RIGHT FIELD FOG

The Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox totaled 10 runs in their first three wins of the season.

For their fourth, they tallied 11 – and nine of them came in one inning.

Trailing 8-2 in the eighth inning of Wednesday night’s game against Chatham, the Red Sox sent 12 men to the plate, knocked seven hits, smacked two home runs and surged to an 11-8 win.

Chatham seemed primed to move to 5-2 on the year – which would have been the best record in the league. Instead, the Red Sox jumped into first place in the East thanks to the big inning comeback.

It started with singles by Kyle Isbel (UNLV) and Nicholas Quintana (Arizona). A wild pitch and a ball that got away on a dropped third strike allowed them to score. A Carter Pharis (UAB) RBI single kept the rally going before a two-run single by Alex McKenna (Cal Poly) made it an 8-7 game. Then came the big hits, as Nico Hoerner (Stanford) hit a three-run homer to give Y-D the lead and Isbel – in his second at-bat of the inning – went back-to-back with a solo shot.

Karl Kauffmann (Michigan) made sure there was no answer for Chatham with a scoreless top of the ninth.

Before Y-D’s explosion, Chatham’s league-best offense was on a roll again. Nick Patten (Delaware) had his fourth multi-hit game of the season and Cody Roberts (North Carolina) went 2-for-5 with a home run.

Wareham 10, Hyannis 2

Wareham didn’t have an inning like Y-D but poured on the offense in a win over Hyannis, smacking 13 hits, including three home runs. Luke Bonfield (Arkansas), who played for Y-D in 2015 and very briefly for Wareham last year, was 0-for-12 to start his third summer but went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. Blake Sabol (USC) and Jake Anchia (Nova Southeastern) also homered for the Gatemen, while Willie MacIver (Washington) delivered his second straight three-hit game. Frankie Bartow (Miami) and Justin Montgomery (California Baptist) combined to hold Hyannis scoreless for the first seven innings.

Orleans 4, Bourne 0

After giving up two runs in four innings in his first start, MAC Pitcher of the Year Joey Murray (Kent State) tossed five scoreless frames for the Firebirds. Cody Deason (Arizona) and J.T. Hintzen (Florida Southern) went two innings each to finish off the shutout, with Deason striking out four for the second straight outing. Jimmy Herron (Duke) and Ethan Paul (Vanderbilt) knocked in one run each, while Steve Passatempo (UMass-Lowell) drove in two.

Brewster 7, Falmouth 4

Chandler Taylor (Alabama) hit two home runs and drove in four as the Whitecaps improved to 3-2-1. Taylor – who hit 16 home runs for the Crimson Tide this spring – was 1-for-11 before the breakout night. Nick Dunn (Maryland) and Darius Hill (West Virginia) each added two hits and an RBI. Connor Higgins (Arizona State) – the Cape League’s first pitcher of the week honoree – allowed one earned run in five innings in his second start. Jonathan Stiever (Indiana) earned the win in relief.

Harwich 6, Cotuit 3

The Mariners handed Cotuit its second straight loss, riding three-run innings in the first and the seventh. Ryne Ogren (Elon) had three hits for the second straight night and moved into the league lead in batting average, while also driving in three runs. Jordan Verdon (San Diego State) homered and knocked in three, as well. Chris Gau (Jacksonville) allowed three runs in six innings for the win and Cole Aker (North Carolina) went three scoreless frames for the save. For Cotuit, Griffin Conine (Duke) went 2-for-4 for his sixth multi-hit game in seven tries.

What to Watch

Chatham visits Orleans in the first installment of their East Division rivalry. Graeme Stinson (Duke) makes his first start for the Firebirds against Taylor Luciani (Quinnipiac), who will make his second start.

Every team on the Cape has scored more runs than the Bourne Braves so far this season. A big reason why is that the Braves have had three games postponed due to weather, so they’re behind schedule.

But winning by the slimmest of margins also has something to do with it.

And the Braves have been very good at that.

