The longest – and, by extension, one of the best – finals game in Cape Cod Baseball League history ended at 11:32 p.m., 15 innings in the books and the Cotuit Kettleers celebrating.

The Kettleers won a marathon in game one of the championship series, prevailing 7-6 in 15 innings. League MVP Nick Gonzales (New Mexico State) broke a tie that had lasted five innings with an RBI single in the top of the 15th. Kyle Nicolas (Ball State) then completed a dominant performance by the Cotuit bullpen, following Richard Brereton’s (Emory) six one-hit innings with a scoreless bottom of the 15th to seal the win.

The story of a game like that is best told from a first-hand perspective, so check out the Cotuit game story and the Cape Cod Times recap. Here, we’ll run through some notes from the craziness.

– Gonzales went 3-for-6 with three RBI. He’s now hitting .387 in the playoffs, which includes the go-ahead home run in the second game of the West finals. If Cotuit wins it all, Gonzales may have another MVP trophy to take back home.

– Brereton delivered a tremendous performance. You always figure the home team has an advantage in extra innings, but that was not the case for Harwich against Brereton. He took over in the bottom of the ninth and didn’t allow a hit until the 14th. He did walk four, which gave Harwich some opportunities, but they couldn’t do anything with them. Amazingly, Brereton came into the game with a 5.79 ERA. And his longest previous outing was four innings.

– Other stars for Cotuit: Oraj Anu (Wallace CC) went 3-for-6 with a homer and three RBI, Oviedo went 4-for-7 with two runs scored, and Schmitt and Coltyn Kestler (Kentucky) had two hits each.

– For Harwich, Pat Winkel (UConn) hit two home runs, the second of which gave the Mariners the 6-4 lead in the eighth. Dylan Neuse (Texas Tech) added three hits and Joey Wiemer, Jr. (Cincinnati) had two. Nick Zwack (Xavier) pitched 3.1 scoreless innings of relief.

– Cotuit forced extra innings in an unlikely spot – with Joe Boyle (Notre Dame) on the mound for Harwich. The flame-throwing righty came on to protect a 6-4 lead. A one-out walk and base hits by Casey Schmitt (San Diego State) and Mason McWhorter (Georgia Southern) pulled Cotuit within one. Boyle responded with a strikeout of Parker Chavers (Coastal Carolina) for the second out, but Adam Oviedo (Oral Roberts) singled to plate Schmitt with the tying run. To his credit, Boyle came back to pitch three straight scoreless innings, but the damage had been done.

– The Mariners missed a number of chances to walk off with a win. They left a runner on second in the ninth, stranded runners on second and third in the 11th and left a runner at third in the 14th, after finally getting a hit off Brereton.

– In 15 innings and on 61 balls in play, there was just one error made. Cotuit committed it in the 11th inning on a stolen base overthrow. Other than that, the teams were perfect.

And so, with one game – plus two-thirds of another game – finally complete, the teams will head to Lowell Park for the second game of the series. Cotuit has an opportunity to win the title at home after its last two championship-clinching victories both came on the road.

 
It seemed odd that Harwich had more players selected to the All-Star Game than any other team. Sure, there was talent, but the Mariners were three games under .500 when the all-star rosters were announced.

It all makes sense now.

The Mariners have put it all together in the playoffs and are on an unbeaten ride that will now steam into the Cape League championship series. They clinched their spot Wednesday night with a 5-1 win over the Y-D Red Sox that secured a second consecutive series sweep. Harwich also cruised past top-seeded Chatham.

The championship appearance will be Harwich’s first since 2011, which amounted to the longest title-series drought in the league. Every other team had made a finals appearance in the interim.

Y-D stood in Harwich’s way Wednesday and jumped to a 1-0 lead in the third, becoming the first team to score off Jacob Palisch (Stanford) since July 13.

But Palisch didn’t allow another run, and his team quickly took him off the hook, scoring the game-tying run in the fourth on a home run by Cory Acton (Florida). A sacrifice fly by Patrick Winkel (UConn) broke the tie in the seventh, and an RBI single by Michael Ludowig (Wake Forest) made it a two-run game. Hal Hughes (LSU) busted things open with a two-run homer.

Harwich hasn’t scored all that much in the playoffs – they’re hitting under .200 as a team in the postseason – but they haven’t needed to. And five runs were plenty on this night. After Palisch’s strong performance – six strikeouts and just the one run in six innings – Nick Stewart (James Madison) pitched three no-hit innings to finish off the win.

