UNC Baseball: The summer at the Cape is over

Summer is quickly disappearing before our eyes, and that means the Cape Cod League season has come to an end. Carolina fans have been keeping an eye on Eastern Massachusetts all summer, and for the playoffs, attention was focused on the Western Division where the remaining Tar Heels made the playoffs. The Chatham Anglers and Brewster Whitecaps faced off against other teams as the playoffs started.

Wouldn’t you know it turns out the teammates wanted to play each other. Brewster and Chatham dispatched their competition quickly to move on for the Western Division Title Series. On one side you had Michael Busch, Austin Bergner, and Ashton McGee sitting in Chatham, while Ike Freeman held down the fort over in Brewster. As any fan shouldn’t be surprised to find out, the team with the most Tar Heels won.

Chatham advanced to the Championship Series, and waiting for them was Wareham. They made easy dispatch of the Eastern Division, and had the benefit of an extra day as Chatham and Brewster had to deal with a rain out which interrupted their side. The Cape Cod League wants to get their playoffs completed as quickly as possible, so there was no time off for the Anglers.

To start the series, Chatham threw the man that had been their ace, Austin Bergner. Bergner had a great five-inning outing where he didn’t give up any earned runs. Unfortunately three runs DID score while he was on the Hill, and he took the loss as Wareham prevailed 5-3. Busch didn’t exactly help the cause for the Anglers, going a big 0-5 in the number three spot.

The final game of the year, to spoil the surprise, would be played in two parts thanks to fog that rolled in off of the Atlantic. Yes, in the Cape Cod League, a game will be postponed due to fog. Busch had a better game, going 2-5, but the Anglers couldn’t stop the freight train that was Wareham. The Gatemen won game two 9-3, and took down the title.

So as the dorms in Chapel Hill start to fill with students, a few Diamond Heels will take a few days at home before starting the 2018-19 school year. The experience will have been good for all of them, but if there are two takeaways fans should use for next season it’s this:

1) As you’ll see below, a wooden bat didn’t slow Michael Busch down. He had a great summer in Cape Cod and turned some heads. Expect to hear some talk about him being a high draft pick next spring, and he projects to be a big part of the lineup for the Heels.

2) Austin Bergner pitched really well against some of the best in college. It no doubt would have gotten the attention of the scouts camped out at the Cape, and he similarly has a chance to be a higher draft pick.

There’s a lot to like for Carolina fans coming off the Cape. Here are the final numbers for the year:

Tyler Baum, Harwich Mariners-Released

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

Austin Bergner, Chatham Anglers

2018 CCBL Playoffs: 2 G, 11 IP, 1.63 ERA, 1-1, 0 SV, 12 K, 2 BB, 8 H

2018 Season: 6 G, 33 2/3 IP, 2.14 ERA, 3-2, 0 SV, 38 K, 9 BB, 30 H

Michael Busch, Chatham Anglers

2018 CCBL Playoffs: 6 G, 7-24, .292, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 11 K, 1 SB, 2 2B,

2018 Season: 33 G, 36-114, .316, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 22 BB, 28 K, 4 SB, 6 2B

Ike Freeman, Brewster Whitecaps

2018 CCBL Playoffs: 4 G, 2-15, .133, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 0 SB, 0 2B

2018 Season: 27 G, 19-83, .229, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 7 BB, 18 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-Released 7/28

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

Ashton McGee, Chatham Anglers

CCBL Playofs: 2 G, 0-1, .000, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 0 SB, 0 2B

2018 Season: 25 G, 6-44, .136, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 5 BB, 14 K, 2 SB, 1 2B

We bid adieu to Cape Cod for another year. Next time you see these guys it’ll be February, and let’s hope the experience this summer helps them get back to Omaha next spring.