Quinn Brodey (Stanford) seems to be enjoying the Barnstable Patriot Cup.

He was hitting .196 on the year when he broke out with a 3-for-5, 5 RBI day in Cotuit’s win over Hyannis July 6. In Sunday’s match-up with the Harbor Hawks, Brodey went 3-for-4 with a double and a home run and scored both runs as the Kettleers grabbed a 2-1 win to even up the rivalry’s season series.

Brodey started Sunday’s scoring immediately, blasting a leadoff home run in the top of the first inning. Hyannis’ Dylan Busby (Florida State) had an answer in the bottom half, hitting a solo shot of his own for his second homer of the summer and a 1-1 tie.

The next six innings maintained that early deadlock. Cotuit starter Matthew Ruppenthal (Vanderbilt) settled in after the home run and didn’t allow another run in three innings of work. Andrew Gonzalez (Michigan State) did the same over 5.1 innings for Hyannis.

In the eighth, Cotuit broke through, with Brodey leading the charge. He doubled with one out and scored the go-ahead run soon after on a Cal Stevenson (Arizona) RBI single.

Taylor Lehman (Penn State) and Eddie Muhl (George Washington) had pitched scoreless relief outings and Josh Roberson (UNC Wilmington) came on after Cotuit took the lead for his second save with two scoreless frames.

The win also helped Cotuit gain some ground on Hyannis. The Kettleers improved to 8-17-1 and are 6-3-1 after their 2-14 start. Slowly chipping away in the standings, they’re five points back of the fourth-place Harbor Hawks, who fell to 11-15.

Falmouth 6, Wareham 2

The Commodores won their sixth straight game and gained some distance on the team closest to them with a 6-2 victory over Wareham. Brendan King (Holy Cross) went four scoreless innings and Brett Gilchrist (Dallas Baptist) picked up the win with three strong innings of relief. He allowed just two unearned runs. Justin Hoyt (Jacksonville State) and Corbin Martin (Texas A&M) each tossed a scoreless inning to finish off the win. Cadyn Grenier (Oregon State) hit his second home run of the summer and Deacon Liput (Florida) went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Michael Gigliotti (Lipscomb) had two hits and scored two runs. Falmouth is now 16-10 and has matched Harwich for the most wins in the league. Wareham, which got two hits from Alex Destino (South Carolina) fell to 12-11-3.

Harwich 1, Chatham 1

After playing Wareham to a tie Saturday — the second in a row for the Gatemen — Harwich had its second tie in a row after 12 innings weren’t enough at Veterans Field Sunday. Solo home runs in the fourth inning were all the Mariners and Anglers would get. Joseph Dunand (NC State) did the honors for Harwich, while Patrick Mathis (Texas) — slumping since a hot start — answered for Chatham in the bottom of the fourth. Pitching and missed opportunities were the story for the rest of the game. Harwich stranded 12 runners on base and Chatham left eight. Harwich starter Shane McCarthy (Seton Hall) was his usual consistent self, allowing just the one run in six innings. He has gone six innings in each of his five starts, all of which rate as quality starts. Five relievers followed him to the hill and allowed five hits combined in six innings of relief. For Chatham, Parker Rigler (Kansas State) made just his second start after opening the year in the bullpen and scattered five hits in six innings. Isaac Mattson (Pittsburgh) led the way for the relief corps with three innings of one-hit ball.

Brewster 4, Orleans 4

Things were also knotted up at Stony Brook Field, where Orleans rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the top of the ninth and held off Brewster in the bottom half before the teams ran out of daylight. The Firebirds had been shut out on four hits through seven innings by Kade McClure (Louisville) and Max Herrmann (Rutgers). An unearned run in the eighth made it 4-1 and set the stage for the ninth-inning rally. Singles by Will Golsan (Ole Miss) and Zach Kirtley (St. Mary’s) started the charge, and Brian Miller (North Carolina) knocked in Golsan with a base hit. After a pitching change, Adam Haseley (Virginia) came through with a two-run single to tie the game. Zach Logue (Kentucky) and Brandon Bielak (Notre Dame) teamed up for a scoreless bottom of the ninth. Miller, Riley Mahan (Kentucky) and Payton Squier (UNLV) had two hits to lead the Firebirds. Before the Orleans comeback, Brewster got two hits from Brent Rooker (Mississippi) and two runs scored by Colby Fitch (Louisville).

