Young talent leads Commodores

Falmouth missed the playoffs last season but has a talented team ready for a return trip.

FIVE TO WATCH

1. Luken Baker
2. Brady Puckett
3. J.J. Matijevic
4. Bryce Montes de Oca
5. Brady Singer

NOTABLE

The Falmouth roster no longer includes the guy who stole all the headlines in the preseason. Missouri State All-American Jake Burger is on the Team USA roster. But there’s plenty of talent left . . .

A late addition who stands as a good replacement for Burger is TCU freshman Luken Baker. The Big 12 Freshman of the Year came in highly touted and has been a force at the plate and on the mound. He’s also at his best right now, coming off four home runs in the Big 12 Tournament.

Baker is one of 12 freshmen on the roster – a high number – but there’s quite a pedigree for a lot of them. Florida’s Brady Singer was the highest unsigned high school pick in the draft last year, Tyler Holton and Cole Sands grabbed spots in the Florida State rotation right off the bat, and Josh Watson leads a powerful TCU team in home runs.

The Commodores will have some veterans to lean on around the youth. J.J. Matijevic was a breakout star for the Commodores last summer and is one of the few returning Cape League all-stars. Stephen Villines and Evan Skoug are also slated to be back after a good summer.

Brady Puckett, who’s penciled in as the opening night starter for the Commodores, had a fantastic sophomore season en route to Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Year honors. He’s also 6-foot-8.

Cadyn Grenier didn’t have a great first season at Oregon State but has the credentials. He was a 21st-round pick who was mentioned as a possible first-round pick last year.

Dallas Baptist continued its emergence as a baseball power this year and will send three players to Falmouth.

In addition to Baker’s success at TCU, Falmouth has Skoug and Watson hitting in the middle of the Frogs’ order.

Missouri’s Bryce Montes de Oca, another 6-foot-8 pitcher, lit up the radar gun last summer as he continued a comeback after Tommy John surgery in high school. Unfortunately, he was shut down after .1 inning this year and had surgery, but this indicates he starts rehab in June, so he may still pitch for Falmouth.

PITCHERS

Jake Bird – SO – UCLA – Had solid freshman season before struggling to ERA over six this season
Seth Elledge – FR – Dallas Baptist – One of the nation’s leaders in saves, racked up 14 with 1.61 ERA, 31 Ks in 28 innings
Glenn Otto – SO – Rice – Busy reliever for Owls tallied eight saves and struck out 76 in 71.2 innings
Brett Gilchrist – FR – Dallas Baptist – Two-sport standout struggled in first year with DBU, finishing with 14.54 ERA in 10 appearances
Tyler Holton – FR – Florida State – Two-way player having more luck on mound in first year, with 2.92 ERA, team-best 78 Ks
Cole Sands – FR – Florida State – Went 6-6 with 4.21 ERA in weekend rotation for Seminoles, striking out 46 in 66.1 innings
Tyler Jones – SO – Wichita State – Pitched out of the bullpen for Shockers, finishing with 6.18 ERa, 35 Ks in 39.1 innings
Turner Larkins – SO – Texas A&M – Working as a starter and reliever for Aggies, has 2.82 ERA, 35 Ks in in 38.1 innings
Brady Singer – FR – Florida – Highest unsigned high school pick in the 2015 draft, has 4.95 ERA in relief for Gators
Corbin Martin – SO – Texas A&M – Has struck out 33 in in 26.1 innings pitched out of bullpen for Super Regional-bound Aggies
Stephen Villines – SO – Kansas – Standout closer for Jayhawks and Falmouth last summer had 5 SV, 2.13 ERA this year
Bryce Montes de Oca – SO – Missouri – Flamethrower who flashed potential with ‘Dores last year pitched just .1 inning this year
Kyle Nelson – SO – UC Santa Barbara – Standout reliever on Gauchos’ first-ever Super Regional squad has 2.08 ERA, 84 Ks in 69.1 IP
Thomas Ponticelli – FR – San Francisco – Grabbed Saturday starter role as a freshman and finished with 5.94 ERA with 44 Ks
Brady Puckett – SO – Lipscomb – Six-foot-eight righty earned A-Sun Pitcher of the Year after going 9-2, 2.93 ERA, 101 Ks in 107.2 IP
Bo Tucker – SO – Georgia – Posted 3.71 ERA and three saves while striking out a batter an inning out of Georgia bullpen

CATCHERS

Matt Duce – FR – Dallas Baptist – Delivered strong debut for regional club, batting .321 with 4 HR, 30 RBI
J.J. Matijevic – SO – Arizona – Finished third in Cape League in AVG last year and batted .289 with 4 HR in sophomore season
Evan Skoug – SO – TCU – Major run producer for Frogs batting .290 with 9 HR, 50 RBI, team-best 30 XBH

