RIGHT FIELD FOG

I was a little surprised when I saw on July 2 that Orleans had released Daniel Aldrich. He was hitting well for the Firebirds, but he was a temporary player, and when the roster stated filling up, Orleans didn’t have a whole lot of options. In the Cape League, that kind of numbers crunch happens every year.

I was not surprised that Aldrich quickly hooked on with Cotuit. In addition to his solid start with Orleans, this is a guy who hit .347 with 22 home runs as a freshman at College of Charleston in 2011.

And the Kettleers are very happy to have him in the fold.

Aldrich hit a home run and had four RBI in his first game with Cotuit, and he hasn’t slowed down since. In six games since coming over from Orleans, Aldrich is hitting .433 with four home runs and 11 RBI. He went 3-for-5 last night with a homer and three RBI as Cotuit demolished Y-D 10-0 for its fourth straight win.

That’s the other thing — Cotuit has won five of the six games Aldrich has played and is now 12-10, good for second place in the West.

He’s not the only reason, of course. A lot of guys are heating up, but Aldrich has been exactly what Cotuit needed in the middle of its order. Before he joined the team, Cotuit had hit seven home runs on the year. By himself, Aldrich now has more than half of that total. Of Cotuit’s new season total of 12 home runs, Aldrich has hit a third of them.

Last night, Aldrich helped power the most impressive win of Cotuit’s streak. Not only did the Kettleers pound out 16 hits; they also limited the league’s top offense to three hits and handed Y-D its first shutout of the season. Cameron Griffin (Stetson) made his first start after eight relief appearances and pitched four scoreless innings. Joe Broussard (LSU) and Ryan Connolly (Coastal Carolina) combined for four more scoreless innings and Dan Slania (Notre Dame) struck out the side in the ninth to finish off the win.

In addition to Aldrich’s big day at the plate, Cotuit got three hits from league batting leader Patrick Biondi (Michigan), who is hitting .545 in his last six games for a season average of .419. Tony Kemp (Vanderbilt), James Roberts (USC) and Angel Rosa (Alcorn State) had two hits and two RBI each.

Giant Killer

Brewster’s Tom Windle (Minnesota) has been one of the most impressive starting pitchers in the league this season.

The list of teams he’s beaten makes it all that much more impressive.

Windle struck out eight and gave up just one hit in six shutout innings last night to lead Brewster past Orleans. Windle is now 3-1 and the three wins have come against West leader Falmouth, East leader Harwich and now Orleans, the second-place team in the East.

For Windle, each win has been better than the last. After losing his first start, against Chatham, he came back with five innings of one-run ball to beat Falmouth. He then struck out nine and allowed just an unearned run on four hits in six innings in a win over Harwich.

Last night, he gave up just a second-inning single to Conrad Gregor (Vanderbilt). Orleans had three other base-runners, two on errors, one on a dropped third strike, but Windle didn’t allow any of them past second base.

Windle, who was the 17th-best prospect in the Northwoods League last summer, is now 3-1 with a 1.66 ERA and 29 strikeouts.

Brewster’s offense was led by a huge day from Ryon Healy (Oregon), who went 4-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Trevor Mitsui (Washington) and Derek Campbell (Cal) also hit home runs, while Windle’s Minnesota teammate Dan Olinger had two hits and an RBI.

Elsewhere

Harwich trailed Wareham 6-1 going into the sixth inning but stormed back and scored five runs in the ninth on its way to a 9-6 victory. After Brian Ragira (Stanford) tied the game with an RBI single, Austin Wilson (Stanford) hit a three-run homer to give Harwich the lead. Zane Evans (Georgia Tech) then pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth to finish off the victory. Wilson, Ragira, JaCoby Jones (LSU) and Phillip Ervin (Samford) all had two hits for the Mariners while Tyler Sciacca (Villanova) had three at the top of the order. Tyler Horan (Virginia Tech) hit his sixth home run for Wareham, while Mott Hyde (Georgia Tech) and Kyle Schwarber (Indiana) also went yard. Wareham starter Kendall Graveman (Mississippi State) struck out eight in five innings but did not factor in the decision.

