He hit .379, earned first-team all-conference honors and helped lead his team to Omaha, so Tanner Gardner (Texas Tech) was already a welcome addition for the Chatham Anglers.

Then came his debut.

Gardner made his first appearance on the Cape Wednesday and hit a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning as Chatham beat Wareham 6-5.

The Anglers had fallen behind 5-3 in the top of the 11th but put two men on and watched Gardner go to work. I don’t recall a Cape League debut with such an emphatic opening statement. The sophomore outfielder was down 1-2 in the count when he launched the game-winner over the fence in right field.

The dramatic win improved Chatham’s record to 11-12. With Orleans dropping its third straight, the Anglers are only one game out of third place in the East.

Gardner finished 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. Gunnar Troutwine (Wichita State) – who singled ahead of Gardner’s walk-off – went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Hagen Owenby (East Tennessee State) added two hits and an RBI.

Connor Moore (Seattle), who stranded two runners on in the top of the 11th, earned the win. Long before the rally, college teammate Nick Meservey went three scoreless innings in his second start of the summer.

Wareham got four hits from Joey Bart (Georgia Tech), who bumped his average from .276 to .353.

The loss was costly for the Gatemen, who fell into second place as Falmouth jumped into first.

Falmouth 13, Brewster 8

Falmouth’s leap into first place came via a slugfest win over sliding Brewster. The Commodores had 14 hits and reached a season-high in runs in improving to 13-10 on the year. Matt McLaughlin (Kansas) hit a grand slam to power the big third inning and finished 2-for-3 with five RBI. Cadyn Grenier (Oregon State) went 3-for-3, scored four runs and drove in two. Michael Gigliotti (Lipscomb) added two hits and two RBI. Brett Gilchrist (Dallas Baptist) nabbed the win in relief of starter Jake Bird (UCLA), who was touched up for four runs in 3.1 innings after a dominant start last time out. Brewster lost for the sixth straight time and fell to 9-14 and last place in the East. The Whitecaps still lead the league in runs scored, but have also allowed the most. Brent Rooker (Mississippi State) had two hits and now leads the league with a .386 average. Zack Gahagan (North Carolina) added two hits and two RBI and Logan Warmoth (North Carolina) hit his fourth home run.

Y-D 7, Orleans 3

Y-D scored a key win to move ahead of Orleans for second place in the East. The Red Sox – not too far removed from an 0-5 start to the season – are 13-5 since and are tied with Falmouth for the second-best record in the league. Wednesday, Y-D was out-hit 12-7 but capitalized on miscues and scored five unearned runs. J.J. Schwarz (Florida) hit his first Cape League home run, a three-run shot in the fourth inning that broke the game open. Red-hot Will Toffey (Vanderbilt) saw his four-game hit streak end but picked up an RBI. Brendan Skidmore (Binghamton), Kevin Smith (Maryland) and Corey Dempster (USC) drove in one run each. On the mound, Bryan Sammons (Western Carolina) allowed nine hits in 3.2 innings but limited the damage. William Montgomerie (Connecticut) followed with 4.1 scoreless innings for the win. Orleans, which lost its third straight, got four hits from Riley Mahan (Kentucky).

Harwich 1, Bourne 0

It’s hard to win a pitcher’s duel with Harwich, as the Bourne Braves found out. The Mariners got 11 shutout innings from four pitchers – allowing just four hits along the way – and broke through for the lone run of the game in the top of the 11th. Ernie Clement (Virginia) scored on a groundout to shortstop off the bat of Joseph Dunand (NC State). Zach Schellenger (Seton Hall) followed with a scoreless bottom of the 11th to finish off the win, picking up where three of his fellow pitchers left off. Making his second start of the summer, power arm Peter Solomon (Notre Dame) allowed one hit in seven innings and struck out six. Notre Dame teammate Brad Bass and LSU’s Austin Bain kept the Braves off the board. Bourne starter Brady Miller (Western Oregon) went six scoreless innings.

Cotuit 5, Hyannis 1

The Kettleers won for the fifth time in seven games and notched their first victory over rival Hyannis. Quinn Brodey (Stanford), who came into the game hitting .196, went 3-for-3 with a home run and drove in all five of Cotuit’s runs. Clay Fisher (UC Santa Barbara) added two hits and two runs scored. Rio Gomez (Arizona), who pitched in limited action for CWS runner-up Arizona, made his second appearance for Cotuit and struck out seven of the 12 batters he faced in 3.2 innings. Eddie Muhl (George Washington) got the win in relief and Jared Padgett (Mississippi State) pitched three hitless innings for the save. Hyannis got a home run from Zach Rutherford (Old Dominion), his third of the summer.

What to Watch

It’s a league-wide off day Thursday as teams head to Fenway Park for a workout. Friday, there’s plenty of good pitching to choose from, with Brady Puckett (Lipscomb) and his 1.71 ERA going for Falmouth, Erich Uelmen (Cal Poly) looking for his third consecutive scoreless start for Y-D and Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year Tyler Wilson (Rhode Island) making his third start for Harwich.

It was a hard off-season in Cotuit with the passing of Arnold Mycock and coach Mike Roberts’ wife, Nancy. It’s a good bet everyone is eager for some Kettleers baseball.

