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No hits and a historic pace

Peter Solomon pitched the first five innings of Wednesday's no-hitter.
Peter Solomon pitched the first five innings of Wednesday’s no-hitter.

 
The best pitching staff on the Cape hit its highest note yet Wednesday night – and it may have been just the beginning of a run to history.

Four Harwich pitchers combined on the first no-hitter of the Cape League season in a 10-0 win at Chatham. It was fitting – and not surprising – that the Mariners were the team to do it. They own nine shutouts this season and lead the league in ERA by a wide margin.

The staff is also on a stunning pace. With 83 runs allowed in 38 games, the Mariners are on track to allow just 96 runs in the 44-game season. That would be the fewest allowed by any team since at least 2000, which is as far back as the league’s online records go (and the Cape League online record book for some reason lists the runs allowed mark as a record for the most, rather than the least).

Regardless, you’re looking at one of the best pitching staffs on the Cape in decades. The previous low in runs was 116 by Orleans in 2002, so even if the Mariners fall off their ridiculous pace a bit over the final six games, they’ve got a cushion for beating that number.

And on the road to the potential big finish, the Mariners got their signature moment Wednesday.

Power arm Peter Solomon (Notre Dame) wasn’t at his absolute best – walking five and striking out three – but when he departed after five innings, there was a zero in the hit column for Chatham.

Exactly two weeks before, Solomon had pitched four no-hit innings against Chatham, but the innings came in relief, when the Anglers had already notched two hits.

This time, Chatham remained hitless through the sixth and seventh innings, with Zach Schellenger (Seton Hall) righting the ship after a tough outing in the All-Star Game by striking out five in his two innings. Tommy DeJuneas (NC State) walked two in the eighth but didn’t allow a hit. Nick Brown (William & Mary) then struck out two in the ninth and when he got Donovan Casey (Boston College) to ground in to the final out, the Mariners had themselves a combined no-hitter.

It’s the league’s first no-hitter since last June, when the Mariners themselves were shut down by Hyannis’ Devin Smeltzer.

The Mariners also had plenty of offense, with Austin Filiere (MIT) leading the way. Coming in, his average had dipped to .211 but he went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. He’s now tied for the league lead in home runs with seven and is one back of the league lead in RBI.

Pavin Smith (Virginia) added a home run and Nick Dalesandro (Purdue) drove in two runs, but the story of this night – and most nights for Harwich – was the pitching.

With Y-D losing, it led the Mariners back to first place in the East. It authored the league’s top performance of the summer.

And it kept up the pace for a historic season.

 

Wareham 5, Hyannis 0

The Gatemen won their eighth consecutive game with a 5-0 shutout of Hyannis. Gunner Leger (Louisiana-Lafayette) – who hasn’t pitched as much as some fellow stars but has had kind of an incredible summer – started the shutout with four scoreless innings and six strikeouts. Leger now has a 0.42 ERA and 29 strikeouts against just one walk in 21 innings of work as a starter and reliever. Nick Sprengel (San Diego) finished the shutout with five strong innings. He fanned four. Joey Bart (Georgia Tech) led the Wareham offense with a triple and three RBI. Joey Bartosic (George Washington) added three hits, Nico Giarratano (San Francisco) had two and Cole Freeman (LSU) scored two runs. Wareham is now 21-14-3.

Brewster 3, Bourne 0

The Whitecaps made it three shutouts on the day and gained a bit of breathing room on Chatham for the final playoff spot in the East. The Whitecaps now have a three-point edge. Hunter Martin (Tennessee) set the table for the win with eight shutout innings. He allowed three hits and struck out three while improving to 4-1 on the year. Wyatt Burns (Samford) allowed one hit in the ninth but finished out the win. Brent Rooker (Mississippi State) homered and drove in two for the Whitecaps, while Zack Gahagan (North Carolina) and Julian Infante (Vanderbilt) chipped in two hits each.

Orleans 5, Cotuit 4

Cotuit rallied from 2-0 and 4-2 deficits to force extra innings but Orleans walked off in the bottom of the 11th for a dramatic win. Brian Miller (North Carolina) walked and stole second to create a threat in the 11th and Payton Squier (UNLV) brought him in with a base hit. The heroics made a winner out of Will Stokes (Ole Miss), who had pitched a scoreless top of the 11th. Before that, Brandon Bielak (Notre Dame) went 3.1 scoreless frames. And long before that, Orleans starter Kevin Smith (Georgia) struck out eight in five innings. Cotuit’s Alec Byrd (Florida State) also shined as the game headed to extras, pitching four scoreless innings with five strikeouts. Riley Adams (San Diego) had a huge day to lead the Orleans offense, going 4-for-5 with his first home run of the summer. The standout catcher is on a seven-game hitting streak in which his average has risen from .316 to .372. Squier added two hits. A.J. Balta (Oregon) added two hits for the Kettleers.

Falmouth 8, Y-D 5

If Wareham weren’t on an eight-game streak, the team the Gatemen are chasing in the West would be the league’s hottest. The Commodores won their third straight and their eighth in the last 10 games, improving to a league-best 25-13. Deacon Liput (Florida) hit his second homer of the summer and drove in three runs to pace a solid offensive showing. Michael Gigliotti (Lipscomb) added two hits and two runs scored, while J.J. Matijevic (Arizona), Joshua Watson (TCU) and Tyler Lawrence (Murray State) drove in one run apiece. Starting pitcher Brendan King (Holy Cross) was touched up for three runs in four innings – the first runs he had allowed since June 24 – but the Falmouth bullpen kept Y-D at bay. Thomas Ponticelli (San Francisco) earned the win in relief and Seth Elledge (Dallas Baptist) picked up the save. Y-D got a home run from Deon Stafford (St. Joseph’s), his fourth.

 

What to Watch

One last league-wide off-day today before a sprint to the finish line. When action resumes Friday, there will be a couple of intriguing games in the West. Cotuit, still not mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, gets a chance to make up some ground as it hosts fourth-place Hyannis in the penultimate Barnstable Patriot Cup game. In Falmouth, the first-place Commodores will try to stop second-place Wareham’s eight-game winning streak.
 

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Young talent leads Commodores

Screen shot 2016-06-10 at 4.18.26 PM

 
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