A 5-4 victory over Cotuit Thursday was Bourne’s third win of the season, and each one has been by one run. The Braves beat Chatham 4-3 and Orleans 2-1 before edging the Kettleers. At 3-1, they have the best winning percentage in the league.

The latest win came on the strength of six shutout innings by the bullpen and a rally in the seventh. After falling behind 2-0, the Braves scored four runs in the third – thanks in large part to a three-run double by Grant Witherspoon (Tulane) – before giving two right back. From there, a parade of five relievers kept Cotuit quiet and set the stage for the Braves to break through. They did it in the seventh thanks to a single, a hit-by-pitch, a walk and an RBI infield hit by Lyle Lin (Arizona State).

The bullpen then finished the job, continuing a trend in the one-run victories. Bourne relievers have allowed one run in 16.2 innings the last three games. Daniel Bies (Gonzaga) handled the biggest load Tuesday with three scoreless frames. Ryan Feltner (Ohio State) earned the save.

In the loss, Cotuit’s hot bats didn’t cool off much, as Zack Kone (Duke) went 4-for-4 to raise his average to .526 while Griffin Conine (Duke) went 2-for-4 for his fifth multi-hit game in six tries. The Kettleers fell to 4-2.

Orleans 2, Wareham 0

Three pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout as the Firebirds edged Wareham. Kevin Smith (Georgia) got the win with five innings of two-hit ball. Parker Kelly (Oregon) and Josh Hiatt (North Carolina) went two innings each, with Hiatt picking up the save. Brandon Riley (North Carolina) had three hits and an RBI to lead the Orleans offense, and Jeff Houghtby (San Diego) also knocked home a run. Orleans improved to 2-4. Wareham, which dropped to 2-5, got three hits from Willie MacIver (Washington), who ran his average to .400.

Hyannis 5, Chatham 3

Returning Harbor Hawk Ford Proctor (Rice) was 0-for-13 on the summer when he came up with a big first hit. Proctor’s three-run homer in the sixth broke a 1-1 tie and sent the Harbor Hawks on their way to a 5-3 win over the Anglers. Ryan Olenek (Ole Miss) had delivered the game-tying RBI an inning before and Chris Proctor (Duke) added a bit of insurance with an RBI single in the seventh. The sixth-inning homer made a winner out of starter Ryan Weiss (Wright State), who allowed one run and struck out seven in five innings. Christian Tripp (New Mexico) picked up his third save. Hyannis is 3-2-1. Chatham fell to 4-2. Nick Patten (Delaware) and Josh Shaw (ASA College) drove in one run each for the Anglers.

Falmouth 4, Harwich 2

The Commodores out-scored the Mariners 3-2 in the first inning, shut them out the rest of the way and tacked on one additional run for the 4-2 win. Alec Bohm (Wichita State), Marty Bechina (Michigan State) and Willie Burger (Penn State) all had RBI hits in the big first inning and Bechina added another in the third. Scott Politz (Yale) allowed the two runs to Harwich in the bottom half of the first but escaped a bases-loaded jam and met smooth sailing from there. He went five innings for the win. Brian Gadsby (UCLA) and Ryan Zeferjahn (Kansas) handled the final four innings, with Zeferjahn earning the save. Harwich got two hits and two RBI from Cobie Vance (Alabama). Falmouth is 3-4 while Harwich is 2-4-1.

Brewster 7, Y-D 7

The Whitecaps tied the game with five runs in the sixth inning and neither team scored again in a darkness-induced draw. Cesar Trejo (UNC Greensboro) had the big blow in the game-tying comeback with a three-run double. Mickey Gasper (Bryant) added three RBI for the Whitecaps and A.J. Graffanino (Washington) had three hits. Y-D got three hits and two RBI from Connor Kaiser (Vanderbilt) and a home run by Carlos Cortes (South Carolina). Y-D’s Karl Blum (Rutgers) starred in relief, striking out six of the nine batters he faced. Brewster is 2-2-1 while Y-D is 3-1-1.

What to Watch

Connor Higgins (Arizona State) – the first winner of the league’s Pitcher of the Week award – makes his second start for Brewster as Falmouth comes to town. Higgins went five scoreless innings with six strikeouts in his first start.

