This week in Baseball
4 August  2002

HARWICH -- The never-say-die Harwich Mariners picked up valuable ground in the hunt for a second place finish and playoff spot in the Eastern Division yesterday (Saturday, Aug. 3), defeating the visiting Brewster Whitecaps by a 6-1 tally.

Harwich slugger Ryan Goleski (Eastern Michigan) bashed two home runs versus Brewster last night to keep the Mariners in playoff contention. Sean Walsh/CCBL 2002

     The Whitecaps, 6-4 in their last 10 games, remained in second place with a 20-17-4 record and 44 points, while the Y-D Red Sox stayed in third place with a 20-19-2 record and 42 points. The Mariners, 4-6 in their last 10 games, stood in fourth place at 20-21-0 with 40 points, one win (worth two points) seperating each team, respectively.

     Harwich clean-up hitter Ryan Goleski (Eastern Michigan) upped his average to .246 with a 2-4 day, belting two solo home runs and collecting two RBI to pace the Mariners' lineup in the win at Whitehouse Field. The 6'9" Jeff Niemann (Rice) picked up his first win (1-2) of the season and lowered his ERA to 2.05 with 7 2/3 innings of work, eight strikeouts and only two walks. A combination of a Harwich win tonight (at Falmouth, 5:30 p.m.) with a loss by Y-D (at Wareham, 5:00 p.m.) would place Harwich and Y-D in a tie for third place, leaving Brewster still in second place given Brewster falls to Cotuit tonight at home. Should Brewster win tonight, the Whitecaps would gain two points in the standings but there would still be room for Y-D and 
Harwich to catch up. Harwich plays Brewster on the last day of the regular season (Tuesday, Aug. 6, 5 p.m. at Brewster).

     The Bourne Braves (15-22-4) were eliminated from playoff contention last night by the visiting Wareham Gatemen, 4-1. Wareham southpaw Jeremy Sowers (Vanderbilt) tossed all nine innings to raise his record to 5-4 and lower his ERA to 1.52. Sowers is in a three-way tie for most wins this summer (5) behind Brewster lefty Taylor Tankersley (Alabama) who has a 6-1 mark with a 1.50 ERA. Sowers is fifth in the league in strikeouts (56) and leads in complete games (2) and innings pitched (65.1). He struck out 12, walked two and scattered four hits, allowing one unearned run.

     While the Cotuit Kettleers clinched the regular-season Western Division title on Tuesday, July 30 versus Chatham, the first-place club faultered in a 11-4 beating by last-place Hyannis Saturday night at Lowell Park. Left-hander Joe Little (Arizona), who struck out the side in the first inning and had eight Ks and two walks, took the loss while Florida's Ben Hedgecock picked up the win, striking out six and walking three batters. Hyannis' Adam Fox (Ohio) went 4-5 with a home run and five RBI in his best offensive game of the summer. Travis Garcia (Iona) also homered for the Mets.

     The game meant nothing in terms of the standings in the West, but Falmouth's 7-3 loss to the Chatham A's edged the Commodores into a precarious, do-or-die situation this evening when the Harwich Mariners come to town. A Falmouth loss tonight versus Harwich, combined with a Wareham win versus Y-D, would eliminate Falmouth from playoff contention and clinch a playoff spot for Wareham.

     Chatham's Steve LeFaivre (Wake Forest) has been on a virtual tear this week, going 2-4 last night versus Falmouth with three RBI and one home run. He has five home runs on the season, three of which the Chatham left fielder hit in the past week.

    While Chatham, Hyannis and Bourne are no longer in the mix, Wareham, Falmouth, Harwich, Y-D and Brewster all remained in the hunt for the playoffs following last night's games (Aug. 3). Orleans clinched the East on Friday night (Aug. 2). Cotuit clinched the West on Tuesday (July 30).

 
-- Sean Walsh/CCBL 2002