INFIELDERS

Luken Baker – FR – TCU – Projected as one of the top frosh in the nation and hasn’t disappointed — .382 with 8 HR, 54 RBI plus 1.70 ERA
Tristan Gray – SO – Rice – Returning Commodore hit .295 with five homers for Owls this spring
Dane Myers – SO – Rice – Also a pitcher, hit .264 with two home runs and saved seven games out of Owls bullpen
Cadyn Grenier – FR – Oregon State – Highly touted freshman struggled a bit in debut, hitting .240
Deacon Liput – FR – Florida – 39th round pick out of high school has started all but one game for Gators and is hitting .277 with 13 SBs
Matt McLaughlin – SO – Kansas – Started every game for Jayhawks and hit .256 with two homers

OUTFIELDERS

Ryan Chandler – SO – Rice – Reigning CUSA Freshman of the Year followed with .270 sophomore season, adding 2 HRs, 20 RBI
Michael Gigliotti – SO – Lipscomb – Hit .302 and stole 15 bases a year after strong debut season with Lipscomb
Trevor Larnach – FR – Oregon State – Scuffled with the bat in first season in Corvallis, finishing with average under .200
Josh Watson – FR – TCU – Hitting .282 and leading the Horned Frogs in home runs with 11 in first season

August 1, 2015August 1, 2015

Up in the Air

Harwich kept Chatham from clinching a playoff spot while keeping its own hopes alive.

A quick Daily Fog today. The biggest news? Nobody else clinched a playoff spot last night. Still four berths up for grabs.

Harwich 5, Chatham 2

Chatham scored two in the first as it tried to clinch a playoff bid but Harwich rallied for the 5-2 win. Coupled with a Y-D win, Chatham and the Red Sox are now tied for third place. Harwich is four points back of them and still in the mix. The Mariners got RBI from Sheldon Neuse (Oklahoma), Adam Pate (North Carolina) and Connor Justus (Georgia Tech) on the comeback trail. Cam Vieaux (Michigan State) settled in after giving up the two first-inning runs and went four innings. Hunter Newman (LSU) and Zach Schellenger (Seton Hall) shut-out the Anglers over the final five innings.

Falmouth 10, Wareham 3

The Commodores have won two straight and now find themselves just a point out of fourth place and three points out of third in the West. Five different players had two hits in a 13-hit barrage that included eight runs over the first two innings. Logan Ice (Oregon State), Evan Skoug (TCU) and Boomer White (Texas A&M) all scored twice in addition to their two hits. Joseph Camacho (Alabama State), making just his second start, gave up three runs in 6.2 innings for the win.

Y-D 4, Brewster 3

Y-D scored three in the sixth and held off a late push by Brewster to move into a third-place tie with Chatham. Gio Brusa (Pacific) led the Red Sox with his eighth home run, to go with two RBI. Cole Billingsley (South Alabama) and Tommy Edman (Stanford) added two hits each. Dustin Hunt (Northeastern) started for Y-D and pitched four scoreless innings with six strikeouts. Mason Kukowski (Yale) got the win in relief and Chad Hockin (Cal State Fullerton) picked up the save.

Hyannis 6, Cotuit 2

Hyannis finished off a six-game season sweep of Cotuit with a 6-2 victory at Lowell Park. That means more than a quarter of the first-place Harbor Hawks’ 23 victories have come against the rival Kettleers. Thomas Burrows (Alabama) gave up one run in five innings for the win. He struck out five. Marc Skinner (Troy) and Aaron Civale (Northeastern) kept Cotuit from rallying. Jake Rogers (Tulane) led the Hyannis offense with three hits and two RBI. Austin Hays (Jacksonville) added two hits. For Cotuit, Will Haynie (Alabama) hit his eighth home run.

Orleans 4, Bourne 1

Fresh off their division-clinching win Thursday, the Firebirds made it two wins in a row with a victory over Bourne. John Kilichowski (Vanderbilt) served notice that he might provide a major boost to a playoff rotation with 5.1 scoreless innings in his third appearance since his late arrival. He struck out seven and gave up three hits. Willie Abreu (Miami) led the Orleans offense with his second home run of the summer. Ronnie Dawson (Ohio State) added two hits and an RBI.

What to Watch

It’s the second-to-last day of the regular season, and literally every game features at least one team fighting for a playoff spot.

July 31, 2015July 31, 2015

Back to Normal

Alex Call waits for a throw at second base against Cotuit earlier this week. The Firebirds clinched the East title Thursday.

It was back to regularly-scheduled programming in the Cape League’s East Division on Thursday night. After two losses and a tie in their previous three games, the Orleans Firebirds looked like their old selves as they clinched the regular-season division title with a 12-8 victory over Hyannis. With Brewster losing, Orleans now cannot be caught.