Falmouth broke a 1-1 tie with a run in the seventh to nip Hyannis 2-1. Jake Rodriguez (Oregon State) scored what proved to be the winning run on a bunt by Billy Ferriter (UConn). Jared King (Kansas State) led the Commodore offense with two hits. Falmouth starter Craig Schlitter (Bryant) turned in his third impressive start of the summer, striking out six and allowing one run in seven innings. Schlitter now is 4-1 with a 1.39 ERA. Brandon Trinkwon (Cal) led Hyannis with two hits, bringing his average to .304.

What to Watch

Teams will head to Boston today for a workout at Fenway Park, one of the thrills of the season for Cape League players. There’s only one game on the schedule — Y-D at Orleans at 7 p.m. Arizona standout James Farris will make his first start for the Firebirds.

Also, later today on Right Field Fog, I’ll have a couple of midseason report posts. Yes, it’s midseason. Yes, that’s crazy.

Chatham visited Bourne in the only game on the Cape League schedule last night. The Anglers had lost two in a row, while the Braves had won two straight.

The streaks continued.

The Braves took a lead in the bottom of the fourth and never let go en route to a 5-3 victory. At 7-15, Bourne is now a game ahead of Hyannis for fourth place in the West. Chatham fell to 11-11, tied for third in the East.

Mason Robbins (Southern Miss) again led the Braves offense, going 2-for-4. He has eight hits in the three-game winning streak and is 8-for-12 in that span. Justin Leeson (Georgetown) also had two hits, John Murphy (Sacred Heart) drove in two and Colin Moran (North Carolina) had an RBI to take over the league lead with 22.

On the mound, Mike Mayers (Ole Miss), who struck out 10 in seven innings in his last start, was solid again. He struck out eight and allowed one earned run in four innings. Brandon Moore (Arkansas) was credited with the win thanks to four strong innings of relief. Hawtin Buchanan (Ole Miss) struck out the side in the ninth for his second save.

Chatham, which had won three in a row before its recent skid, was led by three hits from Andrew Knapp (Cal).

What to Watch

Brewster’s Tom Windle (Minnesota), who has beaten East leader Harwich and West leader Falmouth in his last two starts, gets another crack at a top team when the Whitecaps visit Orleans at 7 p.m. Jerad Grundy (Kentucky) is scheduled to go for Orleans.

Mason Robbins and Colin Moran are two of the biggest names in a pretty talented Bourne Braves lineup. That lineup — and the team in general — has had a rough go of it this year, but the last two games have offered some pretty promising signs.

Robbins (Southern Miss) and Moran (North Carolina) have been featured prominently.

Robbins went 2-for-3 last night with two home runs, while Moran went 1-for-4 with his fifth home run and his second in as many days. Robbins suddenly ranks third in the league in hitting with a .382 average, while Moran is tied for the league lead in RBI. Throw in Chase McDonald (East Carolina), who also hit a home run for the second straight night, and you’ve got a lineup that’s finally hitting its stride.

And the results are finally there too. Bourne beat first-place Falmouth 9-2 last night after topping Hyannis 10-7 the night before. Those are the second and third-highest run totals of the season for the Braves.

Moran, one of the top hitters in the country, has been on target all summer, but in the first two weeks of the season, he wasn’t producing much, with just four RBI in his first 10 games. In his last 10 games, he’s hit four homers and knocked in 17 runs. In Bourne’s last two wins, he’s hit two home runs and driven in five.

Robbins, a 20th-round pick out of high school last year, has been even hotter. On June 28, he was hitting .267. Since then, he’s gone 13 for 25 and raised his average significantly. On Saturday against Hyannis, he went 4-for-5 with a double. Last night, he blasted his first two home runs of the season.

Now that Moran and Robbins are in gear, the rest of the Braves are following suit. McDonald now has four home runs while Aaron Payne (Oregon) went 4-for-5 with three RBI last night. The pitching was also good. Jaron Long (Ohio State) turned his best performance of the season, striking out six and giving up just an unearned run in six innings.

And Bourne did all that against the best team in the West. With a 6-15 record, there’s still a long way to go for the Braves to be back in the thick of things.

But they’re certainly heating up.