FIVE TO WATCH

1. Jeren Kendall
2. Jake Bivens
3. Alonzo Jones
4. Matt Ruppenthal
5. Colton Hock

NOTABLE

Jeren Kendall was poised to be one of the top returning players in the league but he has been invited to Team USA, so it remains to be seen whether he spends any time at Lowell Park. If he does, he’s certainly the guy to watch after his huge sophomore season.

Kendall’s Vandy teammate Alonzo Jones might be able to do a pretty fair impersonation. A year younger, he has pop and speed.

Cotuit’s online roster doesn’t include players on temporary contracts, but we’ll mention one here — East Tennessee State catcher Hagen Owenby hit .374 with 17 homers this spring and seems a safe bet to stick around all summer.

The Kettleers have three freshmen who were hearing a lot of draft buzz this time last year. They had varying results in their first years of college, though. Jason Bilous was solid for Coastal Carolina, but UCLA’s Justin Hooper and Mississippi State’s Jared Padgett saw limited action.

Stanford’s Colton Hock and Quinn Brodey were standouts for the NECBL’s Newport Gulls last year and are slated to be together again in Cotuit. Hock had a great spring in the Cardinal bullpen. Brodey – a two-way player in the past – honed in on the bat this spring.

Are any Mississippi State players not coming to the Cape? Cotuit has two, and I think every Cape team I’ve previewed so far has at least one, or sometimes four.

A pair of Mountain West Conference standouts in 2015 will be in Cotuit before starting a new chapter next year. Cory Voss and Cal Stevenson are both transferring to Arizona. Voss went the junior college route this year while Stevenson sat out the season at Arizona. Both are in Cotuit while their future Wildcat teammates head to a Super Regional.

PITCHERS

Jason Bilous – FR – Coastal Carolina – 29th round pick last year had 4.04 ERA, struck out 45 in 42 innings in first season at Coastal
Colton Hock – SO – Stanford – Had big 2015 with NECBL’s Newport Gulls and put up 2.03 ERA, 6 saves, 61 Ks in 57.2 IP this spring
Bobby Holmes – SO – Coastal Carolina – Started six games and saved three, with lots of relief work in between and fanned 66 in 69.2 IP
Justin Hooper – FR – UCLA – Six-foot-five lefty was highly-touted recruit, but pitched only eight innings of the bullpen this spring
Tyler Johnson – SO – South Carolina – One of three Gamecocks with saves, he owns 9 to go with 55 Ks and just 8 walks in 50 IP
Matt Ladrech – SO – California – Solid numbers in two years as a starter and had 4.30 ERA this season
Taylor Lehman – SO – Penn State – Six-foot-eight left-hander finished with 4.79 ERA in Nittany Lions weekend rotation
Jared Padgett – FR – Mississippi State – Highly-touted left-hander limited to 2.1 innings this spring
Ryan Rigby – SO – Mississippi State – Strong reliever for Super Regional club has 1.75 ERA, 41 Ks in 19 appearances
Josh Roberson – FR – UNC-Wilmington – Started three games and made 10 relief appearances with 6.04 ERA and 22 K in 22.1 IP
Keith Rogalla – SO – Creighton – Former 37th-round pick struck out 59 in 73 innings as weekend starter for Blue Jays
Matt Ruppenthal – SO – Vanderbilt – Shined in Vandy bullpen with 2.33 ERA, 59 Ks in 46.1 innings

CATCHERS

Tim Susnara – SO – Oregon – Struggled with the bat in Cotuit last summer but bounced back with .268 AVG, 2 HR for Ducks
Cory Voss – SO – McLennan CC – MWC Freshman of the Year in 2015 at New Mexico starred in JUCO this year and is bound for Arizona
Albee Weiss – SO – Cal State Northridge – Hit .219 and ranked second on the team with six home runs this season

INFIELDERS

A.J. Balta – RS SO – Oregon – In return from redshirt season, hit .219 with team-leading nine home runs and 47 RBI
Jake Bivens – SO – Michigan – Big 10 Freshman of the Year in 2015 hit .356 as a sophomore with .441 OBP and 13 SB
Clay Fisher – SO – UC Santa Barbara – Gauchos’ starting shortstop since day one last year, hitting .286 this season with only five errors
Greyson Jenista – FR – Wichita State – Emerged as Shockers’ top hitter in big freshman year, hitting .326 with five home runs, 32 RBI
Alonzo Jones – FR – Vanderbilt – Speedy infielder made impact immediately, hitting .285 with 18 XBH, 10 stolen bases
Jordan Pearce – SO – Nevada – Built on strong freshman season by hitting .332 with 4 HR, 17 2B, team-high 47 RBI
Josh Shaw – FR – St. John’s – Hit .292 with two home runs and stole seven bases while playing in all 55 games in freshman season

OUTFIELDERS

Quinn Brodey – SO – Stanford – Two-way standout focused on the plate this spring and hit .280 with 7 HR, team-best 41 RBI
Dayton Dugas – FR – Wichita State – Hit .304 with four homers, 16 XBH in debut with Shockers
Jeren Kendall – SO – Vanderbilt – Also a Team USA invite, followed summer in Cotuit with big sophomore year – .332, 9 HR, 28 SB
Cal Stevenson – SO – Arizona – Hit .356 as a freshman at Nevada and sat out this year after transferring to Arizona

Tag: Jared Padgett

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