an RBI and Josh Smith (LSU) also knocked in a run. Christian allowed one hit and faced just one over the minimum in his seven innings. Logan Browning (Florida Southern) earned the save.

Wareham 2, Brewster 1

Brewster tied the game in the top of the seventh but Wareham untied it in the bottom half and held on for a 2-1 win. Steven Kwan (Oregon State) had a sacrifice fly to score Tanner Dodson (California) with the go-ahead run. Dodson’s run made a winner out of . . . Dodson, who pitched two innings of relief for the victory. Dalton Roach (Minnesota State Mankato) and Brett Conine (Cal State Fullerton) pitched the final two innings to close the win. Willie MacIver (Washington) led the Wareham offense with two hits and stole his league-best 11th base. Michael Curry (Georgia) had three hits for Brewster. Wareham starter Miller Hogan (St. Louis) went five scoreless innings with five strikeouts.

What to Watch

LSU freshman star Zack Hess, who took the College World Series by storm, will make his first start for Bourne as it hosts Wareham tonight. Hess struck out 83 in 60.2 innings in the spring.

On the night Aaron Judge took the MLB Home Run Derby by storm, his former team played at the Cape League’s most homer-happy park. But the only balls that went flying came off the bats of the Y-D Red Sox.

Nico Hoerner (Stanford) and Alfonso Rivas (Arizona) went deep for Y-D and three pitchers combined on a shutout as the Red Sox won a battle for second place in the East 4-0 over Brewster.

Hoerner led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run, his fourth of the summer. Rivas hit a two-run shot in the third – his second homer of the summer – and Y-D was in business.

Kris Bubic (Stanford) ran with the early lead given to him by his Cardinal teammate and tossed six scoreless innings. He struck out five and allowed three hits, lowering his season ERA to 1.59 and giving him the league lead in strikeouts with 25.

Tanner Graham (UAB) and Andrew Quezada (Cal State Fullerton) finished off the shutout.

Brewster had been shut-out just once this season. Perhaps all the offensive vibes were sent to Miami to help a former Whitecap.

Orleans 8, Harwich 3

Trailing by a run in their last at-bat, the Firebirds exploded for six runs and a comeback victory over Harwich. Niko Decolati (Loyola Marymount) tied the game with an RBI single and Steve Passatempo (UMass-Lowell) doubled home the go-ahead run. Stephen Scott (Vanderbilt), Romy Gonzalez (Miami) and Cesar Salazar (Arizona) also drove in runs as the inning continued. Josh Hiatt (North Carolina) pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth – his ninth scoreless outing in as many tries – to finish off the win. Orleans ran its league-best record to 16-8. Harwich lost for the fifth straight time and fell to 7-16-1. CWS champ Jonathan India made his return to the Mariners after a strong 2016 summer and went 2-for-3.

Cotuit 9, Hyannis 9

The other division leader also delivered a ninth-inning rally, though the result wasn’t quite as good. Cotuit scored two in the bottom of the ninth to pull even with the Harbor Hawks but the game was called after the rally due to darkness. Michael Toglia (UCLA) came through with the heroics on a two-run homer with one out in the ninth. Brett Kinneman (NC State) had three hits and scored three runs for the Kettleers. Chandler Avant (Alabama) had two RBI. Robert Neustrom (Iowa) and Jake Mangum (Mississippi State) each doubled twice as part of three-hit nights for Hyannis. The tie ended Cotuit’s six-game winning streak.

Bourne 7, Falmouth 5

The Braves moved three points ahead of Falmouth for second place in the West with a victory over the Commodores. Bourne trailed 4-0 for much of the game but tied the score with a four-run sixth inning. A two-run homer by Scott Schreiber (Nebraska) put the Braves ahead for good. Schreiber finished 3-for-5 with two RBI. Zac Susi (UConn) had two hits and scored two runs for the Braves. Bryan Hoeing (Louisville) followed his college teammate Nick Bennett to the hill and tossed three scoreless innings of relief for the win. Kyle Marman (Florida Atlantic) recorded a two-inning save. Falmouth got home runs from George Janca (Texas A&M) and Cameron O’Neill (Holy Cross).