Elsewhere

Cotuit is also heating up, as the Kettleers beat Hyannis 14-8 for the their third win in a row. They’re now over .500 for the first time since week one. James Roberts (USC) led a 16-hit attack with a 4-for-5, four RBI day. Mike Ford (Princeton) added two hits and three RBI while Tony Kemp (Vanderbilt) drove in two. Daniel Aldrich (College of Charleston) had two more hits, his ninth and 10th in five games with the Kettleers. Cotuit actually fell behind 7-4 when Hyannis rocked starter Tim Mayza (Millersville) for seven runs in the second inning, but the Kettleers came back with three in the second and then kept hitting. Out of the bullpen, Dusty Isaacs (Georgia Tech) allowed one run in 3.2 innings for the win, while Jordan Smith (Western Carolina) pitched three scoreless frames to finish it off.

Harwich got the best of Orleans for the third time in four tries this season, topping the Firebirds 7-4 at Eldredge Park. Eric Jagielo (Notre Dame) hit his seventh home run and JaCoby Jones (LSU) cracked his second as the Mariners improved their league-best record to 15-6. They did much of their damage against Orleans starter Jarrett Arakawa (Hawaii), who gave up five runs in two innings. He had given up just one run on the season before that. On the other side, Corey Littrell (Kentucky) struck out seven and allowed two runs in five innings, before the Harwich bullpen took over. Tyler Burgess (Missouri State), Zane Evans (Georgia Tech) and Grant Gordon (Missouri State) pitched scoreless frames. Orleans touched up C.K. Irby (Samford) for two runs in the ninth, but Irby got out of a two-on, two-out jam with a groundout.

Y-D scored eight runs in the third inning and never looked back en route to a 10-3 victory over Chatham, which moves the teams back into a third-place tie in the East. Josh Tobias (Florida) had a home run and three RBI to lead the Y-D charge, while Wayne Taylor (Stanford) went 2-for-4 with two RBI. On the mound, Rick Knapp (Florida Gulf Coast) got the win with four strong innings of relief. Pat Valaika (UCLA) had three hits to lead the Anglers.

Brewster won for the second night in a row, beating Wareham 5-2. Aaron Judge (Fresno State) went 2-for-2 with a home run and two RBI to lead the offense, while Dylan Davis (Oregon State) made his first start after four relief appearances and pitched four scoreless innings. Four Brewster relievers finished off the victory.

I was all set to write about Falmouth today. The Commodores had won two in a row heading into last night. With a match-up against Brewster, I figured it’d be three in a row, which would possibly put them in a tie for the best record in the league.

But I should have known that you can’t count on anything when it comes to Brewster.

The Whitecaps have won eight games, fewest in the East, but they’ve made a lot of them count. Six of their eight wins have come against Orleans, Harwich, Falmouth and Wareham — the teams sitting one-two in their divisions.

Falmouth had beaten Brewster 6-4 on Friday, but the Whitecaps got back in with the trend on Saturday, beating the Commodores 9-1 to improve to 8-12 on the year.

Falmouth still looks like the best team in the West, but on this night, Brewster was better.

Sam Moll (Memphis), who had posted great strikeout numbers but had given up nine earned runs in his first three starts, put it all together this time. He struck out six, didn’t walk anybody and scattered five hits in six shutout innings. Chase McDowell (Rice) and Jake Kalish (George Mason) finished off the victory with solid relief outings.

At the plate, the Whitecaps were led by Trevor Mitsui (Washington) and Jason Monda (Washington State), who each had a home run. Monda drove in two while Mitsui drove in one. Aaron Judge (Fresno State) added two hits and an RBI.

Brewster gets another shot at an impressive win tonight when it takes on Wareham.

Elsewhere

Cotuit moved into a second-place tie with Wareham thanks to a 5-2 victory over the Gatemen. The Kettleers pounded out 17 hits and got a second straight dominant performance from Kevin Ziomek (Vanderbilt). Ziomek struck out six and allowed four hits in seven shutout innings. Hw now ranks second in the league in strikeouts and he has an ERA of 1.19. James Roberts (USC) led the Cotuit offense with four hits while Jacob May (Coastal Carolina) had three. Daniel Aldrich (College of Charleston) went 2-for-5 with a home run, giving him eight hits and three home runs in four games since coming over from Orleans.