The Firebirds were not as sharp as usual on the mound, but their powerful offense was on target. The Firebirds hit two home runs in an eight-run second inning. They finished the night with 18 hits, five of which went for extra bases. Ten different players had at least one hit.

With All-Star Game West MVP Devin Smeltzer (San Jacinto) on the hill for Hyannis, you wouldn’t have predicted a slugfest. But after getting a run in the first, the Firebirds went wild in the second inning. Bobby Dalbec (Arizona) hit a grand slam and Kyle Lewis (Mercer) followed that with a solo shot.

Hyannis eventually found some of its offense, making it an 11-8 game in the eighth, but that was as close as it got.

Dalbec went 2-for-3 and the home run was his league-best 11th. I sound like a broken record, but his pace is incredible. Dalbec has played in 25 games. Eleven of his 26 hits are homers.

Lewis finished 4-for-5 with four RBI as he broke out of an 0-for-11 slump. Bryan Reynolds (Vanderbilt), Jeremy Martinez (USC), Daniel Pinero (Virginia) and Sean Murphy (Wright State) all chipped in two hits.

Corbin Burnes (St. Mary’s) was credited with the win in relief.

Orleans finishes its four-game season series against Hyannis with a 3-1 record. The Harbor Hawks are in line to win the West, but they aren’t there yet. In a season of Orleans success, it was fitting that the Firebirds got there first.

With three games remaining, the Firebirds could still match the record of the 2007 Y-D Red Sox, who went 31-12-1, the best record in the league in at least the last 15 years.

Y-D 2, Chatham 1

With fifth-place Harwich losing to Wareham, Y-D had a chance to get some breathing room in the East standings. A seventh-inning rally against Chatham did the trick. The Red Sox won 2-1 and moved four points ahead of Harwich for the final playoff berth and just two points back of Chatham for the third seed. The Anglers broke a scoreless tie with a run in the sixth on a Will Craig (Wake Forest) RBI double. But in the very next half-inning, Y-D pushed the tying run across on a passed ball and plated the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Gio Brusa (Pacific). Ben Bowden (Vanderbilt), who had come on in the sixth, ran with the lead, striking out seven of the 13 batters he faced in 3.2 scoreless innings of relief. Y-D is now 21-20. Chatham is 22-19.

Falmouth 11, Brewster 7

Falmouth isn’t dead quite yet. The Commodores snapped a seven-game losing streak with a victory over Brewster. Coupled with a Cotuit loss, the Commodores are only three points out of the final playoff spot in the West. J.B. Woodman (Ole Miss) went 2-for-4 with a home run to lead the offensive breakout for Falmouth. Mitch Longo (Ohio), Evan Skoug (TCU) and Tate Blackman (Ole Miss) each drove in two runs. J.J. Matijevic (Arizona) had two doubles. Conor Costello (Oklahoma State) got the win, giving up two runs in five innings. Brewster scored five runs in the seventh against the bullpen but the game was called due to darkness after that.

Wareham 5, Harwich 2

The Gatemen inched closer to a playoff spot while Andrew Calica (UC Santa Barbara) inched closer to hitting .400 for the year in a win over Harwich. Wareham now has a two-point edge on Cotuit for third place in the West and is five points in front of last-place Falmouth. As for Calica, he went 1-for-2, walked once and was hit by a pitch. It’s hard to raise a .439 average, but that line did it — Calica is now at .440 with just three games remaining. If you assume he gets 12 at-bats over those final three games, he would need just one hit in 12 at-bats to finish over .400. His teammates had a good offensive night Wednesday, as well. Jay Jabs (Franklin Pierce) went 3-for-4 with two RBI. Gavin Stupienski (UNC Wilmington) had two hits and an RBI. Brett Hanewich (Stanford) struck out eight and allowed just one earned run in five innings for the win. Shaun Anderson (Florida) pitched four innings of one-hit relief.

Bourne 10, Cotuit 7

Bourne rallied from a 5-0 deficit and won 10-7 in a game that was called after the seventh due to rain. Nick Solak (Louisville) went 3-for-5 with four RBI to spark the comeback efforts. Brendan McKay (Louisville) and Reid Humphreys (Mississippi State) knocked in two runs apiece, while Jason Delay (Vanderbilt) and Jacob Robson (Mississippi State) both had two hits and scored three runs. Joseph Christopher (St. John’s) gave up two unearned runs in 2.1 innings of relief to help set the stage for the comeback. Kyle Driscoll (Rutgers) got the win in relief. Bourne is 20-19-2 and still has a shot at the West division title. Cotuit fell to 16-25 with its second straight loss.

