UNC Baseball: Down the Stretch at the Cape

Considering the late start that a lot of them had due to the College World Series, this baseball season down on Cape Cod must have felt like it’s flown by for the Tar Heels that journeyed up to Southeastern Massachusetts. In the blink of an eye, the regular season is almost over, and the Cape Cod League starts it’s last week of baseball before going into its playoffs this weekend.

The CCL has ten teams, and eight make the playoffs. As it stands, two teams with Tar Heels have clinched a spot: the Chatham Anglers and the Harwich Mariners. The other team with Tar Heels, the Brewster Whitecaps, is in last place in their division. However, they are only one point away from being in the playoff position so every game will matter up until this weekend.

With the All-Star game done, the Diamond Heels continue to make some noise for their teams. First off, Michael Busch got a shout out in the Chatham Anglers’ Notebook:

Since arriving in Chatham on July 3, Busch has been a consistent performer and one of the Anglers’ top players. But in the past week, he’s been especially good.

While Spencer Torkelson’s (Arizona State) production has dropped slightly, Busch’s has shot up, providing the pop needed from the middle of the batting order. Since July 20, Busch has nine more total bases (16) than any other A’s player and is batting 6-for-14 with three homers, and double and four runs scored.

Busch has accounted for half of Chatham’s run production in its last four games. The power-hitter has scored or driven in eight of the team’s 16 total runs during the span. Busch has especially enjoyed playing against the East Division-leading Red Sox, as he is 4-for-6 with three home runs in his last two games against Y-D.

Not to be outdone, Tyler Baum sat down with the Harwich Mariners for a nice interview. It goes into detail of his pitching as a whole, including some extended time on what it’s like pitching for the Tar Heels:

Austin Bergner drew the eye of Alex Rosen, the Mets writer for Baseball Prospectus:

Meanwhile, Ike Freeman is doing what he can to get Brewster into the playoffs. The Whitecaps posted video of this home run, one of the three he hit this week.

Looks like either way, it’s been a good summer for a lot of Diamond Heels. Next week we’ll see who gets to play on and who gets a few days off before the start of the school year. Meanwhile, here’s where everyone stands:

Tyler Baum, Harwich Mariners

Week of 7/22-7/28: DNP

2018 Season: 3 G, 12 IP, 0.75 ERA, 0-0, 0 SV, 12 K, 2 BB, 13 H

Austin Bergner, Chatham Anglers

Week of 7/22-7/28: 1 G, 6 IP, ND, 0 SV, 5 K, 1 BB, 6 H, 0 ER

2018 Season: 4 G, 22 2/3 IP, 2.38 ERA, 2-1, 0 SV, 26 K, 7 BB, 22 H

Michael Busch, Chatham Anglers

Week of 7/22-7/28: 5 G, 3-12, .250, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 6 BB, 1 K, 1 SB, 1 2B

2018 Season: 23 G, 23-79, .291, 5 HR, 13 RBI, 16 BB, 14 K, 2 SB, 3 2B

Ike Freeman, Brewster Whitecaps

Week of 7/22-7/28: 2 G, 3-8, .375, 3 HR, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K, 0 SB, 0 2B

2018 Season: 19 G, 13-55, .236, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 7 BB, 15 K, 0 SB, 1 2B

Joey Lancellotti, Orleans Firebirds (released 7/12)

2018 Season: 4 G, 13 1⁄3 IP, 3.37 ERA, 1-1, 0 SV, 17 K, 3 BB, 14 H

Brandon Martorano, Brewster Whitecaps

Week of 7/22-7/28: 3 G, 4-10, .400, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K, 0 SB

2018 Season: 18 G, 14-58, .241, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 BB, 21 K, 0 SB

Ashton McGee, Chatham Anglers

Week of 7/22-7/28: 3 G, 0-5, .000, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 SB

2018 Season: 20 G, 4-33, .121, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 4 BB, 11 K, 2 SB