Orleans snapped a three-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over Y-D. The Firebirds trailed 3-2 going into the top of the ninth, but got an RBI single from Conrad Gregor (Vanderbilt) to tie the game and Reed Gragnani (Virginia) sac fly to take the lead. Kyle Crockett (Virginia), who looks like he’ll be the closer in the absence of Trevor Gott, then worked a scoreless bottom half of the inning to finish off the comeback win. Dylan Clark (Elon) got the win with his most impressive performance in a season full of them. He went five shutout innings, allowing just three hits, striking out three and walking nobody. Clark now has a 0.47 ERA and hasn’t walked anybody all year. Gregor had two RBI to lead the Orleans offense while Pi’ikea Kitamura (Hawaii) had three hits. Carlos Asuaje (Nova Southeastern) went 4-for-4 to lead the Red Sox.

Harwich kept pace with Orleans thanks to a 4-3 victory of its own, over Chatham. The Mariners took a 4-2 lead in the fifth and held off a ninth-inning charge to seal the win. Zane Evans (Georgia Tech) got out of a two-on, two-out jam with a strikeout to finish it off. Eddie Campbell (Virginia Tech) struck out eight in six innings for the win. Eric Jagielo (Notre Dame) hit his sixth home run and JaCoby Jones (LSU) drove in two to power the offense.

Bourne bounced back from a Friday loss to Hyannis to beat the Harbor Hawks 10-7. The Braves are now a game back of Hyannis for fourth in the West. The Braves hit three home runs and got at least one hit from every spot in the lineup. Chase McDonald (East Carolina), Colin Moran (North Carolina) and John Murphy (Holy Cross) hit the home runs, while Mason Robbins (Southern Miss) went 4-for-5 and Murphy went 2-for-3.

What to Watch

East leaders Harwich and Orleans get together again at 7 p.m. at Eldredge Park. Jarrett Arakawa (Hawaii) and his 0.60 ERA get the ball for the Firebirds, with Corey Littrell (Kentucky) scheduled to start for Harwich.

Good pitching beats good hitting.

Sometimes that’s even true in the very offensive 2012 Cape Cod Baseball League season.

Hyannis standout Sean Manaea (Indiana State) struck out nine and didn’t allow a run in six scoreless innings as the Harbor Hawks beat Bourne 9-2, while Chatham’s Ryan Thompson (Franklin Pierce) struck out 11 and gave up two runs in 5.1 innings to lead the Anglers past Harwich 5-3.

Great starting pitching performances have been hard to come by this season. Seven teams have ERA’s over four.

Manaea and Thompson have been consistently breaking the mold.

Manaea will likely end up as one of the top pitching prospects on the Cape. The 6’5 lefty had a huge spring for Indiana State and has picked up where he left off with the Harbor Hawks. He struck out 11 in his last start, but this performance was probably his best. He didn’t give up an earned run and scattered six hits, five of them singles.

The Harbor Hawks backed him with a second straight big offensive day. Brad Zebedis (Presbyterian) went 3-for-5 with two RBI, while Mitchell Garver (New Mexico) and Brandon Trinkwon (Cal) also had two RBI. The win moved Hyannis two games ahead of Bourne for fourth in the West.

Chatham’s Thompson has taken a winding path to the Cape. He hails from Calgary and started his college career at UConn. He’s posted two strong seasons at Franklin Pierce, and is now turning some heads on the Cape.

Last night was also his best start. He allowed just three hits, struck out 11 and walked just one in 5.2 innings. He now has a 1.62 ERA to go with 21 strikeouts and only four walks.

And he did it against Harwich, as Chatham scored a key victory. Chad Morgan (Virginia Tech) had three hits to lead the Anglers, while Alex Calbick (Maine), Mike Fransoso (Maine) and John Martinez (Michigan State) all drove in runs.

Chatham has all of a sudden won three in a row and sits just two games back of second-place Orleans.

Elsewhere

Two victories for West teams over East teams last night as Wareham toppled Orleans 7-4 and Cotuit beat Y-D, also by a 7-4 score. The Gatemen, who are quickly rising up the team home run total ranks, got the fifth home run from Tyler Horan (Virginia Tech) and the fifth and sixth from Daniel Palka (Georgia Tech) on their way to the win over East leader Orleans. The Gatemen touched up Orleans starter Brandon McNitt (Stony Brook) for five runs, four of which were unearned. Palka finished with four RBI. Kurt McCune (LSU) got the win with seven solid innings.