Chatham 8, Wareham 2

Chatham broke a 2-2 tie with five runs in the eighth inning to beat Wareham. Shea Langeliers (Baylor) hit a two-run homer – his fifth of the summer – to break the deadlock and the Anglers added three more runs in the big inning. Fabian Pena (Manhattan) finished 4-for-5 with an RBI for the Anglers and Antonio Ralat (UAB) had two hits and three RBI. Making his 2017 debut, Wake Forest star Johnny Aiello went 2-for-4 for Chatham. The comeback made a winner out of Rodney Hutchison Jr. (North Carolina), who pitched 3.1 scoreless innings of relief after UNC teammate Austin Bergner allowed two runs in 5.1 innings. Griffin Roberts (Wake Forest) allowed one earned run in seven innings for Wareham before the bullpen faltered.

What to Watch

The top two teams in the East meet for the first time since the second day of the season when Orleans visits Y-D. Stetson standout Logan Gilbert, who went five scoreless in his last start, gets the ball for Orleans. Tim Brennan (St. Joseph’s), one of the league’s top strikeout pitchers so far, goes for the Red Sox.

It was a big day for starting pitchers on the Cape, as you’ll see below, but the best pitching matchup – despite living up to the hype – had little bearing on the final outcome in the most dramatic game of the night.

Justin Montgomery (California Baptist) – the recently crowned Right Field Fog Midseason Outstanding Pitcher – went four shutout innings for Wareham, bringing his season total to 21 innings pitched without allowing a run. He also struck out five and is now tied for the league lead with 24 Ks.

Opposite him, Y-D’s Hogan Harris (Louisiana-Lafayette) didn’t allow a hit in five innings. He lowered his ERA to 1.50 and struck out four. He’s the guy Montgomery is tied with atop the league’s strikeout leaderboard.

It must have been fun to watch those two trading zeroes, but for purposes of a win or a loss, they essentially canceled each other out and made the late innings decisive. The teams each scored one run against the bullpens and went to extra innings. In the 11th, Y-D pushed two runs across for a 3-1 win.

It was the second consecutive extra-inning game for the Gatemen, who have played 23 innings the past two days, with just a tie to show for it.

The Red Sox sealed Wareham’s fate this team with a Christian Koss (UC Irvine) RBI single in the 11th, followed by an RBI single from Connor Kaiser (Vanderbilt).

Y-D closer Riley McCauley (Michigan State), who had come on in the ninth, stayed on the mound to protect the lead. Tanner Dodson (California) led off the bottom of the 11th with a double, but McCauley navigated his way through the middle of the lineup, retiring the next three in order to finish off the win.

Brewster 1, Falmouth 0

For dominant pitching that did have a bearing on the outcome, Brewster allowed just three hits to Falmouth’s powerful offense in a shutout of the Commodores. It was the fourth straight win for the Whitecaps, who remained tied with Y-D for second place in the East. Brewster’s lone run came in the bottom of the first on a Julian Infante (Vanderbilt) RBI single. Davis Daniel (Auburn) made the slim lead stand up with six innings of one-hit baseball. He came in with an 8.64 ERA, but struck out seven and walked two in the shutout performance. Paul Milto (Indiana) carried the torch with a scoreless seventh and Robert Broom (Mercer) struck out three over the final two innings to finish off the win.

Orleans 8, Chatham 2

Ryan Rolison (Ole Miss) had perhaps the best outing of the big night with five no-hit innings and eight strikeouts in Orleans’ win over Chatham. On the heels of a nine-strikeout performance in his last start, Rolison faced just one over the minimum – thanks to a five walk – and struck out exactly half the batters he faced. He left with a 7-0 lead as Orleans got two home runs from Romy Gonzalez (Miami), who went 4-for-4 with four RBI. Gonzalez was hitting .239 on July 3 but is 6 for his last 7 to push his average to .321. Brandon Riley (North Carolina) added two RBI for the Firebirds. Jake Palomaki (Boston College) homered for Chatham.

Cotuit 4, Harwich 2

The Kettleers won their sixth straight game and cleared a tough hurdle to do it. Harwich starter Tyler Baum (North Carolina) had allowed three runs all season, but the Kettleers touched him up for four in six innings. Griffin Conine (Duke) hit his fifth home run of the summer to break open a 2-1 game. Michael Toglia (UCLA) also had an RBI for Cotuit. Justin Hooper (UCLA) out-dueled Baum, striking out five and allowing one run in six innings for the win. Austin Kitchen (Coastal Carolina) and Clark Cota (UNC Wilmington) finished it out. Harwich lost for the fourth straight time.

Bourne 8, Hyannis 3

The Braves broke a 2-2 tie with three runs in the third and never looked back en route to snapping a three-game skid. Andrew Fregia (Sam Houston State) homered and drove in four as part of a 2-for-5 night. Lyle Lin (Arizona State), Scott Schreiber (Nebraska), Jared Triolo (Houston) and Richard Palacios (Towson) all had two hits as Bourne matched its season high with the eight runs. Daniel Bies (Gonzaga) allowed two runs in five innings for the win. Chad Luensmann (Nebraska) and Ryan Feltner (Ohio State) closed it out.

