Firebirds Fall to 11-11-3 After 2-0 Loss to Gatemen

Tonight's game against the Wareham Gatemen featured very little offense supporting the stereotypical idea of the Cape League as primarily a pitchers' league. Wareham's Joshua Turley (Baylor) dominated the Firebirds offense tonight, striking out 8 and allowing just 1 hit through 5 innings pitched.

On the Firebirds side of things, Ryan Carpenter (Gonzaga) threw 6 strong innings despite picking up the loss. Carpenter's two big mistakes came in the second inning when he game up back-to-back solo home runs to Daniel Palka (Georgia Tech) and Johnny Field (Arizona). Carpenter allowed 5 hits and 2 runs through 6 innings while striking out 7 Gatemen.

A strong bullpen combination of Pat Butler (UConn), Kyle Hunter (Dartmouth), and Tyler Gebler (Rutgers) finished off the game for Orleans.

The Firebirds only hit through the first 8 and 2/3 innings came in the first inning off the bat of Matt Duffy (Long Beach State). With two outs in the ninth, Jayce Boyd (Florida State) tried to rally the 'Birds with a double but it was just too little too late.

The Firebirds now sit in third place in the East Division with a record of 11-11-3 and 25 points. Harwich and Brewster sit at the top of the East with 32 and 29 points respectively. Y-D is in fourth place with 23 points followed by Chatham's 13.

Ben Waldrip's (Jacksonville State) 5 home runs have him tied for the league lead with Victor Roache (Georgia Southern) of Cotuit. There is the possibility we may see him in the Home Run Derby at Fenway Park before the Cape League All-Star Game on July 29.

Matt Duffy and Matt Koch (Loyola Marymount) are tied for the team's high batting average at .294. Andrew Aplin (Arizona State) follows them with a .290 average; Steve Selsky (Arizona) trails with his .253 average.

Ryan Carpenter leads the Orleans pitching staff with 20 strikeouts. Closer, Trevor Gott's (Kentucky) 6 saves seem to be going unnoticed. Gott has a 0.77 ERA with 14 strikeouts.

The Firebirds try to end their two-game losing skid tomorrow night against the Y-D Red Sox at 5:00pm.

Firebirds Enter July a Bit Above .500

It's been a while since I last blogged about the 'Birds because I've been pretty busy lately. On that note, I have a lot of catching up to do. I'm not going to do this the way I usually do with a game-by-game recap but more of a summary on how the team has been doing lately. Here we go.

The Firebirds' record of 8-7-1 has them tied for second in points (17) right now with Brewster. Because Brewster has played one less game and has one less loss, they currently own the second place spot. Harwich currently sits at the top of the East Division with their 10-6-0 record and 20 total points.

The Firebirds roster has seen some new additions lately. Some players were signed or activated while others were released. On the left side of the page, I highlighted the recent additions to the roster (from 6/21 to 7/1) in red.

Matt Duffy (Long Beach State) has been swinging a hot bat of late, hitting .333 with 17 hits and 3 RBI. He leads the 'Birds in batting average, at bats, and hits (as of 7/1).

Steve Selsky (Arizona) picked up where he left off in 2010. Despite seeing his average drop lately, Selsky is still batting .292 with 14 hits, 2 home runs, and 10 RBI. In a pitching-dominated league like the Cape, those are some pretty good numbers.

Ben Waldrip (Jacksonville State) is hitting .268 with 11 hits, 3 home runs, and 10 RBI. His 3 home runs not only lead the Firebirds but also tie him for the league lead in home runs.

Tyler Johnson (Stony Brook) leads the team in wins with his 2-0 record. Johnson has a 1.62 ERA in 16.2 innings pitched and has also struck out 9 batters.

Relievers, John Brebbia (Elon) and Kenny Long (Illinois State) are tied for the team high in strike outs with 10. Brebbia has yet to allow an earned run (as of 7/1).

The Firebirds next game is tonight at Bourne at 6:00pm.

Also, don't forget to buy your tickets for the Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game at Fenway Park on Friday, July 29, 2011. Visit http://mlb.mlb.com/bos/ticketing/cape_cod_league.jsp to purchase tickets online and also check out http://v2.capecodbaseball.org/allstar/ on the new CCBL site for more information.

Firebirds Getting Hot, Win 4 of Last 5!

The Firebirds quickly ended their two-game losing streak against the Falmouth Commodores on Friday (6/17). Steve Selsky (Arizona) drove in 4 runs on a double and two singles. Ben Waldrip (Jacksonville State) added a home run to the offensive show. The 'Birds took this one 7-4.

The Firebirds came into Saturday's game against Wareham looking to stay hot. They did just that. Jake Hernandez (USC) highlighted the Orleans offense with a 3-run triple in the second inning. Steve Selsky added a home run in the 5th. Orleans held off Wareham 7-3.

