|
Musings on the Mariners At the midway point of the season the Mariners are still in the thick of the playoff hunt. At 10-11 they are in third place but sit only two wins out of the playoff race. They are currently is the midst of a three-game losing streak, including two one-run losses. The Mariners started the week on a high note downing Hyannis and Orleans, both by a score of 3-1.
Those two wins featured starters Anthony Varvaro (St. John’s) and Dan Brauer (Northwestern) who continue to lead the Harwich staff. Brauer is tied for the league lead in wins (4) and Varvaro is in the top 10 in ERA at 1.04. In the win July 7 over the Mets, Varvaro went eight innings and allowed only one run on six hits to up his record to 2-1. The Mariners got the offensive spark from center fielder Ben Copland. The Pittsburgh standout was 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a run score. Catcher John Slone (Miami Ohio) added two hits from the cleanup spot. On July 8, Brauer continued his winning ways as he once again used the strikeout to dominate opposing batters. He went 6.1 innings giving up one run on two hits while fanning nine. He now has 36 strikeouts in 24.2 innings pitched and is undefeated at 4-0. After giving up a hit and a walk in the first inning, he bounced back to retire the next 16 batters he faced. Kevin Lynch (Florida State) and Craig Hansen (St. John’s) closed it out for Brauer with Hansen collecting his fifth save. Tim Grogan (Western Kentucky) provided all the offense the Mariners would need. In the top of the seventh he connected for a three-run homer over the right field fence. It was Grogan’s first homer of the season and the three RBIs gave him a team high of 10. The Mariners followed those two victories with three tough losses in a row. On July 9, they led going into the bottom of the ninth at Cotuit but the Kettlers rallied to tie and won it 2-1 in the 10th. Zach Ward (Gardner-Webb) pitched eight scoreless innings, but got a no decision. He struck out eight and lowered his ERA to 0.84, putting him fifth in the league. On July 10, the Mariners could find no answers to Bourne standout Mike Madsen. The Ohio State junior pitched a complete game shutout to lower his ERA to 0.64 (second in the league). On July 12 The Mariners were plagued by four costly errors in an 8-7 loss to the league-leading Whitecaps. Brewster trailed 7-6 entering the ninth but scored two unearned runs on two Harwich errors to grab the victory. Clete Thomas (Auburn) had five RBIs for Harwich.
|
|||||||
