By: Mike Campbell - CCBL Intern
FENWAY PARK, Mass—As the 2011 Cape Cod League All-Stars found themselves taking the field at Fenway Park, walking the same steps that Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and many of the best to ever play the game have walked, no one could blame them for being a little nervous. Those butterflies translated into some uncharacteristic hiccups in a frantic first three innings of the 2011 Cape Cod League All-Star Game, which the East won 4-1. The West wasted no time getting on board, opening the scoring in the first inning off East starter Taylor Rogers (Kentucky). Bourne’s Travis Jankowski (Stony Brook) led off with a single, and scored on an error by East first baseman Ben Waldrip (Jacksonville State). The RBI was credited to Eric Stamets (Evansville) of Hyannis, who bunted for a base hit before Waldrip threw the ball away. The jitters continued in the top of the second, where the East scored two runs off Scott Firth (Hyannis). Y-D’s Stephen Piscotty (Stanford) reached on an infield single to begin the inning, and teammate Mason Katz (LSU) picked him up with a double. The throw home was high, and Firth threw the ball into left field in an attempt to catch Katz at third. Katz would score on his own double, helped home by two errors. “We made a couple mistakes in the second inning there,” said West coach Harvey Shapiro, manager of Bourne, “they probably should have got one run, but we threw the ball around there a little bit.” Before fans could catch their breath, the East struck again in the top of the third. Ryan Jones (Michigan State) of Brewster singled off Bourne’s Josh Conway (Coastal Carolina), moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a single by teammate Jason Monda (Wahington State). That was all the East staff would need, as the West did not sniff the scoreboard again for the rest of the game. Matt Koch (Louisville) of Chatham, Tony Bucciferro (Michigan State) of Brewster, Tyler Johnson (Stony Brook) of Orleans, J.T. Chargois (Rice) of Brewster, Chris Overman (NC State) of Harwich all posted consecutive scoreless innings for the East. “When you get these starters and closers who can go out for one inning and blow it out…pretty nice, isn’t it?” said Y-D manager and East coach Scott Pickler, in reference to the strong pitching of the East staff. Chris Beck (Georgia Southern) was able to throw a scoreless top of the fourth for the West, but the East stuck again in the fifth, when Y-D’s James Ramsey (Florida State) laced a John Farrell (William and Mary) offering into the bullpen in right-center for a solo home run. “Just got a fastball, put good wood on it,” Ramsey said. “The adrenaline’s obviously going, playing in this park.” Hyannis’ Dietrich Enns (Central Michigan) was able to survive the sixth unscathed for the West despite surrendering a leadoff double. Bobby Wahl (Cotuit) followed suit with mid-90s fastballs to leave the score at 4-1 after six and a half. After the crowd belted out “Sweet Caroline” during the seventh innings stretch, the East pitching picked up where it had left off, as Brewster’s Austin Voth (Washington), Harwich’s Carter Capps (Mount Olive), and Trevor Gott (Kentucky) of Orleans finished off a flawless three innings for the East. Wareham’s Konner Wade (Arizona) and John Simms (Rice)of Falmouth would also throw scoreless innings to end on a high note for the West. All told, the East staff would surrender only one unearned run to the acclaimed West lineup. The final score of the 2011 Cape Cod League All-Star Game ended in a victory for the East, 4-1. “Their pitching was a little bit better than ours, and it showed up in the score,” Shapiro said.  |