The Firebirds hosted a double-header against Cotuit on Sunday. Although game one was only won by a score of 4-3, the Firebirds put on a home run derby. Maxx Tissenbaum (Stony Brook) hit a 2-run homer in the third inning. Ben Waldrip followed that up with a solo shot of his own in the fourth. Then, Steve Selsky joined the home run parade in the fifth inning. Ryan Carpenter (Gonzaga) got the win and Trevor Gott (Kentucky) picked up the save.

In game two, Marcus Stroman (Duke) took the hill for Orleans. He struck out three in three innings. He did not allow any runs (as he hasn't in any of his 29 innings pitched, dating back to last summer). Shon Roe (Loyola Marymount) put Orleans on the board with an RBI-single. Rudy Flores (FIU) hit the go-ahead home run for the Firebirds in the sixth inning resulting in a 2-1 Orleans victory.

On Tuesday night, Orleans lost to Brewster 4-2. Brandon Williams' (Georgia State) RBI-single gave Orleans their first run. Williams scored the second run on Mike Marjama's (Long Beach State) RBI-double late in the game. Brewster's 3-run fourth inning and an insurance run in the sixth was enough to hold off the Firebirds.

Firebirds Win One, Lose Two, Tie One After 3 Days Off

From Satursay (6/11) to Monday (6/13), the Firebirds saw five games either cancelled due to rain or unplayable field conditions.

After a short break from baseball, the Firebirds traveled to South Yarmouth on Tuesday to take on the Y-D Red Sox. Steve Selsky (Arizona) doubled in a run in the first to give Orleans an early lead. Y-D then responded with a run in the second and a run in the sixth. In the eighth, Ben Waldrip (Jacksonville State) singled home Maxx Tissenbaum (Stony Brook) to tie the game at 2-2. Kyle Hunter (Dartmouth) struck out 2 and allowed 1 run and 5 hits in 4 2/3 innings. Marcus Stroman (Duke) pitched the seventh, eighth, and ninth. Stroman walked 1, allowed 1 hit, and struck out 5.

On Wednesday, the Firebirds took the first game of the double-header against Hyannis 5-1. Orleans opened the game up in the third inning by scoring 4 runs. Tyler Gebler (Rutgers) pitched 5 solid innings and got the win.The Firebirds then dropped game two 3-0 on a three-run walk-off homer by Hyannis's Dan Gulbransen (Jacksonville).

Orleans dropped last night's game 3-0 to the Wareham Gatemen. Wareham's Justin Amlung (Louisville) pitched 6 solid innings and got the win. Alex Sherrod (USC) had the only hit of the game for the Firebirds.

The 2-2-1 Firebirds take on Falmouth tonight at 7:00pm. For full coverage check out the last link on the "Links" page at the top of the screen.

Firebirds Kick Off Season With 2-0 Win Over Harwich!

On Friday night, the Orleans Firebirds kicked off what will hopefully be a solid 2011 summer season with a 2-0 win over the Harwich Mariners. In front of an Eldridge Park crowd of about 1,100, Tyler Johnson (Stony Brook) threw 6 solid innings, allowed 3 hits, and struck out 2.

In the first inning, the Firebirds loaded the bases on singles by Will Piwnica-Worms (Duke) and Maxx Tissenbaum (Stony Brook) followed by a walk to Steve Nyisztor (Rutgers). Ben Waldrip (Jacksonville State) then hit a sacrifice fly to left that drove home Pwinica-Worms and put Orleans on the board. Then, in the bottom of the fourth, third-baseman Steve Nyisztor, hit a home run over the left field wall to put Orleans up 2-0.

John Brebbia (Elon) tossed two scoreless innings; he struck out two and allowed two hits. Trevor Gott (Kentucky) worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to record his first save of the season.

The Firebirds are rained out for tonight against Bourne. Next, they travel to McKeon Field on Sunday for a double-header against the Hyannis Harbor Hawks. Tune in at 4:00pm to the Firebirds broadcast (new link on helpful link page) for full coverage of the double-header.

Adam Wilk Called Up To The Show!

Former Orleans Cardinals pitcher Adam Wilk (Long Beach State) was called up to the Detroit Tigers today. Wilk pitched for the Cardinals in 2008 and was named to the Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star team. Wilk pitched in 21 games and threw 32 innings for the Cards in 2008. He finished the season with a record of 2-1 and an ERA of 1.69.

Wilk joins former Cardinals pitcher Ryan Perry (Arizona) in the Detroit Tigers bullpen. Perry pitched on the Cape in the summer of 2007. Wilk was drafted in the 11th round of the 2009 MLB Draft.

New Season, New Website!

The Orleans Firebirds official team website is brand new! It now features a navigation bar at the top of the page and includes some awesome new features and pages on the side bar. Be sure to visit the team Facebook page and let them know how you like it!