Riding the Wave

Jack Meggs knocked in the go-ahead run in the 10th as Brewster beat Falmouth Sunday.

Apologies for the unannounced hiatus. The Right Field Fog extended family was together on Cape Cod, which was wonderful in general but bad for blogging. Back in business today.

Division leaders Orleans and Hyannis have already clinched playoff spots. All of a sudden, Brewster is looking like the team that’s next in line.

The Whitecaps edged Brewster 4-3 in 10 innings Sunday for their fourth consecutive win. At 22-16, they’ve taken over second place in the East and currently own the league’s second-best record.

The last three wins in the four-game streak have come by one run. With a team that’s great at the plate but a little more up-and-down on the mound, the assumption when they get hot is that the pitching is coming around. That’s not entirely true for Brewster, who has allowed 15 runs in its latest win streak.

The relentless, top-to-bottom offense just keeps pounding away. The Whitecaps are not among the league leaders in extra-base hits – despite leading in hits and batting average – but their ability to knock single after single has been good enough for a lot of wins.

Sunday, the Whitecaps did get a strong pitching performance, as J.D. Busfield (Loyola Marymount) gave up two runs in six innings. But again, it was the offense that came through. After Falmouth tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, Brewster scored one in the top of the 10th and went on to the win.

Leadoff man Colin Lyman (Louisville) started the 10th with a single and a sacrifice bunt moved him to second. With two outs, Jack Meggs (Washington) singled to bring him home.

Trent Paddon (Oregon) worked around two hits in the bottom of the 10th to seal the win.

Meggs and Toby Handley (Stony Brook) finished with two hits each to lead the Brewster offense.

Bourne 9, Wareham 1

The Braves pushed their win streak to three with a blowout of Wareham. Nick Solak (Louisville) and Mike Garzillo (Lehigh) both had three hits and three RBI and Reid Humphreys (Mississippi State) homered. Bourne scored all its runs in two innings, with four in the fourth and five in the sixth. On the mound, Cody Sedlock (Illinois) allowed one run in six innings for the win. Kyle Driscoll (Rutgers) pitched two scoreless innings of relief and the recently signed Daniel Jagiello (Long Island) tossed a scoreless frame in his Bourne debut. Bourne is now 18-18-2. Wareham has lost three in a row and is 15-22-1.

Hyannis 5, Y-D 1

With Bourne making its run, Hyannis kept the Braves at arm’s length with a victory over Y-D, which maintains the team’s three-point cushion in the West. Nick Deeg (Central Michigan) was back to his dominant self after a rough outing in his last start. He struck out seven and allowed one run in eight innings for the win. Jake Rogers (Tulane) homered while Errol Robinson (Ole Miss) had three hits to pace a 12-hit attack. Rogers, a terrific defensive catcher, was hitting .175 just two weeks ago but has gone 10-for-22 since to up his average to .274. Corey Bird (Marshall) and Blake Tiberi (Louisville) chipped in two hits each.

Harwich 8, Chatham 3

The Mariners hit three home runs and got solid showings from three pitchers to beat Chatham 8-3. Matt Gonzalez (Georgia Tech) went deep twice while his Georgia Tech teammate Connor Justus had a home run and four RBI. Preston Palmeiro (NC State) added a hit and scored two runs. Jake Fraley (LSU) homered for Chatham and Garrett Hampson (Long Beach State) had three hits, but the Anglers couldn’t get much else going. Scott Tully (Notre Dame) allowed two runs in six innings for the win. Harwich is now 17-20-1 and three points out of the fourth and final playoff spot in the East.

Cotuit 4, Orleans 2

Cotuit allowed Orleans just one extra-base hit and continued its run toward a playoff spot with a victory over the league-leading Firebirds. The Kettleers have won two straight and hold a three-point lead on Falmouth for fourth place in the West. Daniel Brown (Mississippi State) had his best performance of the summer in quieting the Orleans bats. Brown struck out six and didn’t allow an earned run in seven innings of work. Jack Anderson (Penn State) and Justin Dunn (Boston College) finished off the win. The Cotuit offense steadily pushed in front with single runs in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Brody Weiss (Riverside CC), Spencer Gaa (Bradley), Jeren Kendall (Vanderbilt) and Will Haynie (Alabama) each drove in a run, with Kendall and Haynie both hitting solo home runs. Haynie now has seven home runs on the year.