It’s on to the next round for the streaking Mariners.

 

Hey, Hey Cotuit

We don’t have to wait long for the finals matchup to get started, as Cotuit clinched the other spot when it finished off a sweep of Falmouth in the West finals.

The Kettleers are also streaking. They dropped their first game of the postseason to Wareham but have since won four straight. The last two were particularly impressive. Falmouth, of course, had the best record in the league and weren’t far removed from their remarkable 11-game win streak. But Cotuit handled the Commodores on back-to-back nights.

This time, Falmouth jumped out early with three runs in the top of the first inning, exactly what you want if you’re a team facing elimination. But they never added to their lead, and the Kettleers steadily chipped away. An RBI groundout by Cody Pasic (Maine) in the second plated one run. Casey Schmitt (San Diego State) scored another with an RBI double in the fifth.

And then it was the MVP’s turn.

Nick Gonzales (New Mexico State) sent Cotuit to the lead with one swing of the bat in the seventh, cranking a two-run homer that made it 4-3. Parker Chavers (Coastal Carolina) followed with a solo homer in the eighth, and the Kettleers were on their way.

Kyle Nicolas (Ball State) sealed the win with two scoreless innings, the end of a fantastic – and long – showing by the Cotuit bullpen. Christopher Holcomb (Tulane) came on in the first inning and went 3.2 scoreless frames. Evan Justice (NC State) followed with three hitless frames before Nicolas finished it out.

It’s tough to see a team like Falmouth go out. The Commodores have made so many runs in recent years as they try to snap what will now be a 40-year championship drought. This group was talented and fun to follow, but ultimately not the one to break through.

Cotuit is back to the finals for the first time since 2013.

The championship series begins Thursday in Harwich.

 
Overshadowed by the whole 22-run thing, Cotuit’s pitching was terrific as it stayed alive, then clinched its first-round series against Wareham.

And it was even better in game one of the West finals.

Trey Holland (Sewanee) and Bo Hofstra (Purdue) combined on a shutout as Cotuit beat top-seeded Falmouth 5-0 on Monday night for a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

The Kettleers ranked seventh in the league in team ERA in the regular season, but have now allowed a total of three runs over their last three postseason games.

Holland is a rare Cape Leaguer from the Division III ranks and possibly the first player from Sewanee. He made three appearances in the regular season, sandwiching a five shutout inning performance with two shorter, three-runs-allowed stints. The Ketttleers were glad the alternating continued on Monday.

Holland struck out five, walked two and gave up just four hits, all of which were singles. Hofstra followed him to the mound and was lights out, just three days after giving up the tying run to Wareham in the seventh inning of a loss in the playoff opener. This time, Hofstra surrendered two hits and struck out two in three scoreless frames.

Falmouth hadn’t been shut-out since July 14, the day before its 11-game win streak began.

The Cotuit offense took care of business with three runs in the second and single runs in the third and sixth innings. Adam Oviedo (Oral Roberts) drove in two runs, while Nick Gonzales (New Mexico State) and Parker Chavers (Coastal Carolina) knocked in one each.

 

Harwich 5, Y-D 1

Entering its first-round series, Harwich had two wins over Chatham fresh on its mind. Not so for the East finals matchup with Y-D. Harwich had lost its most recent game with the Red Sox 13-7. But the beat went on for the Mariners, who remained unbeaten in the playoffs with a game-one win. Y-D scored a run in the first inning but wouldn’t score again despite racking up 11 hits. Harwich meanwhile took advantage of five Y-D errors, with four of its five runs going as unearned. After Jared Wetherbee (Elon) allowed one run in two innings for Harwich, Carson Seymour (Kansas State) and Will Heflin (Tennessee) pitched shutout ball the rest of the way. Seymour stranded at least two runners on base in each of his four innings. Heflin allowed two hits in three innings. Y-D starter John Beller (USC) was great, striking out eight in six innings and taking a shutout into the fifth. But two errors in the fifth, plus a sacrifice fly by Hal Hughes (LSU) allowed Harwich to take the lead. Patrick Winkel (UConn) added a home run in the seventh.

 

What to Watch

Cotuit and Harwich will both be at home with a chance to advance.

Exactly one week after Bourne ended Falmouth’s 11-game win streak, the Commodores didn’t let the Braves end their season.

