UNC Baseball: Cape Cod playoffs have begun

The regular season is done. After an exhaustive couple of months grinding out games on the shores of Southeastern Massachusetts, the Cape Cod League has entered the playoff portion of their season.

Last week we talked about how a few Diamond Heels had already made it to the postseason, and this week we are happy to report the one who was staring at missing them, Ike Freeman’s Brewster Whitecaps, pulled through in the end. Thanks to some rough weather in Massachusetts, the first games were delayed, and the playoffs will look like this:

East Division:

Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox Vs. Brewster Whitecaps

Chatham Anglers Vs. Harwich Mariners

West Division:

Wareham Gatemen Vs. Cotuit Kettleers

Hyannis Harbor Hawks Vs. Falmouth Commodores

Each series is a best two out of three, with the winner of the East ultimately taking on the winner of the West for the right to call themselves Cape Cod League Champions. For the purpose of the teams we care about, ignore the West Division as all the Tar Heels in the CCL play in the East. It’s very likely teammates will have to take each other out in order to try and win it all.

Meanwhile, those Diamond Heels have been continuing to make their mark. In Chatham, not only is Austin Bergner pitching some gems, he’s actually responsible for ground work on the field:

Bergner also won the Most Outstanding Player for the Anglers along with Alek Manoah from West Virginia:

Meanwhile, Michael Busch has continued his slugging for Chatham, getting an important enough hit to warrant being interviewed after his game this past Wednesday:

Ashton McGee completes the trio for Chatham. Tyler Baum should be facing them on the other side, but Buam hasn’t pitched since mid-July, and he no longer appears on their roster. No real word on what happened, as his pitching was strong. Hopefully it’s just precautionary and he’ll be ready for the 2019 season.

Meanwhile, over in Brewster Ike Freeman leads the Whitecaps agains the Red Sox. Brandon Martorano was a teammate of Freeman’s, but even though he put up a great week prior, the Whitecaps decided to let him go on back to Chapel Hill.

We’ll see who the last Heels standing will be, meanwhile let’s see how everyone is doing:

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

Week of 7/29-8/4: DNP

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 7/29-8/4: 4 G, 6-11, .545, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 SB, 1 2B

2018 Season: 27 G, 29-90, .322, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 19 BB, 17 K, 3 SB, 4 2B

Ike Freeman, Brewster Whitecaps

Week of 7/29-8/4: 4 G, 4-13, .308, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K, 0 SB, 0 2B

2018 Season: 23 G, 17-68, .250, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 7 BB, 17 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

Week of 7/29-8/4: 3 G, 2-10, .200, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 SB, 1 2B

2018 Season: 23 G, 6-43, .140, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 5 BB, 13 K, 2 SB, 1 2B

Good luck to all the Diamond Heels in the playoffs, and we’ll check in next week!