What to Watch

Chatham can clinch a playoff spot and clear up much of the East postseason picture if it wins tonight at Harwich.

June 3, 2015June 3, 2015

Falmouth rebuilds after title trip

A veteran Falmouth team led by two-time batting champ Kevin Newman made a run at its first Cape League title since 1980 last summer but fell short against a red-hot Y-D team in the title series. The veterans are gone – with just one player set to return – but the Commodores will be looking for another run in 2015.

FIVE TO WATCH

1. Andrew Benintendi
2. Mitch Longo
3. Heath Quinn
4. Jon Duplantier
5. Keaton McKinney

NOTABLE

Rice’s Jon Duplantier was highly-touted as a freshman but missed all of this season with an injury. If he’s healthy, the summer could be a springboard for him.

The Commodores have three pitchers who saved at least eight games this spring. Zach Jackson had the most impressive numbers to go with the saves total, striking out 80 batters in only 52 innings pitched.

Jackson’s Arkansas teammate, Keaton McKinney, was projected to be a top-five round pick out of high school, but signing demands and a strong commitment to Arkansas kept him out of the early rounds. He jumped right into the weekend rotation this year and posted a 3.21 ERA.

Both catchers on the Falmouth roster will make the trip bring Big 12 award credentials with them. Michael Tinsley was a second-team all-conference pick and Evan Skoug made the all-freshman team.

Maryland has been one of the stories of the NCAA Tournament so far, and Brandon Lowe has led the offense. The redshirt sophomore is batting .333 with nine homers and 53 RBI.

Mitch Longo earned MAC Player of the Year honors at Ohio University and will likely anchor Falmouth’s outfield this summer.

Boomer White was a key part of Falmouth’s run to the championship series last year and will be back in the fold this year. He’ll also be chomping at the bit, after sitting out this spring due to NCAA transfer rules.

Arkansas’ Andrew Benintendi will be perhaps the best hitter coming to the Cape, but don’t count on him making it. A breakout year has pushed the draft-eligible sophomore into the first round of a lot of mock drafts.

PITCHERS

Jon Duplantier – SO – Rice – Big right-hander had promising freshman year but was sidelined in 2015
Morgan Earman – SO – Arizona – 21st-round pick in 2013 pitched in 10 games as a freshman but was limited to 2 IP this year
Zach Jackson – SO – Arkansas – Dominant reliever for two years saved 8 games this spring with 80 K in just 52 IP
Cobi Johnson – FR – Florida State – Late-round pick out of high school has high ERA but has struck out a batter an inning
Turner Larkins – FR – Texas A&M – Solid starter in debut season had 3.96 ERA, 43 Ks
Keaton McKinney – FR – Arkansas – Ranked in nation’s top 100 high school players last year, McKinney went 6-1 with 3.21 ERA in debut
Sean McLaughlin – JR – Georgia – Injured last year, returned to weekend rotation this year and had 4.67 ERA with 57 Ks
Alex Phillips – SO – San Jacinto – Baylor commit struck out 72 in 68 innings this season
Wyatt Short – SO – Ole Miss – Lefty closer saved 10 games this year with 1.38 ERA
Bo Tucker – FR – Georgia – Finished busy freshman year with 2.03 ERA out of the bullpen
Stephen Villines – SO – Kansas – Ranked second in Big 12 in saves with 13, to go with 3.40 ERA

CATCHERS

Evan Skoug – FR – TCU – Late-round pick in 2014 was Big 12 all-freshman honoree after hitting .282 with team-best 43 RBI
Michael Tinsley – SO – Kansas – Second-team all-Big 12 pick hit .337 with three homers, 39 RBI

INFIELDERS

Tate Blackman – FR – Ole Miss – 20th-round pick out of high school struggled as a freshman, finishing at .197
Tristan Gray – FR – Rice – Standout Texas high schooler had solid debut with Rice, hitting .247 with 10 extra-base hits
Brandon Lowe – SO – Maryland – Freshman All-American in 2014 has been terrific in 2015: .333, 9 HR, 53 RBI
J.J. Matijevic – FR – Arizona – Boston’s 22nd-round pick in 2014 hit .238 in first year as a Wildcat

OUTFIELDERS

Andrew Benintendi – SO – Arkansas – National player of the year candidate hit .390 with 18 HR, but is draft-eligible
Mitch Longo – SO – Ohio – MAC Player of the Year hit .357 with 7 homers, 49 RBI
Heath Quinn – SO – Samford – Freshman All-American stayed hot in sophomore year, with .340 average, 14 home runs
Boomer White – SO – Texas A&M – Returning Commodore sat out this spring after transferring from TCU
J.B. Woodman – SO – Ole Miss – Built on good freshman year with .274 average, 7 home runs