Falmouth clinched a trip to the West Division finals with an 8-2 victory over Bourne in game three of their divisional round series, bouncing back from a loss in game two with a win in the clincher.

Franco Aleman (St. John’s River) set the stage with a dominant pitching performance. He struck out six and took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. The Braves broke up the no-hit bid there and scored a pair of runs, which made it a 5-2 game, but Falmouth added insurance in the eighth and held on. Aleman earned the win. Logan Hofmann (Northwestern State) pitched two scoreless innings of relief for the save.

Two homers accounted for much of Falmouth’s offense. Trei Cruz (Rice) hit a three-run bomb in the third and Steven Moretto (Cal State Sacramento) did the same in the eighth. Jackson Coutts (Rhode Island) added two hits and an RBI. Eight of nine hitters in the order scored one run for Falmouth.

Falmouth will make its second straight appearance in the West finals a year after falling to eventual league champ Wareham.

 

Cotuit 4, Wareham 1

There will be a new Cape League champion this year after Cotuit toppled defending champ Wareham in game three of the West semis. The Kettleers came out ahead after a busy first inning with a 2-1 lead, then added to it with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Three pitchers combined to limit Wareham to just the first-inning run. Nick Jones (Georgia Southern) started and allowed one run in three innings. After a scoreless frame by Harrison Cohen (George Washington), Casey Schmitt (San Diego State) moved over from third base and dominated for the final five innings, striking out seven and allowing just two hits. Matthew Mervis (Duke) started the scoring for the Kettleers with a solo home run in the first inning, and Parker Chavers (Coastal Carolina) had an RBI double. Coltyn Kessler (Kentucky) and Cody Pasic (Maine) drove in one run each.

 
Cotuit’s Nick Gonzales (New Mecixo State) was named the Cape League’s MVP award winner before Saturday’s playoff game against Wareham.

If we’re picking an MVP of the ensuing game, Gonzales would have to share it with a lot of his teammates.

The Kettleers smashed Wareham 22-2 at Lowell Park, tying their best of three divisional round series at one game apiece and doing so in emphatic fashion. Cotuit had 18 hits, 10 of which went for extra bases. Four players homered and every player in the starting lineup had at least one RBI. Eleven of the 12 hitters who played for Cotuit scored a run.

The 22 runs are the highest total in the league this season.

Matthew Mervis (Duke), Casey Schmitt (San Diego State), Parker Chavers (Coastal Carolina) and hometown kid Cody Pasic (Maine), with Pasic and Mervis driving in three runs each and Chavers and Schmitt knocking home two. Oraj Anu (Wallace CC) didn’t homer but had two doubles and finished 3-for-4 with five RBI. Donta Williams (Arizona) added three hits and three RBI. And, oh yeah, the MVP had a hit, an RBI and two runs scored.

A day after giving up eight runs in a game-one loss, Cotuit pitchers didn’t need 22 runs of support. Sean Sullivan (Cal) scattered eight hits and allowed one run in five innings for the win.

 

Harwich 4, Chatham 2

Late in the regular season, Harwich won two straight games against Chatham, part of a strong finish. And now they’ve won two in a row over the Anglers again, with this round earning them a sweep into the East Division finals. The Mariners scored all the runs they would need in a four-run second inning. Riley Tirotta (Dayton) and Dylan Neuse (Texas Tech) delivered the offense with two-run singles in the big inning. Antonio Menendez (Wake Forest) made the most of the early lead, striking out seven in six innings of one-hit, shutout ball. Chatham, which had been no-hit in game one, finally found its offense with a Cooper Davis (Vanderbilt) RBI double in the eighth and a Kaden Polcovich (Northwest Florida) home run in the ninth, but the comeback stopped there. Connor Sechler (Missouri State) stranded the tying runs on base to seal the win. This marks the second consecutive year that the East No. 1 seed has been ousted in the first round. Y-D lost to Brewster last year.

 

Y-D 11, Orleans 7

Another sweep in the East and another lower-seeded team moving on as No. 3 Y-D beats No. 4 Orleans. The Firebirds led the league in ERA in the regular season but just didn’t have it in this series as Y-D totaled 18 runs in two games. The Red Sox actually trailed 4-0 after two innings in the clincher but surged from there. Brad Beesley (Cal Poly) led the way with three hits, four runs scored and two RBI. Noah Cardenas (UCLA) added four hits and an RBI, Riley King (Georgia) had three hits and an RBI and Tate Samuelson (Cal Poly) knocked two hits and two RBI. Late addition Jack Jett (Hofstra), making just his second appearance of the summer, allowed one run in five innings of relief to keep Orleans at bay.