What to Watch

Don’t be surprised to see more great starting pitching tonight. Zane Collins (Wright State) makes his first start since his nine-inning complete game as Cotuit hosts Hyannis. Kris Bubic (Stanford) and his 2.16 ERA are set to go for Y-D against Brewster’s J.R. McDermott (Colorado Mesa), who has a 2.01 ERA. Daniel Lynch (Virginia), with two straight scoreless outings under his belt, goes for Orleans at Harwich. And Austin Bergner (North Carolina), who went six scoreless in his last start, gets the ball for Chatham at Wareham.

One week after their worst loss of the season, the Hyannis Harbor Hawks faced the team that handed it to them, with the same pitcher getting the start.

The response was impressive.

Tagged for 11 runs in a 17-3 loss to Orleans July 1, Michael Brettell (Central Michigan) allowed one run 4.2 innings Saturday, setting up a strong showing for the Harbor Hawks in a 2-1 win over the Firebirds.

Brettell had been Hyannis’ top pitcher until the blow-up, but there was no such trouble this time despite the familiar opponent. He worked a scoreless top of the first for the first sign of a difference and didn’t let a one-run second careen into a big inning.

Orleans loaded the bases in the fifth, which chased Brettell, but Nick Sandlin (Southern Miss) struck out Niko Decolati (Loyola Marymount) to end the inning.

Hyannis took the lead in the sixth on a Robert Neustrom (Iowa) sacrifice fly and the bullpen continued to clamp down, allowing Orleans just one more hit the rest of the way.

Hyannis ran its record to 9-12-1 – and left its worst loss of the season firmly in the past.

Cotuit 7, Bourne 4

The Kettleers won their fifth straight game and now lead the West by three points. Griffin Conine (Duke) hit his fourth home run and Luke Alexander (Mississippi State) knocked his first to lead the offense. Greyson Jenista (Wichita State), Michael Toglia (UCLA) and Miles Lewis (Michigan) drove in one run each. Noah Davis (UC Santa Barbara) earned the win with three scoreless innings in relief of starter Jason Bilous (Coastal Carolina). Chase Shugart (Texas) picked up the save. For Bourne, Zac Susi (UConn) had three hits and Grant Williams (Kennesaw State) had two.

Chatham 9, Y-D 5

Shea Langeliers (Baylor) hit an eighth inning grand slam that broke a 5-5 tie and sent the Anglers to a win over Y-D. It was the fourth home run and second grand slam of the summer for Langeliers, who has delivered almost half of his team-best 17 RBI on two swings of the bat. Nick Patten (Delaware) and Jeremy Pena (Maine) also homered for Chatham and Jacob Olson (UCLA) had two doubles. Jack Perkins (Stetson) went five strong innings before Y-D got to the Chatham bullpen, but R.J. Freure (Pittsburgh) and Jack DeGroat (Liberty) shut down the Red Sox after that. Nico Hoerner (Stanford) and Alfonso Rivas (Arizona) homered for Y-D. Chatham has won two in a row and is 10-12.

Brewster 8, Harwich 3

With Friday’s slate washed out, Brewster ended up playing Harwich in three straight games, and the Whitecaps finished off the stretch with another win. Mickey Gasper (Bryant) hit his fourth home run and Michael Curry (Georgia) also went deep. Martin Costes (Maryland) added two RBI. Ryan Avidano (Georgia) didn’t need all the run support, going six shutout innings for the win. Brewster jumped a game over .500 and is tied with Y-D for second place in the East.

Falmouth 9, Wareham 9 (12 innings)

Falmouth scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings and the teams played three of them before the game ended in a tie. With Falmouth trailing 8-5 in the ninth, pinch-hitter Joshua Breaux (LSU) launched a game-tying three-run homer. Wareham stopped the rally there and scored in its next at-bat, but Falmouth answered in the bottom of the 10th, and the tie remained. Breaux’s home run was one of three for the Commodores, with Hunter Steinmetz (Missouri State) hitting his fourth and George Janca (Texas A&M) belting his third. Willie MacIver (Washington) and Luke Bonfield (Arkansas) both homered for Wareham.

What to Watch

Streaking Cotuit will have to get through unbeaten Tyler Baum (North Carolina) and his 1.42 ERA when it visits Harwich.