roundup: thursday, july 5

Friday, July 6, 2007

roundup: thursday, july 5

Winners
Hyannis, Cotuit, Harwich, Falmouth, Y-D

Losers
Chatham, Orleans, Bourne, Wareham, Brewster

Scores
Hyannis 8, Chatham 3
Cotuit 7, Orleans 6
Harwich 9, Bourne 3
Falmouth 5, Wareham 1
Y-D 4, Brewster 1

Hyannis 8, Chatham 3
Hyannis to 7-9-2, Chatham to 9-7-2
WP: Hunter Harris LP: Charles Brewer

Hyannis scored in each of the final five innings to come back from a 2-0 deficit and blow the game open
Chatham's Charles Brewer (UCLA) was perfect through four but eventually allowed three runs in seven innings; the bullpen allowed five more runs
Shane Peterson (Long Beach St.) , James Darnell (South Carolina) and Joey Gonzales (UC Riverside) had two hits apiece for Hyannis; Darnell had three RBI
Hunter Harris (Texas) pitched 2.2 scoreless innings of relief for the win

Of note, team-style: Hyannis won over Chatham for the second time in five days, moving to within two games of second place Cotuit.

Of note, player-style: Peterson is now hitting .375, good for third in the league. The first baseman/outfielder is following up a strong sophomore season at Long Beach where he hit .327 and posted an OBP of .418.

Cotuit 7, Orleans 6
Cotuit to 9-7-2, Orleans to 10-8
WP: Garrett Richards LP: Ryan Perry

Cotuit rallied from a 4-3 deficit with four in the eighth then held off an Orleans rally in the ninth
Orleans' Ryan Perry (Arizona) has made a splash with his mid-90's fastball, but he gave up all four runs in the eighth and took the loss
A two-run double by Ryan Lollis (Missouri) highlighted Cotuit's surge
Orleans got to Garrett Richards (Oklahoma) with two in the ninth, but Robert Stock (USC) came on and got the final out

Of note, team-style: Orleans has as many touted hitters as any team in the league, yet still has posted a league-worst .212 batting average. The pitching has been great, though, and if the offense ever catches up, look out. Players like Alden Carrithers (UCLA), Brandon Crawford (UCLA) and Ollie Linton (UC Irvine) are bound to heat up.

Of note, player-style: Cotuit's Ryne White went 3-for-4 and raised his average to .388, second in the league.

Harwich 9, Bourne 3
Harwich to 5-13, Bourne to 11-5-2
WP: Dan Hudson LP: Rick Zagone

Harwich handed Bourne just its second loss since June 23
Of the nine runs Bourne allowed, only two were earned; the Braves made four key errors
Cole Figueroa (Florida), Kent Matthes (Alabama) and Kyle Day (Michigan St.) had two hits apiece;for Harwich Jeremy Wise (LSU) went 4-for-4 with three runs scored
Harwich's Dan Hudson (Old Dominion) allowed just one earned run in seven innings and struck out eight

Of note, team-style:Harwich is the only team in the East without a winning record and they sit 8.5 games back. Still, with pitching and offensive numbers that are in the middle of the pack, the Mariners could make a run.

Of note, player-style: Hudson is a well-thought of prospect and he's delivering. The 6-foot-4 sophomore from Old Dominion has a 2.82 ERA in four starts and now has the league lead in strikeouts with 29.

Falmouth 5, Wareham 1
Falmouth to 7-11, Wareham to 5-13
WP: Aaron Crow LP: Dallas Keuchel

Wareham had a chance to climb out of the basement and into a tie with Falmouth, but the Commodores held them off
Falmouth scored two in the sixth to break a 1-1 tie thanks to a two-run double by Jeremy Farrell (Virginia)
Falmouth starter Aaron Crow (Missouri) allowed one run --none earned -- over six innings and struck out five
Falmouth's Matt Hague (Washington) went 4-for-5 with two RBI

Of note, team-style: Wareham is proving to be the streakiest team in the league. The Gatemen won their first game of the season, then lost the next 10 before going on a four-game winning streak. Since then, they've dropped three in a row.

Of note, player-style: Falmouth's Joey Wong, fresh off a College World Series title with Oregon St., has stepped into the leadoff spot for the Commodores and had two hits Thursday in what was his third game since arriving. He should give the Commodores a much-needed spark.

Y-D 4, Brewster 1, eight innings
Y-D to 13-4-1, Brewster to 9-8-1
WP: Matt Wickswat LP: Matt Couch

Y-D scored two in the first and two in the second and never looked back
Sean Ochinko (LSU) went 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored
Wickswat (Santa Clara) got his first victory in his second start, allowing one run in four innings
Nick Cassavechia (Baylor) got his fourth save of the season, which ties him for the league lead

Of note, team-style: Y-D has the second-best team batting average, the best ERA and, not surprisingly, the best record. One reason for Y-D's offensive success: four players have double-digit RBI totals. Only Bourne, the other first-place team, has that many guys with those numbers. No other team even has two, and some have none.

Of note, player-style: Cassavechia hasn't allowed a run this year in the closer's role. The sophomore from Baylor had 11 saves for the Bears this spring with 72 strikeouts in 52 innings. He has 11 strikeouts in 11.2 innings so far this summer.

STANDINGS
East
Y-D...............13-4-1
Chatham.......9-7-2
Orleans..........10-8
Brewster......9-8-1
Harwich.......5-13

West
Bourne........11-5-2
Cotuit..........9-7-2
Hyannis......7-9-2
Falmouth....7-11
Wareham....5-13

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as the fog settles in

The left-field sunset has faded. It is chilly now. You slip a sweatshirt on. The stat sheet you hold in your hands almost feels wet, the air is so damp. But the ink doesn't run. You can read it. That kid from LSU is still leading the league in home runs. That pitcher who they say throws 95 -- he's way up on the list in strikeouts.
The game is close, 3-2 through seven innings. You're staying till the end.
You look out at the field. Some fog has slipped in. It settles like smoke, just off the grass in front of the right fielder, like a cloud. When he runs through it to catch a fly ball, it looks almost magical, maybe even spiritual, like he's playing baseball in heaven.
Maybe he is.
The baseball is pure here. The players eager. The fans, maybe some of them don't know what they're seeing, maybe they just heard it was a fun night out, good for the family and everything -- but they know. They know somehow that this thing, this Cape League, is special.
Really, there's nothing like it.
I'm going to try and keep up.

Stop waxing poetic

The Cape Cod Baseball League is the top college summer league in the nation. Plenty of other leagues have cropped up of late, and some are having success, but the Cape League is still the model -- and the pinnacle. In 2006, 198 Major Leaguers had spent time in the Cape League.
The rosters are like a who's who of the best college baseball players. All the top prospects want to spend their summers on the Cape. The only better opportunity is Team USA. There are 10 teams in the league, divided into two divisions. Over the course of two months, they play 44 games. Scouts will watch many of them. They come because of the combination of talent and wood. Unlike college baseball, the Cape uses only wooden bats, providing an accurate picture of what players might do at the next level.
What else? Players live with host families. Some have part-time jobs (Jeff Bagwell worked at Friendly's). There's no admission charge at games. The level of baseball has been compared to Single A.
That should sum it up. If you have never experienced Cape League Baseball, you have missed out.

Friday, July 6, 2007