 

Bourne 3, Falmouth 1

Two sweeps in the East. Two game threes in the West. Bourne toppled top-seed Falmouth to stay alive, rallying from a 1-0 hole with three runs in the sixth inning and somehow allowing just the one run despite giving up 10 hits. An error by Falmouth allowed two runs to score in the sixth, and Joshua Madole (UNC Greensboro) added an insurance run with an RBI single. Jared Poland (Louisville) and Kieran Shaw (Harvard) combined on four shutout innings of relief. Mac Lardner (Gonzaga) allowed one run on nine hits (!) in five innings. Falmouth left at least one runner on base in six of nine innings.

 

What to Watch

Game three in Falmouth is at 6 p.m., and the decisive game in Wareham is at 6:30.

 
With the second-best team ERA and opponents batting average in the league, Harwich’s pitching figured to give it a chance against top-seeded Chatham in the first round of the playoffs.

Boy, did it ever.

Connor McCullough (Kansas State) and Joe Boyle (Notre Dame) combined on a no-hitter as the Mariners beat Chatham 1-0 for a 1-0 series lead in the East Division semis.

According to one source, it’s just the second postseason no-hitter in the league’s modern era.

@HarwichMariners pitch the first playoff no-hitter since @harborhawks (then Mets) Richard King no hit Wareham on August 11, 1991. King's catcher was future @RedSox backstop Jason Varitek. @Official_CCBL @codball

— Sportstats21 (@Sportstats211) August 3, 2019

It’s been quite a summer for history making in Harwich. Two Mariners hit three home runs in one game, becoming just the ninth and 10th players in league history to do it. And now, the Mariners have thrown two no-hitters. Jacob Palisch (Stanford) also did it.

For McCullough and Boyle to do it in the regular season, against the top seed, is just amazing.

McCullough has had his share of dominant moments this year, with some history against Chatham. His best start of the season featured eight shutout innings and nine strikeouts versus the Anglers.

This time, he went six innings and struck out five. He hit a batter in the first inning and walked three – all in the fourth inning – but got out of the bases-loaded jam.

Boyle, the flamethrower, was the perfect pitcher to finish it off. He was perfect over the final three innings and struck out six of the nine batters he faced. He fanned the last two batters of the game to close out the no-hitter.

Chatham’s pitching was pretty good too. Daniel Federman (Miami) pitched five shutout innings, but Harwich scratched across the game’s lone run in the sixth inning as Hal Hughes (LSU) singled, moved up on a wild pitch and a dropped third strike and scored on a sacrifice fly by Chris Galland (Boston College). Hughes, who hit .170 in the regular season, went 3-for-3

Harwich will try to clinch the series Saturday when it hosts the Anglers.

 

Wareham 8, Cotuit 7

It was a wild one at Spillane Field. Wareham exploded for six runs in the bottom of the first inning. Cotuit got one back, then delivered a six-run inning of its own in the fourth – off Ian Bedell, one of the best pitchers in the league, no less – en route to a 7-6 lead. Wareham came back to tie the game in the seventh and walked off in the 10th. Trey Lipscomb (Tennessee) and Benjamin Sems (Kansas) led the early surge with two RBI each. After Cotuit’s rally, the Gatemen pulled even on an RBI double by Adrian Del Castillo (Miami). Lipscomb then played hero in the 10th, coming through with a walk-off single to score Matt McClain (UCLA) with the winning run. Lipscomb, who spent most of the summer in the California Collegiate League, just made his Wareham debut three days ago. After Bedell struggled, three Wareham relievers – Trey Dillard (Missouri), Tanner Bibee (Cal State Fullerton) and Jason Ruffcorn – combined on 6.2 scoreless innings of relief. For Cotuit, Joey Loperfido (Duke) had a home run and two RBI.

 

Falmouth 3, Bourne 2

In another one-run game, West top seed Falmouth slipped past Bourne. The Commodores scored a run in the first and two in the second. The Braves came back with two in the sixth but would get no closer. Zach DeLoach (Texas A&M), Jackson Coutts (Rhode Island) and Blake Dunn (Western Michigan) drove in the runs for Falmouth. Staked to the lead, Carmen Mlodzinski (South Carolina) went five shutout innings with three strikeouts. Brendan Rivoli (Virginia) and Jake MacKenzie (Fordham) had RBI for the Braves, but Tyler Ras (Alabama) and Zach Brzycky (Virginia Tech) stopped the rally there, with three shutout frames.

