Daily Fog: Still Going

They had more players on the field at Fenway on Thursday than any other team, but real proof of what the Y-D Red Sox have accomplished comes in what they're doing on the Cape.

And they're still doing it.

After what was for them a two-day all-star break, the Red Sox beat division rival Chatham 6-3 last night for their sixth consecutive victory. Orleans also lost last night, putting the Red Sox in first place by eight points in the East.

Y-D now has the best team average and best team ERA in the league and both those dimensions were on display last night. Jordan Casas (Long Beach State), one player who wasn't an all-star, went 3-for-4 while Mickey Wiswall (Boston College) hit a home run and knocked in two, raising his league-leading RBI total to 21. The game was tied 3-3 until the seventh, when Ben McMahan (Florida) doubled and eventually came around on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Hanover (LSU).

The Red Sox added two insurance runs in the eighth and Tyler Burgoon (Michigan) continued his dominance with a scoreless ninth inning, giving him a league-best 10 saves. Burgoon helped make a winner out of Greg Peavey (Oregon State), who pitched three innings of relief after starter Michael Goodnight (Houston) lasted just four innings.

The loss was the fourth in a row for Chatham, and Orleans is on the same streak. Combined with Y-D's surge, things have really opened up in the East.

Elsewhere

Bourne was supposed to play a doubleheader with Brewster but had it postponed. With a Cotuit loss mixed in, Wareham took the opportunity to jump into sole possession of first place in the West with a dramatic 2-1 win over Orleans. The Gatemen trailed 1-0 from the third inning on, but Jordan Swagerty (Arizona State) jump-started a rally with a leadoff single in the top of the ninth. He eventually scored the tying run on a base hit by Chris Hannick (Cal State Northridge). Later in the inning, Shea Vucinich (Washington State) drove home Connor Rowe (Texas) with the go-ahead run. Josh Slaats (Hawaii) picked up the win for Wareham with 1.2 scoreless innings of relief. Bruce Kern (St. John's) helped get it to that point with four scoreless innings.

Falmouth swept a twin bill the day before the all-star game and kept the good times rolling last night with a 3-2 victory over Hyannis. Like Wareham, the Commodores trailed all game before a two-run rally in the ninth. Theirs came in the bottom half and was a bit more dramatic, as B.A. Vollmuth (Southern Miss) hit a walkoff two-run homer to turn a 2-1 deficit into the 3-2 win. It was the fourth home run of the year for Vollmuth, who is emerging as one of the top freshmen in the league. The Commodores are still five games under .500, but only seven points out of a playoff spot.

Seven different players had hits and the bullpen shined as Harwich held off Cotuit 3-2. The Mariners broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh on an RBI single by Phil Gosselin (Virginia). Justin Wright (Virginia Tech) pitched 3.1 innings of relief to pick up the win, with Brian Dupra (Notre Dame) getting the save. Those two combined to limit Cotuit to three hits over the final 4.1 innings.

What to Watch For Tonight

Chad Bell (Walters State) will try to continue his recent dominance as Cotuit visits Wareham. He pitched a no-hitter two weeks ago and in his most recent start, allowed one run and struck out seven in seven innings. Wareham will counter with Josh Mueller (Eastern Illinois). The Gatemen are just two points ahead of Cotuit.