ORLEANS – The Chatham Anglers jumped out to a quick, 1-0 lead in the first inning at Eldredge Park Monday night but that was all Orleans Firebirds’ ace Mitchell Jordan (Stetson) would allow as the hard-throwing righty settled to shut down the visitors through the middle of the seventh inning en route to a 4-1 victory.
Miami slugger Willie Abreu continued his hot hitting streak to lead the Firebirds to victory over Chatham last night in the opening round of the Cape League playoffs.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
The Orleans Firebirds (32-12-1) can eliminate Chatham (22-23) from postseason contention tonight at Veterans Field in game two of the best-of-three opening playoff round series.
All totaled, Jordan struck out four, walked two and scattered six hits en route to his seventh victory of the season. He is now 7-0 with a stingy, league-leading 0.36 earned run average.
Chatham jumped out to its 1-0 lead in the first with back-to-back singles from Trent Brooks (Nevada-Reno) and Garrett Hampson (Long Beach State) but a bunt from Aaron Barnett (Pepperdine) was well-played by Orleans catcher Sean Murphy (Wright State) who nabbed Brooks at third base. With one out, Barnett and Hampson took off on a double steal to put two runners in scoring position and a Will Craig (Wake Forest) ground-out to second brought in Hampson for the 1-0 lead.
Orleans took over the lead in the bottom of the second inning after Kyle Lewis (Mercer) reached on an error and Willie Abreu (Miami) singled – both men advanced on a Daniel Pinero (Virginia) sacrifice bunt.
A wild pitch from Chatham starting pitcher Zac Gallen (North Carolina) – who took the loss after allowing all four Orleans runs – plated Lewis and then Chatham’s third infield error allowed Nick Zammarelli (Elon) to reach first base and Abreu scored the go ahead run.
Abreu would end up going 2-3 on the night with one RBI and he factored into both rallies for the ‘Birds.
Orleans added two more runs in the fifth inning when Alex Call (Ball State) led off with a single and then Bobby Dalbec (Arizona) raked a double to put two runners in scoring position and Lewis hit a sacrifice fly to send Call home and made it 3-1. Abreu then singled with one out to bring home Dalbec and that was all Orleans needed to seal the deal.
Call and Orleans catcher Murphy both went 2-4 on the night. Chatham’s Aaron Knapp (UC-Berkeley) was the lone Angler to collect multiple hits. He went 2-4.
Humphreys Leads Bourne Braves to Playoff Win over Wareham Gatemen
Mississippi State’s Reid Humphreys kept up his hot hitting streak of late with a 2-4 night at the plate and three RBI as the Bourne Braves handed the visiting Wareham Gatemen a 7-1 playoffs-opening round victory Monday night at Doran Park.
With another victory tonight at Spillane Field, the Braves (23-20-2) can eliminate the Gatemen (17-26-2) from the postseason.
Bourne Braves reliever Bryan Baker allowed no runs in two innings of work and struck out one as the Braves defeated Wareham, 7-1, last night at Doran Park.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
Illinois righty Cody Sedlock kept Wareham’s usually tough lineup off-balance throughout seven rock-solid innings. He struck out five and allowed just one run on six hits and two walks.
Humphreys got Bourne on the scoreboard early as he drove in Brendan McKay (Louisville) with a single in the first inning for a 1-0 lead and then the Braves exploded in the second inning for five runs and a 6-0 lead. Humphreys drove in two of those runs with a basehit.
Wareham’s Kramer Robertson was the lone Gateman to register multiple hits on the night. He went 2-4.
The University of Florida’s Shaun Anderson took the loss for Wareham. He went just 1.2 innings and allowed five runs on four hits and three walks while striking out one.
Editor’s Note: Bourne Braves’ general manager Chuck Sturtevant, also former longtime general manager of the Falmouth Commdores, was named the John Wylde General Manager of the Year for the second straight season as the announcement came prior to Monday night’s playoff game between Bourne and Wareham. Sturtevant is retiring after this season. He will be sorely missed.
— Story and Photos by Sean Walsh, sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm
About CapeCod.com NewsCenter
Speak Your Mind