 

Y-D 7, Orleans 6

It’s been a few years since we’ve had a patented Y-D playoff surge. It’s happened before with the Red Sox as the three seed, and they took the first step Friday. Y-D built a lead in the middle innings and held on through a white-knuckle ninth inning for a win over second-seeded Orleans. Andrew Eyster (South Carolina) homered and Tate Samuelson (Cal Poly) had two RBI to lead the Y-D attack. Erik Tolman (Arizona State) struck out eight and allowed one run in 4.2 innings. It was a 7-1 game going into the bottom of the ninth, when Orleans struck for five runs and was looking for more with the bases loaded. Oscar Carvajal (Fresno State) escaped to seal the win.

 

What to Watch

Harwich and Y-D both have a chance to clinch their series at home, while Falmouth and Wareham will try to do it on the road.

Playoff seedings were all set in stone by the penultimate day of the regular season, so there wasn’t much to the final three games of the year. With the final day in the books, the leaderboards are now also cemented, so we’ll instead focus on that here.

– Falmouth’s Zach DeLoach (Texas A&M) won the batting title with a .353 average, two points ahead of NCAA batting champ Nick Gonzales (New Mexico State). DeLoach didn’t play in Thursday’s season finale, with his 2-for-4 game on July 31 standing as his final act. He is the first Falmouth Commodore to win the batting crown since now-Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Kevin Newman went back-to-back in 2013 and 2014.

– Harwich’s Niko Kavadas (Notre Dame) and Brewster’s T.J. Collett (Kentucky) tied for the home run crown with nine each. Kavadas had reached nine with a week left in the season but was unable to get to 10, which would have been the most in a CCBL regular season since 2012. Collett had a stretch of four home runs in six games to move into the tie.

– Hyannis’ Hunter Goodman (Memphis) led the lead in RBI with 37. He is the first rising sophomore to lead the Cape League in RBI since 2006, when Chatham’s Allan Dykstra did it. The 37 is the most in the league since 2014, when Falmouth’s Conner Hale drove in 38.

– Outside the triple crown categories, Wareham’s Braiden Ward (Washington) led in stolen bases with 27, while Gonzales had the top slugging percentage at .630 and the top on-base percentage at .451.

– Tyler Hardman (Oklahoma) and Tyler Gentry (Alabama) of Brewster were the only players in the league to play in all 44 games.

– Harwich’s Jacob Palisch (Stanford) led the league in wins with five, besting a group of three pitchers with four and a ton of guys with three. Palisch was in line for the ERA title, too, but finished just a hair shy of the number of innings needed to qualify.

– Hyannis’ Konner Ash (Missouri) is the strikeout king with 41, which surprisingly went along with a 5.72 ERA. Ash made four starts and six relief appearances. His K/9 ratio was 13.1.

– Brewster’s Mason Black (Lehigh) had the top ERA at 1.49. He’s the first Brewster pitcher to do it since Shuan Seibert in 2006.

– Falmouth’s Zachary Brzykcy (Virginia Tech) led the league in saves with seven.

 

What to Watch

It’s right into the playoffs, with division semifinal games in Chatham, Orleans, Falmouth and Wareham on Friday.

 
There have been bright spots amid a tough season in Hyannis, and they shined one last time Wednesday night.

Hunter Goodman (Memphis), Jared DeSantolo (Florida Atlantic) and Trevor Hauver (Arizona State) all homered as the Harbor Hawks beat Y-D 9-3 in their season finale.

Following a debut season in which he earned American Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year and several Freshman All-America nods, Goodman has been one of the best performers on the Cape this summer. With a 2-for-4, home run, two RBI day in the finale, he finishes with a .276//291/.494 slash line. His eight home runs are tied for third in the league and his 37 RBI top the circuit. With a few games still left tomorrow, Goodman is a safe bet to hold on and win the league’s RBI crown.

DeSantolo got off to a terrific start for the Harbor Hawks and was hitting .364 at mid-season. He cooled down a bit from there, with his average dipping down to .282. But he finished with a flourish, logging five hits in last four games. On Wednesday, he hit his fourth home run of the summer in a 2-for-3 performance.