What to Watch

It’s a league-wide off day today. When teams return to the fields Tuesday, there will be an interesting match-up in Orleans, where the first-place Firebirds will host surging Brewster. Mitchell Jordan (Stetson) is slated to start for Orleans as he looks to go 7-0.

July 19, 2015July 19, 2015

The Other Ace

On a day when Orleans’ Mitchell Jordan was named the All-Star Game starting pitcher for the East squad – a shoo-in of a selection – the one other guy who could have made a serious case was just as good as his fellow ace.

Y-D’s Ricky Thomas (Fresno State) stayed perfect on the summer, making his sixth start and winning his sixth game. He allowed one run on three hits in seven innings and struck out nine as the Red Sox beat Harwich 4-1.

Thomas and Jordan are both 6-0, giving the league two big winners in a category that sometimes tops out at four wins when all is said and done. While Jordan took a no-decision in one of his starts, Thomas has been a winner every time. He owns more than a third of Y-D’s 17 victories.

Wins are not a favored statistic in this day-and-age – a great pitching performance does not guarantee a win – but for a guy who’s winning a lot, it’s still useful as a reflective statistic. And Thomas has been winning a lot, and earning each and every one.

The lefty has gone at least 5.2 innings in each start and has not surrendered more than one run in any start. He has a 0.96 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 37.1 innings pitched.

Saturday, he set a new season-high in strikeouts, fanning nine Mariners in the victory. A solo home run by Connor Justus (Georgia Tech) was the only blemish on his day.

Stephen Wrenn (Georgia) hit his fourth home run to back Thomas, while Tommy Edman (Stanford), Luke Bonfield (Arkansas) and Joshua Vidales (Houston) drove in one run each. The Y-D offense seems to enjoy nights when Thomas is on the mound – the four-run output Saturday was actually the lowest run support total he’s seen this year. The Red Sox are averaging six runs per game in his starts.

While that offense certainly helps, the Red Sox could be scoring two runs per game and still winning with Thomas on the mound. Coming off a solid spring with the Bulldogs in which he posted a 3.92 ERA, he’s been the best rising sophomore pitcher in the league this summer, statistically speaking.

At some point, Thomas and Jordan will probably take a loss. But it didn’t happen Saturday.

Orleans 2, Chatham 1

The aforementioned Jordan went four more innings without allowing an earned run – bringing his streak to 37 innings – before Chatham pushed one across in the fifth inning on a Garrett Hampson (Long Beach State) RBI single. Jordan got out of the inning without further trouble and ended his outing there after five innings. His ERA now stands at 0.24. The Orleans offense gave Jordan a lead in the top of the fifth on a two-run homer by Kyle Lewis (Mercer), and that was all the Firebirds needed. Three relievers combined on four scoreless innings, with Kit Scheetz (Virginia Tech) grabbing the save. Ty Damron (Texas Tech) was the hard-luck loser for Chatham. He allowed two runs in six innings. Flamethrowing reliever Zach Burdi (Louisville) made his second appearance since arriving from Team USA and went three scoreless innings with four strikeouts.

Wareham 2, Hyannis 1

Wareham walked off on a suicide squeeze for a 2-1 victory in 10 innings over Hyannis. John Sternagel (Florida) tripled with one out in the 10th and on the second pitch of the next at-bat, Preston Grand Pre (California) got down the bunt to win it. Wareham had given up a 1-0 lead in the eighth before its extra-inning rally. The squeeze made a winner out of Evan Hill (Michigan), who pitched five innings of relief with just an unearned run. Starter Ian Hamilton (Washington State) also went five and didn’t allow a run. Hyannis got 6.1 strong innings from Dakota Hudson (Mississippi State).