Bourne 3, Y-D 1

Bourne rallied from a 1-0 hole in the late innings and snapped its six-game losing streak with a victory over Y-D. The Braves tied the game 1-1 in the sixth on an RBI single by David MacKinnon (Hartford). In the eighth, Jake Mangum (Mississippi State) had an RBI single for the go-ahead run and Justin Yurchak (Binghamton) delivered a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1. Andrew Wantz (UNC Greensboro) then struck out two in a perfect ninth for his fourth save. Chad Luensmann (Nebraska) picked up the win in relief. Starter Tony Dibrell (Kennesaw State) went six strong innings, striking out five and allowing one run. Dibrell took over the league strikeout lead with 31 as he continues a back-and-forth with Harwich’s Packy Naughton in that department. Despite leading for most of the game, Y-D managed only two hits. Starter Jared Janczak (TCU) went five scoreless innings.

What to Watch

Off-day today. When the action resumes Tuesday, Falmouth sends league ERA leader Jeffrey Passantino (Lipscomb) to the hill as it looks for its seventh win in a row at Orleans.

Brewster made the playoffs and had Cape League MVP Nick Senzel starring last summer. Several returning players are back to lead the way.

FIVE TO WATCH

1. Brett Cumberland
2. Brent Rooker
3. Kade McClure
4. Alex Schick
5. Mike Kaelin

NOTABLE

Brewster has five players set to return, and two more who played elsewhere on the Cape.

It wasn’t the best baseball year for the Pac 12 conference, but that doesn’t take anything away from the season Brett Cumberland had. Cal’s sophomore catcher earned Player of the Year honors after leading the league in home runs and RBI.

Mississippi State’s Brent Rooker made a late cameo with Brewster last year after his MVP campaign in the NECBL season ended. The sophomore has continued to shine this spring.

Brewster is slated to have three pitchers who check in at 6-foot-7, and they should at some point take a pitcher with 5-foot-9 reliever Mike Kaelin, who can probably throw a fastball harder than them.

Kaelin has been a standout closer at Buffalo and struck out 50 in 32 innings in the Northwoods League this year. He’s draft-eligible and it will be interesting to see where he ends up this summer.

Louisville’s Kade McClure, one of the 6-foot-7 guys, is perhaps the best mid-week starter in the nation, with numbers that would look fantastic in any team’s weekend rotation. He likely would have been a weekend guy for the Cardinals, too, but Kyle Funkhouser opted to return to school after last year’s draft, giving Louisville a logjam that it certainly didn’t mind having.

When Xavier shocked Vanderbilt in the Nashville regional, Zac Lowther was front and center, going seven strong innings and allowing just a run.

Washington was an upset-minded squad in the same regional and will send three players to Brewster.

