cotuit, harwich strike first

Sunday, August 10, 2008

cotuit, harwich strike first

The teams that came into the postseason hot stayed hot yesterday on the opening night of the playoffs.

The top-seeded Cotuit Kettleers, who won five straight games at the end of the regular season, made it six in a row with a 6-4 victory over No. 2 Falmouth. Over in the East, the second-seeded Harwich Mariners, winners of four in a row to end the season, beat Orleans 4-3 for the 1-0 series lead.

Cotuit 6, Falmouth 4

I wasn't surprised to see that Cotuit grabbed its victory. The Kettleers have been playing better than anybody in the league and, yesterday, they had one of their aces on the mound. Nick Hernandez gave Cotuit exactly what it needed, allowing just two runs in six innings. He struck out eight and didn't walk anybody. Daniel Wolford was strong in relief, while Drew Storen allowed a run in the ninth before picking up the save.

As for the offense, Cotuit continued a recent trend -- hits from every spot. Yesterday, eight of nine starters had at least one hit, with Jason Kipnis going 2-for-3 with a home run.

Meanwhile, Falmouth actually out-hit Cotuit 11-10, but the Commodores left 11 on base. They also found themselves in an early hole, with the Kettleers scoring five in the first three innings off Falmouth starter Jorge Reyes.

Harwich 4, Orleans 3

Harwich brought momentum into the game and didn't waste any time running with it. The Mariners all of their four runs in the top of the first inning, before Orleans could even blink. The Cardinals eventually settled in but couldn't climb all the way back in.

I don't blame them. That's a real tough start to recover from, and it's impressive to see from the Mariners. I knew they were hot coming into this series, but they're also a very streaky team, and you never know when the streak is going to end.

Not last night. Shaver Hansen led off the game with a double, and the merry-go-round was quickly at top speed. A three-run home run by Joseph Sanders was the big blow.

Armed with a four-run cushion, J.J. Hoover tossed seven dominant innings, striking out 12 and allowing only one earned run. Willie Kempf and Steve Kalush finished off the victory.

Looking Ahead

The difference between winning in two and winning in three is big, especially for the pitching rotation, so both Harwich and Cotuit will really be hoping to close it out tonight.

Cotuit's road looks like it will get a little tougher, with Falmouth's Chris Gloor on the mound against Paul Applebee. Gloor has a 2.59 ERA, a little better than Applebee's 3.09 mark. Gloor also has a low WHIP, while Applebee has given up more hits than innings pitched.

The Kettleers may also have to contend with Falmouth fireballer Ben Tootle, who didn't pitch yesterday. If the Commodores get a lead, Tootle will be in there.

Over in the East, Harwich heads home with a chance to clinch. It'll be a tall task, though, with Orleans ace and all-star starter Matt Thomson on the mound. But the Mariners wil counter with a good starter of their own. In fact, William Bullock allowed one run in 6.1 innings when he beat Orleans on Aug. 2.

No comments:

Post a Comment

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.

Sunday, August 10, 2008