Where the Stars of Tomorrow Shine Tonight!

Article By: Brian Butler

The third week of the Cape Cod Baseball League’s season was full of excitement. The holiday has helped drive some amazing attendance numbers, and the players have been putting on a show so exciting it rivals the fireworks of the weekend. As the nation is set to celebrate its independence, it’s time to take a look at some of the players who stood out over the past seven days.

Bourne Braves (8-8-3): Bryce Cunningham, RHP, Vanderbilt

Bryce Cunningham only made one appearance for the Braves this week, but he made the most of it. In his start on Tuesday night, Cunningham pitched six innings of scoreless baseball, striking out five in the process. The Bourne righthander allowed only two hits in the outing, as well as just one walk. Cunningham ultimately received a no-decision for his showing, but the Vanderbilt product has a strong outing to build off of in his next outing.

Brewster Whitecaps (9-8-1): Brian Fitzpatrick, LHP, Rutgers

Brian Fitzpatrick has been absolutely nails so far this year for Brewster, and that strong performance continued into his start this week. The Whitecap southpaw tossed five scoreless innings Tuesday night, allowing just three hits. Fitzpatrick also struck out eight batters across the five innings while not walking a single batter. The Scarlet Knight has yet to allow a run across 14 innings this year for Brewster, yielding just eight hits and two hits on the campaign.

Chatham Anglers (4-12-3): Caden Grice, 1B, Clemson

Caden Grice proved himself to be a man of many talents this week. The Chatham first baseman got on base at a .320 clip, adding a home run and two RBI to his season totals. Grice also took to the mound this week, tossing a scoreless inning for the Anglers while striking out two opposing batters.

Cotuit Kettleers (14-2-3): Brooks Baldwin, IF/OF, University of North Carolina Wilmington

The Kettleers kept rolling this week thanks in no small part to the contributions of Brooks Baldwin. Baldwin hit .391 on the week to raise his average for the season to .347, a mark good for second in the league. The Cotuit utilityman also added two steals to make ten on the campaign, also good for second in the league. The Seahawk also currently has the most hits (25) and RBI (13) on the Cape, and ranks third in runs created with 12.211.

Falmouth Commodores (6-11-2): Drew Sommers, LHP, University of Arizona

It’s hard to put together a much better outing than Drew Sommers did in his first start of the year for the Commodores. Sommers tossed five scoreless innings, striking out nine while allowing just one baserunner, a single. The performance lowered the Falmouth southpaw’s batting-average-against to a minuscule .065, while his WHIP sits at an equally outstanding .33. The new Wildcat has allowed just 3 of the 32 batters he’s faced across four appearances to reach base on his impressive summer.  

Harwich Mariners (6-11-2): Chris Newell, OF, University of Virginia

Chris Newell only arrived in Harwich this past week, but wasted little time making his presence felt. The new Mariner slashed .333/.429/.667 on the week, hitting two homers and driving in three runs in the process. Newell also added four runs scored and 5.143 runs created to his impressive week. The Cavalier outfielder hit safely in five of his first six Cape League games, and added three walks and swiped two bags on the week as well.

Hyannis Harbor Hawks (10-6-3): Rikuu Nishida, 2B, University of Oregon

The Hawks are hot. Before finally suffering a loss Saturday night, Hyannis had reached a 9-game unbeaten streak thanks to solid performances all around. However, one of the Hawks’ best performances of the week belonged to Rikuu Nishida. The Hyannis second baseman hit .313 on the week, and demonstrated his fleet feet by swiping four bags. Nishida’s week was highlighted by his performance at Wareham on Friday night in which he went 2-3 with a walk, while also adding three runs, two steals, and an RBI to his incredible week.

Orleans Firebirds (8-8-2), Bryce Warrecker, RHP, Cal Poly, Josh Allen, LHP, Duke, & Chris Clark, RHP, Harvard

The Firebirds fired a combined no-hitter on Wednesday night, so their spotlight belongs to the three pitchers that assembled the sensational performance. Warrecker started the night, firing six perfect innings to lower his season ERA to 0.73, before giving way to Allen, who pitched the seventh and eighth innings, before Clark finished out the no-no. Altogether, the three Orleans arms struck out twelve batters while allowing just one man to reach base on a walk.

Wareham Gatemen (7-11-1): Max Anderson, 3B/1B, University of Nebraska

Max Anderson assembled an amazing week for the Gatemen. The Wareham corner infielder hit .370 on the week, adding a home run and four RBI to his season totals. Anderson also added three multi-hit games, highlighted by a performance Thursday night in which he went 2-4 with a two-run homer and also added a walk. The Cornhusker also hit safely in all seven of his games this week, and will ride that seven-game hit streak into next week.

Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (11-6-2): Hunter Haas, SS/3B, Texas A&M

Y-D stayed hot this week, and Hunter Haas played a huge part in that. Haas hit .444 on the week for the Red Sox, bringing his average on the season up to .319. The Aggie infielder also added a homer and two RBI, to go alongside three runs scored this week. Haas has hit safely in six straight games, with four of those being multi-hit showings.