Brewster 7, Bourne 4

The Whitecaps won their fifth straight and jumped into a second-place tie with Chatham in the East. The Nick Senzel MVP campaign rolled right along with the win streak, as Senzel (Tennessee) went 2-for-3 with three RBI. That’s his eighth multi-hit game in 14 July contests. He has driven in 17 runs in those games. And as usual, it wasn’t just a one-man show for the hot-hitting Whitecaps. Jack Meggs (Washington), Tyler Ramirez (North Carolina) and Nico Giarratano (San Francisco) had two hits each, part of an 11-hit attack. Nick Highberger (Creighton) got the win in relief.

Cotuit 8, Falmouth 2

The unpredictable West Division looked the part in Falmouth, as Cotuit beat the Commodores 8-2 a night after losing to them 5-2. Austin Sexton (Mississippi State) allowed one run in 5.1 innings for the win. Branden Berry (Cal State Northridge) went 3-for-4 with four RBI and his fourth home run of the year. Brett Stephens (UCLA) added four hits and two RBI. The Kettleers scored four of their runs off Falmouth starter Austin Tribby (Missouri), who had allowed only one run in each of his last three starts.

What to Watch

Brewster will shoot for its sixth consecutive win as it visits Harwich. J.D. Busfield (Loyola Marymount), who had a strong start last time out, gets the ball.

July 12, 2015July 12, 2015

Be Like Mitch

Mitchell Jordan tossed six shutout innings to improve to 5-0.

News flash: Mitchell Jordan (Stetson) allowed an extra-base hit Saturday night.

But it was a return to originally-scheduled programming soon after.

Jordan continued his absolutely dominant summer with six more shutout innings as Orleans beat Brewster 2-0. Jordan – six starts and 33 innings into his Cape League career – still has a 0.00 ERA.

Brewster’s Ryan Peurifoy (Georgia Tech) doubled in the third inning for the first extra-base hit allowed by Jordan this summer. It put runners on second and third, an earned run just 90 feet away. Jordan responded by striking out Brewster’s best hitter, Nick Senzel (Tennessee) to end the inning. He didn’t allow another hit, finishing with six innings of two-hit baseball, to go with nine strikeouts.

This is the time of year back in 2012 that Sean Manaea – who will be the measuring stick for Cape League aces for a long time – started to fully cement an incredible summer, with dominant start after dominant start. Jordan isn’t quite on the same strikeout pace as the former Hyannis star, but as RFF commenter Orville suggested, his overall performance is looking downright Manaean. This is not simply a great beginning or a hot streak – Jordan is having a tremendous summer.

Jordan leads the league in wins with five, strikeouts with 40 and ERA at 0.00. He has given up 11 hits the entire summer, for an opponents batting average of .104. He has gone at least five innings in every start and hasn’t surrendered more than three hits in any of them. He was won five consecutive starts after a no-decision in his summer debut.

Saturday’s win also came at an important time for the Firebirds, who had lost two in a row. They scratched a run across in the first on an error and added one in the ninth on a Willie Abreu (Miami) sacrifice fly.

Two runs were plenty. Brewster’s J.D. Busfield (Loyola Marymount) had a strong start as well, giving up one run in six innings. But as has been the case all summer, it wasn’t good enough to keep up with Mitchell Jordan.

Y-D 8, Chatham 1

Gio Brusa (Pacific) hit two home runs and drove in five, and Ricky Thomas (Fresno State) picked up his fifth win as Y-D stopped Chatham’s four-game winning streak. Brusa, who got off to a slow start in his second summer on the Cape, now has a hit in nine straight games and is batting .286 with four home runs. He hit a three-run shot in the third inning Saturday and added a solo shot in the fifth. Donnie Walton (Oklahoma State), Stephen Wrenn (Georgia) and Cole Billingsley (South Alabama) each chipped in two hits, and Y-D scored five earned runs off Zac Gallen (North Carolina), who came in with a 0.00 ERA in three starts. Thomas allowed one run in 5.2 innings for his fifth win in as many tries. With the win, Y-D moved one point ahead of Harwich for fourth place in the East.