Hauver had a seven-RBI night earlier this season. His overall body of work wasn’t quite as good as that of Goodman and DeSantolo from there, but he delivered the best exclamation point on Wednesday. Hauver cracked a grand slam – his third homer of the summer – that put the finishing touches on the season-ending win.

Hyannis finished 9-32-3, having won its final two games.

 

Chatham 8, Orleans 7

The Anglers found themselves just in time. Losers of five straight and in danger of falling out of first place, Chatham walked off on Orleans with a ninth-inning rally to secure the East Division title. The game was tied 4-4 going into the ninth, when things got crazy. Orleans broke the deadlock with three runs on a Max Troaini (Bentley) two-run double and an Eddie McCabe (Georgetown) RBI single. But instead of being a rally that propelled Orleans into first place, it set the course for some Chatham magic. With two outs in the ninth Kaden Polcovic (Northwest Florida), the guy that’s been clutch all year, came through again, hitting a double with the bases loaded that scored all three runs and tied the game. Jamal O’Guinn (USC) then delivered the walk-off, scoring Polcovich with a single for the winning run. Polcovich finished 3-for-3 with a home run and five RBI. Hueston Morrill (Oklahoma State) had two hits and scored three runs. For Orleans, Zach Britton (Louisville) had four hits, including a home run.

 

Wareham 4, Bourne 0

A day after lighting up the Gatemen for 14 runs, the Braves were shut-out by the same Wareham team. Making his third appearance and first start, Cole Larsen (Kansas) struck out four and scattered four hits in six innings of work. Joe Rock (Ohio), in just his second outing, pitched two hitless innings of relief. Ben Leeper (Oklahoma State) closed things out with a scoreless ninth. The Gatemen also got big contributions from a newcomer at the plate, as Trey Lipscomb (Tennessee) went 2-for-3 with a home run in his first game. Mike Antico (St. John’s) also homered. The win secures the No. 2 seed in the West for Wareham.

 

Falmouth 7, Cotuit 2; Cotuit 13, Falmouth 2

Falmouth beat Cotuit in a decent first game. Cotuit, with three position players pitching every inning – and not their two-way players Casey Schmitt and Matthew Mervis – allowed just two runs and watched the offense explode in a game-two win. Baron Radcliff (Georgia Tech) hit his sixth home run and Austin Masel (Holy Cross) hit his first to lead the Commodores in the opener. Zach DeLoach (Texas A&M) and Trei Cruz (Rice) added two hits apiece. Justin Wrobleski (Clemson) allowed just two unearned runs in five innings and Austin Langworthy (Florida) finished the job. In the second game, Cotuit handed the ball to Donta Williams (Arizona), Parker Chavers (Coastal Carolina) and Cam Hill (Kentucky). None of them are even the pitch-a-little-at-school guys who are focusing on hitting in the summer. They’re just position players. But they got it done. Williams went 1.2 scoreless innings, Chavers allowed one run in 1.1 innings and Hill gave up just one run in four innings. It helped that they had plenty of help from the offense. The aforementioned Mervis hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in a 3-for-5, six RBI day. Adam Oviedo (Oral Roberts) added two hits and three RBI.

 

Harwich 4, Brewster 4

With Harwich clinching a playoff spot Tuesday, this potential key matchup didn’t mean much, and the Mariners and Whitecaps played to a draw. Brewster led 4-0 but Harwich scored single runs in the fifth and sixth and two in the seventh to pull even. Dylan Neuse (Texas Tech) had two RBI and college teammate Max Marusak (Texas Tech) had two hits and an RBI to lead the Mariner comeback. Brewster got a home run from Mason Dodd (Belmont Abbey) and two hits by T.J. Collett (Kentucky). Mason Black allowed one run in five innings for Brewster and may be on his way to the league ERA title. John Teehan (Mass Maritime) made his first appearance for Harwich and tossed five scoreless innings of relief.

 
Harwich split a doubleheader with Orleans and Brewster on Tuesday.

So many things happened in that simple split.

– First, Chris Lanzilli (Wake Forest) hit three home runs in the opening game of the twin bil, becoming the second Mariner to make such history this season.

– Then, Jacob Palisch (Stanford) dominated again and took over the league lead in ERA.

– Finally, when the second game concluded, the Mariners clinched the final up-for-grabs playoff spot in the league.

