15 July, 2005

Brewcaps hope for turnaround

The Brewster Whitecaps are hoping Wednesday's big bat attack against the first-place Orleans Cardinals is a harbinger of good days to come. 

Brewster beat Orleans 5-3 to improve to 10-13, rolling up 12 hits. Leadoff man Matt Cusick of USC had three hits, including a double and two RBI. Right fielder Craig Cooper singled three times, scored and knocked in a run. 

Big (232 lb.) Aaron Bates doubled and singled. Dan Dorn doubled in two runs, and Kelly Edmundson doubled and scored. Tommy Lentz of tiny Winthrop remained Brewster's top hitter at .286 with a single for his team-high 24th hit. 

But the brightest of the bright spots was starter P.J. Walters of South Alabama. He held the Cards to just three hits over seven frames while striking out seven. Walters is 5-0, the best record in the Cape League. He has a 1.50 ERA in 30 innings while whiffing 35. 

Walters isn't overpowering, although he had a stunning 123 strikeouts and four walks in his senior year in high school. He was 9-6 at Southern Alabama this year. 

"P.J. Walters was outstanding," said Brewster manager Bob Macaluso Wednesday. "He's been our brightest spot on the mound. He's doing a great job every time out. They couldn't hit his off-speed stuff at all, and he had command of all his pitches tonight. He throws a lot of off-speed, and he has a great curve. He can throw it on any count. He spots up the fastball well." 

Brewster is batting .242 as a team. While the Whitecaps don't have any .300 hitters, they have quite a few swingers above .200, which isn't bad for the Cape League. 

The Caps got eight hits out of the first four batters against Orleans. 

"It always helps to have our big guys hitting," Macaluso said. "I was pleased with how they swung the bat. We've been struggling a little bit. We haven't had consistent starts on the mound, but the guys are playing hard, and hopefully in the second half we'll get some wins. They guys are hanging in there." 

Jonathan Hovis nailed down the save over Orleans, his second of the year. Starter Heath Rollins (2-1 2.74) has pitched pretty well, but two other Brewcap starters, Conor Lalor and Sergio Perez are a combined 1-5 with a 6.38 ERA in 36 2/3 innings.