Bourne 4, Hyannis 1

The Braves have moved into second place in the West, and though they’re still six points back of division leader Hyannis, they’re also 3-0 against the Harbor Hawks after Saturday’s win. Bourne was shut-out for six innings but scored three in the seventh and one in the ninth. Nick Solak (Louisville) and Pete Alonso (Florida) each had two hits and an RBI. Ryan Boldt (Nebraska) also had two hits. Cody Sedlock (Illinois) allowed one run in 5.2 innings of work. Doug Norman (LSU) got the win in relief and Austin Conway (Indiana State) tallied his sixth save. For Hyannis, ace Nick Deeg (Central Michigan) righted the ship after a tough outing in his last start, going 5.2 scoreless innings.

Wareham 2, Cotuit 1

Evan Hill (Michigan) turned in his third great start, going six innings with one unearned run as Wareham edged Cotuit 2-1. Hill, a 6-5 lefty, has now had three starts in which he’s gone at least five innings without giving up an earned run. He also struck out seven on Saturday and gave up only one hit. Ian Hamilton (Washington State) took the baton in the seventh and tossed three scoreless innings to finish off the win. The Wareham offense was sparked by Andrew Calica (UC Santa Barbara), who went 2-for-4 with an RBI, who has delivered two hits in three straight games.

Falmouth 4, Harwich 1

Austin Tribby (Missouri) went six strong innings and the Falmouth offense smacked four doubles in a 4-1 victory over Harwich. Tribby scattered six hits and gave up one run in six innings for the win. Cobi Johnson (Florida State) got the save. Michael Tinsley (Kansas) went 3-for-4 while Heath Quinn (Samford) was 2-for-4 with two RBI.

What to Watch

Division leaders Orleans and Hyannis will meet for the third time, this one at Eldredge Park. They have split their first two meetings.

June 28, 2015June 28, 2015

Bourne Identity

A good start is great, but as so many Cape League teams have shown – especially since the playoffs expanded – a great finish is even better. And a bad start can be left completely behind.

The Bourne Braves still have a ways to go before they can think about a big finish, but the bad start has certainly been erased. With a big chunk of players still with their college teams when the Cape season began and some hard-luck losses mixed in, Bourne got off to an 0-6-1 start this summer. Once they got off the skid, they stayed and have won seven of their last nine, emerging as one of the league’s hottest teams.

Saturday, the Braves knocked off West-leading Hyannis 3-0. They were facing Devin Smeltzer (Florida Gulf Coast), who was fresh off a no-hitter, and they touched him up for 10 hits. On the other side, Ryan Smoyer (Notre Dame) tossed six shutout innings to get the Braves on their way.

Reid Humphreys (Mississippi State) led the offense with two hits and two RBI. He’s one of only four players in Saturday’s starting lineup that was also in the opening day starting nine. Those four – Humphreys, Camden Duzenack (Dallas Baptist), Ryan Boldt (Nebraska) and Corey Julks (Houston) – have been solid, and the reinforcements have helped do the rest. Guys like Nick Solak (Louisville) and Pete Alonso (Florida) are major additions that make Bourne’s lineup a whole lot better. Solak is hitting .314. Alonso made his debut Saturday and went 1-for-4 with an RBI, after hitting five homers for the Gators this spring.

Smoyer made his third start Saturday and out-dueled Smeltzer. He didn’t strike out a batter but only allowed four hits in his six scoreless innings. Bryan Baker (North Florida) and Austin Conway (Indiana State) closed out the shutout, with Conway grabbing his third save.

Hyannis remains atop the division at 10-7, but Wareham – and now the red-hot Braves – are right on their tail. The Braves’ bad start seems like a long time ago.

Falmouth 1, Harwich 0

Bourne’s win was one of three Saturday shutouts. Falmouth’s came on the shoulders of four pitchers, with Jack Finnegan (McLennan CC) getting the win in relief and Stephen Villines (Kansas) notching the save when he struck out the side around a single in the ninth. Adam Oller (Northwestern State) started and went five scoreless. The day’s only offense came in the sixth, when Boomer White (Texas A&M) knocked an RBI single. That made Harwich’s Scott Tully (Notre Dame) a very hard-luck loser. He went eight innings, struck out seven and allowed just the one run. Falmouth improved to 7-10 with the win.