As for Cotuit, the Kettleers held a hot Y-D team largely in check, with three relievers finishing the job after Adam McCreery (Arizona State) allowed three earned in four innings. Daniel Aldrich (College of Charleston) continued his hot start in a Cotuit uniform with a 2-for-5, three RBI day that included a home run. Mike Ford (Princeton) drove in two, while Patrick Biondi (Michigan) went 2-for-4 to raise his average to .420. Dan Slania (Notre Dame) picked up his fourth save with his seventh scoreless outing in nine appearances.

Falmouth won for the second straight time, beating Brewster 6-4, and is now just one game behind Orleans and Harwich for the best record in the league. Sean Hagan (St. John’s) allowed one earned run in six innings for his second win in a row and John Simms (Rice) notched his fourth save. Jake Rodriguez (Oregon State) led the offense with two hits and two RBI. Coty Blanchard (Jacksonville State) added two hits and an RBI.

What to Watch

Vanderbilt standout Kevin Ziomek gets the ball for Cotuit as the Kettleers visit Wareham at 7 p.m. Ziomek struck out nine and allowed three hits in his last start.

Last Thursday, the hype for the Harwich Mariners reached its crescendo when they put up a four home run inning in a marquee win over Orleans.

This Thursday, as the Firebirds came to town for another meeting, the Mariners were coming off back-to-back losses to Brewster, the second of which was a 19-1 defeat. They had fallen a game behind Orleans. The hype engine was losing a little steam.

Hype or no hype, the Mariners won anyway.

On the heels of the 19-run debacle against Brewster, four Harwich pitchers combined on a shutout and the offense turned in a workman-like performance as the Mariners beat Orleans 4-0 to move back into a tie for first place in the East with the Firebirds.

Harwich starter A.J. Reed (Kentucky) set the tone. He only lasted 3.2 innings when he faced the Firebirds last week. This time he struck out seven and scattered four hits in five scoreless innings. The Missouri State tandem of Tyler Burgess and Grant Gordon followed him to the mound and combined on three scoreless innings before Zane Evans (Georgia Tech) finished it off with a quick ninth. Orleans was limited to seven hits.

At the plate, the Mariners again went without a home run and only had eight hits themselves, but they got some big ones and took advantage of an uncharacteristically bad defensive night for the Firebirds. Orleans has the fewest errors in the league but made three last night, and Harwich scored three unearned runs.

Austin Wilson led the way for the Mariners, going 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Phillip Ervin (Samford) and JaCoby Jones (LSU) had two hits each while Austen Smith (Alabama) drove in a run with a sac fly.

Conrad Gregor (Vanderbilt) had two hits to lead the Firebirds. Arkansas standout Dominic Ficociello picked up the first hit of his young Cape League career.

Harwich is now 2-1 against Orleans this season.

Elsewhere

The team that knocked Harwich off twice this week got a taste of its own medicine. Chatham topped Brewster 9-1 in one of its best offensive games of the season. Pat Valaika (UCLA) went 2-for-5 with five RBI, and Andrew Knapp (Cal) went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI. It was the first time Chatham had double-digit hits since the last time it played Brewster, on June 30. Pitching was also strong for the Anglers, with Thomas Lawrence (Maine) striking out five in 6.1 shutout innings. Chatham has now won two in a row, and the East now has four teams at 10-8 or better. The West has one.

Y-D joined Chatham at 10-8 with a lopsided victory of its own, 10-4 over Wareham. Robert Pehl (Washington) continued to surge, going 3-for-5 with four RBI and raising his batting average to .449. Sam Travis (Indiana) and Tanner Mathis (Ole Miss) had three hits and two RBI apiece, while Alex Blandino (Stanford) and Zak Blair (Mercyhurst) added two hits each. All of those aforementioned players are hitting .342 or higher. On the mound, Aaron Blair (Marshall) had his worst start of a great summer — but it was still pretty good. He allowed three runs on six hits and struck out four in 6.1 innings. His ERA is still just 1.48.

Hyannis scored double-digit runs for the first time this season in a 14-3 victory over Cotuit. Brandon Trinkwon (Cal) went 4-for-5 with five RBI and homered for a second straight night, while Brett Michael Doran (Stanford) had two hits and drove in three. Zac Zellers (Kentucky) also homered and Mitchell Garver (New Mexico) drove in two. Matt Maurer (Pepperdine) got the win in relief as the sometimes shaky Hyannis bullpen pitched 5.2 innings of one-hit baseball.