Lanzilli would be the lone headliner on most days. A few weeks ago, Lanzilli’s Harwich teammate Niko Kavadas (Notre Dame) became the ninth player in Cape League history to hit three home runs in a game, and now, soon after, we’ve got a tenth.

Since the game was part of a doubleheader, it was just seven innings, but Lanzilli still made history, hitting the three homers in his only three at-bats. He went deep in the first inning, the third inning and the sixth inning. Lanzilli has been swinging an extremely hot bat lately, with 14 hits over his last six games, but this was a new level. Remarkably, he was hitting .186 when that six-game ride began. Now he’s hitting .303 with four home runs. What a turnaround. Congrats to Chris.

Despite Lanzilli’s power show, Harwich lost that game, but they had Palisch going in the nightcap. The lefty followed up the first complete game shutout since 2017 and his no-hitter with six spotless innings as the Mariners beat Brewster 6-0. Palisch allowed seven hits but didn’t walk a batter and struck out five, always escaping the trouble he found.

Palisch previously hadn’t qualified for the ERA crown, but he’s in the mix now and appeared at the top of the leaderboard with a 0.77 mark.

Chris Galland (Boston College) and Cory Acton (Florida) homered to back Palisch, and Joe Boyle (Notre Dame) pitched the final inning to close out the win and send the Mariners to the playoffs.

 

Orleans 8, Harwich 5; Orleans 4, Chatham 0

Chatham was swept in a split doubleheader with Brewster and Orleans, opening the door for . . . the Orleans Firebirds? It’s been Chatham and Y-D in the top two spots for a while now, but Orleans has been lying in wait. And with Y-D also losing Tuesday, it’s the Firebirds who have moved into a first-place tie with Chatham. Their busy day started with the 8-5 win over Harwich. Shay Whitcomb (UC San Diego) went 3-for-4 with his eighth home run of the summer, going deep for the fourth time in his last nine games. Max Troiani (Bentley) added two hits and two RBI. In the second game, Tanner Murray (UC Davis) and Trevin Esquerra (Loyola Marymount) drove in two runs each to back dominant pitching. Jared Shuster (Wake Forest) went five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and Jeffrey Praml (Southern New Hampshire) pitched two scoreless to finish it off.

 

Bourne 14, Wareham 6

Can you really challenge a three-homer game for best performance of the night? Zavier Warren (Central Michigan) might have a case. The Bourne star went 5-for-6 with a double, a triple, three runs scored and three RBI as the Braves blasted Wareham 14-6. Warren has been a breakout prospect this summer and a recent surge has given him the production to match. With hits in six of his last seven games, he’s turned solid numbers into great numbers. And they get an even bigger bump after Tuesday’s action. Warren is now hitting .310 with an .828 OPS. Warren had help from Ben Rivoli (Virginia), who had two hits and four RBI. Nick Dombkowski (Hartford) allowed just an unearned run in four innings for the win. Bourne has won three in a row.

 

Falmouth 6, Cotuit 4

The Commodores are guaranteed to finish with the best regular-season record in the league after a win over Cotuit and Chatham’s two losses. Falmouth trailed 4-3 after four but tied the game in the fifth and took the lead for good in the seventh. Matheu Nelson (Florida State) homered, while Zach DeLoach (Texas A&M) and Blake Dunn (Western Michigan) each had two hits and an RBI. Aidan Maldonado (Illinois) earned the win in relief of Franco Aleman (St John’s River), with Tyler Ras (Alabama) getting the save. Matthew Mervis (Duke) and Oraj Anu (Wallace CC) both homered for Cotuit.

 

Hyannis 1, Y-D 0

It’s been a really rough season for the Harbor Hawks, but they get a legitimate highlight here. Against one of the best hitting teams in the league, Tommy McCollum (Wingate) and Landon Kelly (Memphis) combined on a one-hit shutout. McCollum, making just his third appearance since coming on board in mid-July, allowed a hit in the first inning and nothing else across six frames. He struck out four and walked one. Kelly didn’t strike out a batter in his relief stint, but was flawless nonetheless, going nine up, nine down to finish off the win. Hyannis scored the game’s lone run in the fourth after Trevor Hauver (Arizona) doubled and came home on an error.

 

What to Watch

Someone will take sole possession of first place in the East when Chatham hosts Orleans.

 
Playoff spots are being secured, but it’s a team with work still to do that’s playing as well as anybody in the East Division.