Brewster 3, Chatham 0

Brewster had the other shutout, as J.D. Busfield (Loyola Marymount) and three relievers combined to quiet Chatham’s bats. Busfield, who was a terrific closer for Loyola, continued his transition to a Cape rotation with his third start, and his best yet. He went six and allowed only two hits. Anthony Arias (Fresno State), Trent Paddon (Oregon) and Thomas Hackimer (St. John’s) did the rest, with Hackimer recording the save. Chatham starter Daniel Castano (Baylor) gave up only one earned run, but three Chatham errors led to a pair of unearned tallies. Colin Lyman (Louisville) and Nico Giarratano (San Francisco) each had two hits for the Whitecaps.

Cotuit 5, Orleans 4

The Kettleers were on a seven-game skid but stopped despite having to match up with East-leading Orleans. The Firebirds rallied from a 4-3 deficit to tie the game in the top of the ninth – setting up more heartbreak for the Kettleers – but this time, Cotuit rallied and pushed the winning run across in the bottom of the ninth on the old walk-off walk by Kort Peterson (UCLA). Brett Stephens (UCLA) and Branden Berry (Cal State Northridge) went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Cotuit offense. Nick Lewis (Baylor) got the win with five strong innings of relief. He struck out five and allowed only the ninth-inning run. Kyle Lewis (Mercer) had two hits and two RBI for Orleans. He now ranks second in the league in hitting, tied for first in home runs and tied for third in RBI.

Wareham 4, Y-D 2

Wareham won its third in a row, moved one game over .500 and got within two points of first place Hyannis. Evan Hill (Michigan) went five shutout innings for the win and Ryan Olson (Cal Poly Pomona) picked up the save. Nick Cieri (Maryland) went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Andrew Calica (UC Santa Barbara) went 2-for-3 with an RBI. The Gatemen continue to lead the league in runs scored with 78 in 17 games.

What to Watch

It’s a battle of division leaders at Eldredge Park when Orleans hosts Hyannis. Kyle Cedotal (SE Louisiana), who had a great spring and has a 0.90 ERA this summer, will start for the Firebirds. Dakota Hudson (Mississippi State), who has struck out seven in each of his starts, goes for Hyannis.

June 8, 2015June 8, 2015

Brewster hopes playoffs no surprise this time

The Whitecaps made a surprise run to the playoffs last year, after it looked like they’d been written off. With new manage Jamie Shevchik taking over after a successful stint in the NECBL, Brewster will be looking to establish a winning tradition.

FIVE TO WATCH

1. Grayson Long
2. Danny Garcia
3. Lucas Erceg
4. Jacob Robson
5. Patrick Ruotolo

NOTABLE

Brewster had one of the Cape League’s best pitching prospects in Cal Poly Pomona’s Cody Ponce last year. Ponce hailed from the Division II ranks out west and the Whitecaps are going back to the well with California Baptist’s Tyson Miller and Catawba’s Shaefar Shepard, both of whom are coming off good seasons on the mound.

The Whitecaps have five junior pitchers on the roster. If they make it to Brewster after the draft, it’ll be a veteran group, potentially led by Texas A&M’s Grayson Long. He has struck out 106 this season.

Miami’s pitching staff has been terrific on its way to the College World Series and Danny Garcia has been a key part of it. Pitching in relief and as a starter, he leads the team in strikeouts with 79 in 80.1 innings, to go with just 17 walks.

Pat Ruotolo had a solid summer with Brewster last year and parlayed it into a big season as the UConn closer, where he struck out 52 in just 36.1 innings of work.

Jordan Sheffield was drafted in the 13th round by the Boston Red Sox in 2013. He missed last season with injury but has come back strong as a reliever for Vanderbilt this year. If his workload expands for the Whitecaps, look out.

Mercyhurst sent standout infielder Zak Blair to the Cape a few years back and will put infielder Brendan Cox in Brewster this year.

The Whitecaps will have a Cape League champ on their roster, with Nico Giarratano coming over from Y-D.

Outfielders Ryan Peurifoy and Kel Johnson were the leading hitters for Georgia Tech this spring.