And one last lopsided game — Falmouth beat Bourne 10-4. Austin Anderson (Ole Miss) went 2-for-5 with a home run and five RBI, while Casey Turgeon (Florida) went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI in his third game of the summer. On the mound for the Commodores, Jonathan Dziedzic (Lamar) allowed one run on three hits in six innings of work.

What to Watch

Lots of good pitching on the docket tonight. Cape League strikeout leader Sean Manaea (Indiana State) goes for Hyannis in a 6 p.m. game at Bourne. Sean Hagan (St. John’s), who was dominant in his last start, gets the ball for Falmouth at 5 p.m. in Brewster. And Karsten Whitson (Florida), perhaps the best pitching prospect on the Cape, will make his first start for Orleans after two good relief appearances. That game is in Orleans at 7 p.m., with Wareham coming to town.

It seems like every year around the Fourth of July, I title a Daily Fog post “Fireworks.” I can’t help myself on such things. And the Cape League always seems to cooperate anyway.

Last night might have offered the best fireworks yet.

Brewster scored a 2012 league-high 19 runs in demolishing Harwich (!) 19-1, while Bourne’s Colin Moran hit two home runs and drove in seven runs to lead the Braves over Wareham 11-6.

If I had picked a team to produce some fireworks in the Brewster-Harwich match-up, I would have picked the Mariners, even with Brewster’s win the night before. But Whitecaps pitchers Austin Voth (Washington), Eric Rutter (Rice), Jake McCasland (New Mexico), Erik Schoenrock (Memphis) and Dylan Davis (Oregon State) limited the Mariners to just one hit, a single by Phillip Ervin (Samford) in the sixth inning. Voth, the starter, didn’t allow a hit in five innings, while striking out six. Harwich scratched a run across off him thanks to a walk, two JaCoby Jones (LSU) stolen bases, and an RBI groundout. But other than that, the Mariners were held completely in check. For a second straight night, they didn’t hit a home run.

The Brewster offense, on the other hand, had the best night any Cape League team has had this summer. They finished with 22 hits, six of which went for extra bases. They led 5-1 in the seventh inning, when they broke the game wide open with 11 runs. Every player in the starting lineup had a hit and a run scored, and six players had multi-hit games. Ryon Healy (Oregon) had a second straight big night, going 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Trevor Mitsui (Washington) went 3-for-5 with three RBI, while Jason Monda (Washington State) and Jeff McNeil (Long Beach State) also went 3-for-5. Derek Campbell had a double, a triple and three RBI.

The Whitecaps have now scored 27 runs in their last two games, since getting shut-out by Orleans on Sunday. Before these two games, the Whitecaps had scored 67 runs for the season.

Mr. Firework

Maybe I should take this fireworks thing to a new level and give out a Fourth of July Award.

Moran would be the inaugural winner.

In helping Bourne snap a four-game losing streak, Moran led the way with probably the best individual offensive performance of the season. The North Carolina star had been hitting well this season but hadn’t shown a lot of pop, with only four extra-base hits through his first 15 games. Last night alone, he had three extra-base hits, as he blasted two home runs and a double on his way to a seven RBI night. He’s now hitting .333 with three home runs and 15 RBI for the season. His grand slam in the eighth blew the game open.

Chase McDonald (East Carolina) also had a big game for the Braves, going 2-for-5 with two RBI. Jack Reinheimer (East Carolina) added three hits and an RBI, while Justin Leeson (Georgetown) had three hits and two runs scored.

On the mound for the Braves, Kent State standout Tyler Skulina made his first start and scattered nine hits in five innings, while allowing three runs. He struck out three.

Elsewhere

The other three home-and-home series featured a reversal from the night before. In Orleans, Chatham came back from a tough-to-swallow 5-4 loss on Tuesday to beat the Firebirds 5-1. Mike Wagner, who was a great closer for San Diego this spring, continued his summer to transition to a starting role with his best performance yet. He struck out seven and allowed just an unearned run on two hits in 5.2 innings. Nick Burdi (Louisville), who has an high ERA because of one bad outing, was dominant this time, striking out five of the nine batters he faced in 2.1 scoreless innings. Kurt Schluter (Stetson) then worked around two hit-batsmen and a walk to pitch a scoreless ninth. Chad Pinder (Virginia Tech) led the Chatham offense, driving in four to give him a league-high 20 RBI for the season.