PITCHERS

Vince Arobio – JR – Pacific – Second in school history in saves after tallying six this year, to go with 27 Ks in 17.1 innings
Hansen Butler – SO – North Carolina – Made 11 relief appearances for Brewster last summer, posted 2.00 ERA in UNC bullpen this year
Joe Demers – FR – Washington – Had up-and-down year in weekend rotation for regional club, finishing with 6.91 ERA
Chris Falwell – JR – Texas A&M Corpus Christi – Shined in pen and moved to weekend rotation, posting 2.91 ERA, 88Ks in 86.2 IP
Ryan Feltner – FR – Ohio State – Pitched as a starter and reliever, finishing with 4.06 ERA, 61 Ks in 68.2 innings
Mike Kaelin – RS JR – Buffalo – Saved five games, fanned 44 in 35 innings with only six walks out of Buffalo bullpen
Zacary Lowther – SO – Xavier – Friday starter tallied 3.09 ERA, 84 Ks in 102 IP en route to second-team all conference honors
Erik Martinez – SO – California – Struck out 45 in 37.1 innings and saved eight games with opponents hitting just .211 against him
Kade McClure – SO – Louisville – Excelled in mid-week starting role, going 12-0 with 2.54 ERA, 77 Ks in 78 innings
Joe Mockbee – SO – Michigan State – Versatile arm started six games and saved five, while posting 3.54 ERA, 59 Ks in 56 innings
Ryan Nutof – SO – Michigan – Made 11 starts, 10 relief appearances and was solid throughout with 3.67 ERA
Konnor Pilkington – FR – Mississippi State – Filling a void in weekend rotation and carries 2.01 ERA into Super Regionals
Rickey Ramirez – SO – Fresno State – Tallied four saves while striking out 42 in 39.2 innings to go with 4.54 ERA
Alexander Schick – JR – California – Posted 3.76 ERA for Brewster last summer and 2.03 ERA in injury-shortened spring for Cal
Aaron Soto – SO – Tennessee – Pitched in rotation and out of the bullpen, finishing at 6-2 with 3.63 ERA, 40 K in 62 innings
Jesse Stallings – SO – LSU – Has 3.64 ERA as valuable bullpen arm for Super Regional-bound Tigers
Alex Troop – JR – Michigan State – Posted 1.64 ERA in four relief appearances for Spartans
Jacob Westphal – SO – Tennessee – Pitched well in 12 relief appearances last year then missed all of 2016 season after Tommy John surgery
Tyler Zuber – JR – Arkansas State – Finished with ERA over six in swing role but lead team in strikeouts with 73 in 69.2 innings

CATCHERS

Jared Barnes – SO – South Alabama – Listed as catcher & outfielder, hit .292 and tied for team lead in home runs with six
Brandon Chapman – SO – George Washington – Batted .247 and led team in doubles with 16, while knocking in 25
Gavin Collins – JR – Mississippi State – Former Bourne Brave hitting .301 with team-best 10 HR for Bulldogs
Brett Cumberland – SO – California – Emerged as a star this year, hitting .344 with 16 HR, 51 RBI en route to Pac 12 Player of the Year award
Colby Fitch – SO – Louisville – Has forced his way into playing time by hitting .339 with five homers for No. 2 national seed Cardinals
Kekai Rios – FR – Hawaii – Finished second on the team with .331 batting average and drove in 18 in debut season

INFIELDERS

Matt Davis – SO – VCU – Led Atlantic 10 contending Rams with .321 average, 6 HR, 35 RBI
Nick Dunn – FR – Maryland – Burst onto the scene in College Park, hitting team-best .304 in freshman season
Zack Gahagan – SO – North Carolina – Had solid second season in Chapel Hill, finishing at .297 with five home runs
A.J. Graffanino – FR – Washington – Played in 54 games in debut season and hit .250
Ryan Gridley – SO – Mississippi State – Has started all but one game for Bulldogs and is contributing with .284 AVG, 9 XBH
Julian Infante – FR – Vanderbilt – Hit .259, belted six home runs in part-time role for Commodores
Bryce Jordan – SO – LSU – Hitting .299 and leading team with .426 on-base percentage, to go with five home runs
Ryan Noda – SO – Cincinnati – Played for Y-D last summer then hit .250 with six homers, 18 XBH in second season with Bearcats
Logan Warmoth – SO – North Carolina – Second-best hitter and top run producer for Heels hit .337 with 4 HR, 53 RBI
Dustin Williams – JR – Oklahoma State – Batting only .219 but has team-high 14 home runs and .323 OBP

OUTFIELDERS

Kel Johnson – SO – Georgia Tech – Struggled in 14 games with Brewster last summer but rebounded with .319 AVG, 11 HR this spring
Beau Jordan – SO – LSU – Batting .296 for Tigers and has chipped in five stolen bases
Jon Littell – SO – Oklahoma State – Hitting .264 with two homers for Cowboys
Colby Maiola – SO – Northern Essex CC – UMass-Lowell commit hit at a .453 clip with 10 HR, 43 RBI in second JUCO season
Jack Meggs – JR – Washington – Followed solid summer with Brewster by hitting .272 with two home runs for Huskies
Brent Rooker – SO – Mississippi State – NECBL MVP last year hitting .320 with 9 HR, team-high 52 RBI for Bulldogs

Tag: Colby Fitch

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