PITCHERS

Anthony Arias – r-FR – Fresno State – Lefty redshirted last year, had 5.40 ERA in swing role this year
J.D. Busfield – SO – Loyola Marymount – Tied for 10th in the nation with 14 saves, paired them with 1.89 ERA
Hansen Butler – FR – North Carolina – Made 19 appearances in debut season, finished with 3.38 ERA
Matthew Clancy – JR – St. John’s – Busy reliever had 2.91 ERA and struck out better than a batter per inning our of the pen
Danny Garcia – SO – Miami – Limited action as freshman but has been valuable in rotation and bullpen this year, with team-best 79 strikeouts
Thomas Hackimer – JR – St. John’s – Made whopping 35 appearances and tied for sixth in the country with 15 saves
Nick Highberger – JR – Creighton – Sold reliever throughout career, had 2.92 ERA in team-high 26 appearances this year
Jacob Jenkins – JR – Pacific – Ace of the Pacific staff as a sophomore saw ERA balloon over six this season
Grayson Long – JR – Texas A&M – One of top pitchers in SEC, is 9-1 with 2.82 ERA and 106 Ks in 95.2 innings
Hunter Martin – SO – Tennessee – Had solid debut as a starter last year before watching ERA rise above five in sophomore season
Tyson Miller – SO – California Baptist – Went 8-3 with 3.32 ERA, 85 strikeouts for D-II California Baptist
Trent Paddon – SO – Oregon – Pitched as starter and reliever and had ERA over six, despite 35 strikeouts in 41.2 innings
Patrick Ruotolo – SO – Connecticut – Returning Whitecap took closer’s role for Huskies and saved six games with 52 Ks in 36.1 IP
Zac Ryan – SO – Georgia Tech – Took over closing duties as a sophomore and saved seven games while posting a 9-1 record
Alex Schick – SO – California – Built on strong freshman year by leading team in appearances out of the bullpen
Jordan Sheffield – r-FR – Vanderbilt – 13th-round pick in 2013 back from injury for 2.90 ERA in swing job this year
Shaefer Shepard – SO – Catawba – Conference Freshman of the Year in 2014 pitched for Hyannis last summer, had 3.94 ERA, 80 Ks this year

CATCHERS

Cassidy Brown – SO – Loyola Marymount – Hasn’t put up great offensive numbers but has been regular starter behind the plate
Karl Ellison – SO – Vanderbilt – Part of catching platoon with Commodores, hitting .212 this year
J.C. Escarra – SO – Florida International – Lefty swinger hit .271 with five homers this spring

INFIELDERS

Candler Avant – FR – Alabama – Had solid first season in Tuscaloosa, hitting .266 and stealing 11 bases in full-time role
Brendan Cox – JR – Mercyhurst – Hit .343 with .421 OBP for Division II Mercyhurst
Lucas Erceg – SO – California – After decent freshman year, hit .303 and ranked second in Pac-12 with 11 home runs in big sophomore year
Nico Giarratano – SO – San Francisco – Scrappy infielder won CCBL title with Y-D last year, hit .237 in sophomore season with Dons
Brandon Gold – SO – Georgia Tech – Two-way player had 3.26 ERA in starting role, batted .273 while playing strong defense at third
Nick Senzel – SO – Tennessee – Strong two-year contributor batted .325 with four home runs this season
Will Smith – SO – Louisville – Solid contributor for Cardinals hitting .237 in second year with team

OUTFIELDERS

Brandon Caruso – SO – Pepperdine – After solid freshman campaign, bumped average to .309 with three homers this spring
Toby Handley – SO – Stony Brook – Emerged as one of top hitters for Stony Brook with .330 average and 12 stolen bases
Kel Johnson – FR – Georgia Tech – Freshman All-American hit .298, blasted 10 home runs in first season with Tech
Colin Lyman – SO – Louisville – Hit .263 as a freshman but struggling in limited duty this season
Jack Meggs – SO – Washington – Playing for father, Lindsay, at Washington, hit .243 in second season as a Husky
Ryan Peurifoy – SO – Georgia Tech – Sophomore led Jackets with .324 batting average, chipped in two home runs
Tyler Ramirez – SO – North Carolina – Hit .285, stole 18 bases and tied for team lead with 10 home runs in second season with Heels
Jacob Robson – r-SO – Mississippi State – Missed most of last season but returned with a vengeance, hitting team-best .324 with 21 SB