Harwich had the best pitching numbers in the league last summer. It was a little different through three games this year, as the Mariners surrendered 15 runs in a 1-2 start.

Sunday’s doubleheader was more like it.

Mariner pitchers combined for 16 shutout innings in two games with Hyannis. The only negative for the home squad was that Hyannis pitchers were just as good in the second game – with a nine-inning cap on doubleheader games, the teams played to a 0-0 tie. Harwich settled for one win from the dominant day, a 6-0 triumph in the opener.

Tyler Baum (North Carolina) made his debut in the first game and started the trend. A top 100 draft prospect out of high school last year, Baum had a strong freshman year in Chapel Hill, going 7-0 with a 2.57 ERA – right behind first-round pick J.B. Bukauskas on the team’s stat ranks – and striking out 47 in 63 innings. Sunday, he was in total control, allowing two hits in six innings while striking out three. Both hits were singles and he didn’t let a runner past second base. Jamie Sara (William & Mary) finished off the shutout with a perfect seventh.

Two runs in the first inning would have been enough, but the Mariners added one in the fourth and three in the fifth. Bradley Debo (NC State) – off to a red hot start – went 2-for-3 with three RBI.

The only thing missing in the second game was a similar offensive burst. Dylan Grove (Oklahoma) matched Baum with six clean innings. He struck out two, allowed three hits and didn’t walk a batter, a welcome change after a shaky spring in that department. Grove struck out 48 in 36 innings, but also walked 40.

John Witkowski (Boston College) and Cole Aker (North Carolina) combined to keep the shutout streak going over the final three innings.

Brooks Crawford (Clemson) and Nick Sandlin (Southern Mississippi) did their part for Hyannis, allowing just three total hits. Sandlin struck out six in five innings.

Cotuit 4, Brewster 3; Cotuit 2, Brewster 1

The only undefeated team in the league stayed that way with a pair of one-run victories. The Kettleers won on a walk-off in the eighth inning of game one. With runners on first and second, Gian Martellini (Boston College) singled to score Greyson Jenista (Wichita State) with the winning run. The dramatics made a winner out of Zane Collins (Wright State), who tossed a scoreless inning of relief. Griffin Conine (Duke) kept up his hot start with his first home run of the summer. In game two, the Kettleers took care of business a little earlier, scoring the go-ahead run in the fifth. Conine rolled on with two hits and Ako Thomas (Michigan) stretched his hit streak to four with a base hit and two RBI. Justin Hooper (UCLA) allowed one run in four innings, Collins picked up his second win of the day and Chase Shugart (Texas) notched the save.

Chatham 8, Wareham 3; Chatham 6, Wareham 1

The only other sweep of the day belonged to the other division leader as Chatham moved to 3-1 with a pair of victories over Wareham. Nick Patten (Delaware) – who had 14 home runs for Delaware this spring – hit his first of the summer in game one and then hit his second in game two. He finished the day 4-for-5, with the two runs, three runs scored and five RBI. He’s your early CCBL leader in home runs and batting average. Josh Shaw (ASA College) went 3-for-4 in the opener and a total of six Anglers drove in at least one run. Jacob Stevens (Boston College) pitched four scoreless innings in the first game. Stevens was a 33rd-round pick last week and is back for a second summer in Chatham. He came back to earth a bit this spring on the heels of a great freshman year. Ryan Hedrick (Presbyterian) was credited with the win. Jacob Olson (UCLA) had two hits and an RBI in the second game and John Signore (Fairfield) picked up the win with five innings of one-run ball.

Falmouth 5, Orleans 2; Orleans 9, Falmouth 3

A matchup of winless teams ended with both breaking into the win column. Falmouth got two RBI each from Alec Bohm (Wichita State) and Jason McGowan (Purdue) in the first game. Kyle Bradish (New Mexico State) allowed one earned run in four innings for the win and Mitchell Miller was dominant in relief, striking out six in three innings for the save.  Orleans returned the favor quickly in the nightcap, scoring seven runs in the first three innings for an easy first win. Jimmy Herron (Duke) – a 31st-round pick of the Yankees last week after a big spring – got the Firebirds started in emphatic fashion with a second-inning grand slam and added two more hits on the night. Jaxx Groshans (Kansas), Romy Gonzalez (Miami) and Jeff Houghtby (San Diego) each had two hits and an RBI. Daniel Lynch (Virginia) allowed three runs and struck out six in 4.2 innings for the win.