Cotuit won for the third time in four games, beating Falmouth 7-6. The game was low-scoring early before Cotuit scored four runs in the seventh and two in the eighth. Falmouth came back with three in the ninth off Cotuit closer Dan Slania (Notre Dame), but with the tying run on base, Slania got Jared King (Kansas State) to ground out for the final out. Daniel Aldrich (College of Charleston), who was released by Orleans to make room for contract players, was wisely picked up by the Kettleers and had a huge debut, going 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. Patrick Biondi (Michigan) added four hits, while James Roberts (USC) drove in two.

Y-D rallied from a 7-4 deficit to beat Hyannis 9-7. Alex Blandino (Stanford) hit a home run and drove in three to lead a 15-hit attack. Robert Pehl (Washington) went 3-for-5, raising his league-leading batting average to .438 after an 0-for-4 the night before. Tanner Mathis (Ole Miss) also had three hits. After struggling on the mound in the early going, the Red Sox got impressive relief work from Preston Hatcher (Western Carolina), Brian Gilbert (Seton Hall) and Brian Verbitsky (Hofstra), who didn’t allow a run over the final four innings.

What to Watch

Y-D’s Aaron Blair (Marshall), who’s been the league’s best starting pitcher, will make his fourth start of the summer in a 7 p.m. game at Wareham.

Orleans and Harwich will renew their rivalry with a 7 p.m. game at Whitehouse Field. Austin Kubitza (Rice) will go for Orleans against Harwich’s A.J. Reed (Kentucky), the same pitching match-up as last Thursday’s game between the teams, which Harwich won.

The Wareham Gatemen stretched their winning streak to four games with a 4-2 victory over Bourne last night.

It looked a lot like the others.

Outside of a lopsided win over Cotuit on Saturday, every win in the streak has come on the strength of a late comeback. It was two in the eighth and three in the ninth on Friday against Hyannis, and two in the eighth against Hyannis on Monday. Last night, it was two in the eighth again.

Bullpens beware.

The Gatemen were held largely in check by Bourne starter Mike Mayers (Ole Miss), who made his third start of the summer and turned in his best performance. He struck out 10 and didn’t walk anybody while allowing two runs on four hits in seven innings.

Mayers’ Ole Miss teammate Hawtin Buchanan came on for the eighth, and Wareham — as usual — went to work. A walk to Ethan Gross (Memphis) and a base hit by Tyler McFarland (James Madison) put runners on first and third with one out. Buchanan responded by getting Kyle Schwarber (Indiana), Wareham’s top hitter, for the second out, but the Gatemen weren’t done. Claude Johnson (Arkansas State) walked to load the bases, which chased Buchanan. Facing John Farrell (William & Mary), Tyler Ross (LSU) doubled to bring two home runs and give Wareham the lead.

Bourne tried staging its own rally in the ninth, putting two men on, but Colby Suggs (Arkansas) got out of the jam to finish off the victory.

Joe Filomeno (Louisville) got the win in relief for the Gatemen after a strong start by Kendall Graveman (Mississippi State), who struck out six and allowed two runs in six innings.

Ross had the two RBI and Schwarber had two hits to lead the Wareham offense. The Gatemen are now 9-7 and sitting comfortably in second place in the West, just a game back of Falmouth.

Elsewhere

Orleans won for the third game in a row, beating Chatham 5-4. Coupled with a Harwich loss, the win gives the 13-3 Firebirds sole possession of first place in the East. The Firebirds didn’t have much offense early on and trailed 4-2 going into their last at-bat. A walk, a single and an error loaded the bases before the Firebirds got a run home on a groundout. Down to their last out, Jake Hernandez (USC) singled to score two and give Orleans the lead. Kyle Crockett (Virginia) then worked a scoreless bottom of the ninth to seal the Orleans win. The clutch hit was part of a big day for Hernandez, who hit a home run drove in four of Orleans’ five runs. He has six hits in his last three games and is the latest Firebird to step up when needed.

Brewster knocked off Harwich 8-2 thanks in part to one of the most impressive pitching performances of the season. Tom Windle (Minnesota) struck out nine in six innings and allowed just an unearned run against the league’s most powerful team. Windle and three relievers also didn’t allow a home run. Harwich had hit a home run in 13 consecutive games. The last — and only time — they didn’t hit a home run was in the second game of the season against Falmouth. Brewster’s offense was led by Ryon Healy (Oregon), who went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. Windle’s Minnesota teammate Dan Olinger added three hits.