The Harwich Mariners blasted Chatham 11-0 on Monday night, their second straight win over the first-place Anglers. The Mariners are 6-3-1 over their last 10 games, the best mark in the East in that span.

With a 20-20-1 record, Harwich has a five-point lead on Brewster for the final playoff spot. If they can hold the Whitecaps off, they’ll be a dangerous squad in the postseason, especially if they match up with the Chatham team that they’ve had good luck against lately.

Harwich had the more players in the All-Star Game than any other team. It seemed odd when selections were made, but it speaks to the talent in place. And it’s starting to shine through.

The Mariners had it all working Monday. Start with the pitching. Will Heflin (Tennesse) struck out six in five scoreless innings, and Nick Stewart (James Madison) was even better out of the pen, pitching four no-hit innings with seven strikeouts.

At the plate, Cory Acton (Florida) homered and had five RBI. Chris Lanzilli (Wake Forest) went 4-for-4 with two RBI, giving him six hits in his six at-bats over the last two games. Chris Galland (Boston College) added two hits and an RBI.

 

Orleans 7, Y-D 2

In another potential East Division playoff preview, Orleans rallied from a 2-1 deficit with six unanswered runs for a victory over Y-D. The first steps of the rally came on solo home runs, as Rob Emery (San Francisco) hit one to tie it and Tanner Murray (UC Davis) gave Orleans the lead two batters later. A run in the sixth and two in the seventh sent the Firebirds on their way. Max Troiani (Bentley) went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Jacob Hurtubise (Army) had two hits and scored two runs. Angelo Smith (Michigan) pitched four scoreless innings of relief for the win.

 

Wareham 7, Cotuit 2

Falmouth’s hot streak has them in position for the top seed in the West, but there’s still a battle for the second spot. Wareham fired a shot on that front with a win over Cotuit. The Gatemen trailed 2-0 early but broke out for six runs in the fifth inning. In his first game on the Cape, Pete Derkay (Tennessee) hit a two-run triple to start the big inning. Jacob Teter (Florida Southern), Adrian Del Castillo (Miami) and Dallas Beaver (South Carolina) chipped in one RBI each. Tanner Bibee (Cal State Fullerton) and Brandon Pfaadt (Bellarmine) were dominant in relief, Bibee striking out two in three scoreless innings and Pfaadt striking out six in three innings of no-hit baseball. Cotuit, which has dropped two in a row, got two hits from Nick Gonzales, who may follow up his NCAA batting title with a Cape crown. He now leads the lead at .352.

 

Falmouth 9, Hyannis 5; Falmouth 5, Hyannis 5

The Commodores got back to their winning ways in game one at McKeon Park but couldn’t quite start a new streak as they played Hyannis to a tie in the nightcap at Guv Fuller Field. Blake Dunn (Western Michigan) hit a grand slam in the opener, and Kevin Kendall (UCLA) also went deep. Hayden Cantrelle (Louisiana Lafayette) had two hits, an RBI and a run scored. Making just his second appearance, Christian Edwards (Jacksonville State) struck out five of the seven batters he faced to quiet a late push by Hyannis. In the second game, Hyannis took a 5-2 lead in the third, but Falmouth scored two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to pull even. Jackson Olson (Hartford) homered and drove in three for the Harbor Hawks, while Jared DeSantolo (Florida Atlantic) had two hits and two RBI. Austin Masel (Holy Cross) and Tim Tawa (Stanford) each had two hits for Falmouth.

 

Bourne 13, Brewster 3

Bourne scored three runs in the top of the first. Brewster answered with two in the bottom half, but the Braves kept scoring and kept the Whitecaps’ end of the slugfest from materializing. Ryan Cusick (Wake Forest) allowed just those two runs while Karl Johnson (UConn) pitched three scoreless innings of relief. The Braves piled on with two runs in the third, three in the fifth and five in the sixth. Cody Morissette (Boston College) went 3-for-5 with a triple, a double and three RBI. Brendan Rivoli (Virginia) went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI. Cade Beloso (LSU) also had three RBI.

 

What to Watch

You can watch a lot of baseball in about a 15-mile radius tomorrow as the East Division goes qild with split doubleheaders. Chatham hosts Brewster at 1 p.m., Harwich hosts Orleans at 2, Harwich hosts Brewster at 6:30 and Orleans welcomes Chatham at 7. It’s like a round robin tournament.