** The Y-D vs. Bourne doubleheader was postponed.

What to Watch

It’ll be a matchup of early division leaders as Cotuit visits Chatham Monday at 7 p.m.

It took Cotuit 15 days to get its second win of the season last year. The Kettleers were 1-12 when they beat Yarmouth-Dennis June 25, just over two weeks past the opener.

The 2017 Kettleers needed just two days.

After a win over Bourne on opening night Wednesday, Cotuit rolled over Falmouth 10-0 Thursday at Lowell Park.

Eight of the nine starters who were in the opening day lineup were back at it Thursday as the Kettleers stuck with what worked.

Griffin Conine (Duke) led the way again with his second straight multi-hit, multi-RBI game. This time, he went 2-for-5 with a double and drove in two runs. College teammate Zack Kone (Duke) also had two hits and two RBI, as did Gian Martellini (Boston College). John Cresto (Santa Clara) – the lone new entry in the lineup – delivered two hits and two RBI as well.

Of course, Cotuit didn’t really need all that offense. Dylan King, who struck out a whopping 108 in 84 innings this spring at Belmont – ranking him in the top 10 among sophomores nationwide – fanned seven in four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits. Chase Cohen (Georgia Southern) finished off the shutout with ease, allowing three hits over the final four innings, as the game was called there due to darkness.

I guess the setting sun is about all that can slow Cotuit down.

Brewster 6, Hyannis 1

The Whitecaps also moved to 2-0 thanks to a second consecutive 6-1 win, this one over Hyannis. Brewster took an early 1-0 lead then pulled away late. Five different players drove in one run each, including Mickey Gasper (Bryant), who had knocked in two on opening night. Chandler Taylor (Alabama) scored two runs. Starter J.R. McDermott, who starred at D-II Colorado Mesa, went five scoreless innings for the win. Reece Hampton (UNC Charlotte) had a double and a triple for Hyannis.

Y-D 4, Orleans 2

The Red Sox held off a charge by the Firebirds to join the 2-0 club. In a good pitching matchup, Josh McMinn (Oral Roberts) out-dueled MAC Pitcher of the Year Joey Murray (Kent State), allowing two runs and striking out five in six innings. Y-D managed three runs – two earned – off Murray in four innings. McMinn had a shutout into the sixth when Orleans struck, but the Y-D bullpen held on tight. Three strikeouts in the ninth by Spencer Van Scoyoc (Arizona State) highlighted the effort. Kyle Isbel (UNLV) picked up his third RBI of the young season to lead the Red Sox offense.

Wareham 9, Harwich 0

The Gatemen broke the game open with seven runs in the sixth inning, but would have been fine without the burst as four pitchers combined on a shutout. Joey Matulovich (California) earned the win with four innings of relief after starter Justin Montgomery (California Baptist) struck out five in the first three innings. John Toppa (UConn) had a two-run single to highlight the big sixth inning, while Blake Sabol (USC) and Andrew Shadid (Bradley) had three hits apiece.

Bourne 4, Chatham 3

The Braves rallied from a 2-0 hole with three runs in the fifth and stayed in front the rest of the way. Lyle Lin (Arizona State) did most of the damage in the fifth-inning rally with a two-run single and also drove in a run in the seventh, which proved to be crucial when Chatham scored in the ninth to get within one. Tyler Barss (Rhode Island) allowed the Chatham run in the ninth, but with the tying run in scoring position, he struck out D.J. Artis (Liberty) to end the game, making a winner out of Brian Eichhorn (Georgia Southern). For Chatham, Josh Shaw (ASA College) had his second consecutive two-hit night.