Falmouth rebounded from a tough-to-take loss to Harwich on Sunday with a steady 3-1 victory over Cotuit. Craig Schlitter (Bryant), who had been solid in two starts, was even better on this night, striking out seven and allowing just three hits in five shutout innings. Relievers Kyle Ruchim (Northwestern), Johnny Magliozzi (Florida) and John Simms (Rice) picked up where Schlitter left off, allowing just one hit in the final four innings. Florida standout freshman Casey Turgeon hit a home run in his first Cape League game to pace the offense.

Hyannis, which was winless until last Sunday, beat Y-D 9-8 in 10 innings for its third win in four games. The Harbor Hawks are now out of the basement, sitting one game ahead of Bourne for fourth place. Brandon Trinkwon (Cal) was the hero this time, as his single brought home Blake Austin (Auburn) with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Brett Michael Doran (Stanford) also had two RBI for the Hawks, who trailed 7-1 but came back with five runs in the sixth and two in the seventh. Walter Wijas (Kentucky) got the win with two scoreless innings of relief.

What to Watch

For the Fourth of July, your present is a full slate of rematches of Tuesday’s action. For a good pitching match-up, keep an eye on the 5 p.m. Wareham at Bourne game. Brad Kuntz (Baylor) has pitched well for the Gatemen and he’ll square off against Tyler Skulina. The Kent State star will be making his first start with the Braves.

It wasn’t the smoothest two-day stretch they’ve ever had, but it was exactly what the Cotuit Kettleers needed.

Playing back-to-back games against Bourne — who was two games behind them coming in — the Kettleers posted a pair of victories to improve their record to 7-8 and go four games up on the Braves. Neither game was a work of art. A pitchers’ duel turned into an extra inning slugfest on Sunday and Cotuit had to outlast the Braves 12-11 last night, but the Kettleers don’t mind. In a division where four of five teams have had their struggles, two wins like that will go a long way.

The Kettleers got it done last night thanks to a 17-hit attack and one last surge when they needed it. Cotuit built an 11-5 lead but watched the Braves score six runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game.

But in the bottom of the seventh, Raph Rhymes (LSU) smacked a solo home run with one out to put the Kettleers back on top. Dan Slania (Notre Dame) then pitched a scoreless top of the eighth — the only Cotuit pitcher of the day to throw a scoreless inning — and the game was called for darkness after the bottom of the eighth.

Cael Brockmeyer (Cal State Bakersfield) led the Cotuit attack with four hits and an RBI, while Patrick Biondi (Michigan), Jacob May (Coastal Carolina) and Adam Nelubowich (Washington State) had three hits each. James Roberts (USC) drove in three runs.

The Kettleers ranked seventh in the league in team batting average before last night, but moved all the way to fourth with the big offensive day. Their average jumped from .255 to .268.

Cotuit improved to 7-8 while Bourne fell to 3-12.

Elsewhere

In the only other game of the night, Hyannis traveled to Chatham and left with its third victory of the year, 8-4 over the Anglers. Mitchell Garver (New Mexico), a late arrival who had a big season for the Lobos, went 2-for-5 with three RBI to lead the charge. Brandon Trinkwon (Cal) added two RBI, while Zach Alvord (Auburn) and Brett Michael Doran (Stanford) had two hits each. Tyler Barnette (UNC Charlotte) got the win after allowing three runs in 5.1 innings. Florida State teammates Gage Smith and Peter Miller followed each other out of the bullpen and combined to allow just one hit and one run in the final 3.2 innings. Chatham was led by Chad Pinder (Virginia Tech), who hit a home run and drove in two. He’s now tied for the league lead in RBI with 16. Chatham fell to 8-7.

What to Watch

Tonight is the first of two nights of rivalry games, with the same teams meeting again tomorrow. The best rivalry for my money is always Chatham and Orleans. Tonight’s game is at Veterans Field in Chatham at 7 p.m. Jerad Grundy (Kentucky) takes the hill for the Firebirds. He’s pitched pretty well in two five-inning starts. Louie Lechich (San Diego) is set to make his first start for the Anglers after two pretty good relief appearances.