What to Watch

Cotuit puts its perfect mark on the line at Veterans Field in Chatham against a starter with some of the best numbers of any incoming Cape pitcher. Jack Perkins (Stetson) had a 2.71 ERA and struck out 108 in his sophomore campaign.

Pitching usually dominates early in the Cape League season, so much so that last night’s 8-7 win by Chatham over Falmouth was – believe it or not – the highest scoring opening night game on the Cape since 2004. It matched a 14-1 win by Bourne over Cotuit June 17, 2004 at Coady Park, former home of the Braves. Among the players in that game? Chase Headley and Brennan Boesch.

In the next 12 years, no two teams combined for 15 runs on opening night, until the Anglers and Commodores did it last night.

Chatham and Falmouth combined for 20 hits, six of which went for extra bases. Chatham led throughout thanks to a four-run first inning and held on tight down the stretch as Falmouth scored five in the seventh.

Jacob Olson, the top hitter for South Carolina this spring, homered and went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI to lead the Anglers. Josh Shaw (ASA College), who played for Cotuit last summer, and Jeremy Pena (Maine) also had two hits, while Mason Koppens (Northeastern) drove in two runs.

Falmouth’s offense was led by Marty Bechina (Michigan State), who went 3-for-4 and homered. Clayton Daniel (Jacksonville State) added three hits and two RBI.

Justin Lasko (UMass) picked up the win with 5.1 strong innings. Falmouth did some damage against the Angler bullpen, but Eli Nabholz (Millersville) – who struck out 93 in 78 innings this spring – fanned four two perfect innings to close the door.

Y-D 4, Harwich 2

The defending champs opened with a little extra baseball, winning in 10 innings over Harwich at Whitehouse Field. After each team scored a run in the fifth to make it 2-2, they matched each other for four scoreless frames before the Red Sox broke through in the top of the 10th. Kyle Isbel (UNLV) had his second RBI single of the day to break the tie and scored on a sac fly by Carlos Cortes (South Carolina). Riley McCauley struck out two in the bottom of the 10th to finish the win. Isbel finished with three hits and Cortes had two to lead the Red Sox. Travis Moniot (Orange County CC) and Andrew Moritz (UNC Greensboro) had two hits apiece for Harwich.

Hyannis 3, Wareham 0

Hyannis notched opening night’s lone shutout as four pitchers combined to allow just five hits. Ryan Weiss, who had a big year for Wright State, drew the opening night start and went four innings. Michael Brettell (Central Michigan) followed with two scoreless innings and was credited with the win. Ethan Larrison (Indiana State) pitched the seventh and Christian Tripp (New Mexico) tossed the final two innings for the save. Hyannis got all the offense it needed in the second as returning Harbor Hawk Ford Proctor (Rice) drew a bases loaded walk and Tyler Frank – coming off a big spring at Florida Atlantic – doubled home a pair.

Cotuit 5, Bourne 3

The Kettleers scored all their runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to rally and pull away from Bourne. Griffin Conine (Duke) went 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBI to lead the charge. Brett Kinneman (NC State) drove in a run and Greyson Jenista (Wichita State), back for his second year in Cotuit, had two hits from the leadoff spot. Jason Bilous – a late arrival to Cotuit last year after Coastal Carolina’s run to the national championship – got the opening night start and allowed two runs in 4.1 innings. Jayce Vancena (Michigan) earned the win in relief and Clark Cota (UNC Wilmington) struck out four in two hitless innings for the save.

Brewster 6, Orleans 1

The Whitecaps had three two-run innings and didn’t allow Orleans to score until the ninth in an opening night victory. Mickey Gasper (Bryant) homered and drove in two for the Whitecaps. A.J. Graffanino (Washington), back for his second summer in Brewster, had two hits and an RBI. Connor Higgins, who pitched almost exclusively in relief for Arizona State this spring, got the start for Brewster and struck out six in five scoreless innings.

What to Watch

Orleans has two conference pitcher of the year award winners on its roster this summer and will send out the first tonight as Joey Murray (Kent State) gets the ball at Y-D. He’ll go against Josh McMinn, the ace of the Oral Roberts staff this spring.