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 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.

Simon Rolls Against Y-D And 'Birds Fall Short To Brewster And Bourne

On Thursday, Kyle Simon (Arizona) took the hill for the Firebirds and continued his dominance. Simon tossed eight innings and allowed five hits, one earned run, one walks, and four strikeouts. Simon's 0.69 earned run average sits among the league leaders along with teammate Matt Sisto's (Hawai'i) 0.84 earned run average. John Brebbia (Elon) threw a perfect ninth out of the bullpen and struck out two. Orleans' bullpen has been "lights out" lately.

The Firebirds' tied the game up in the second on Steve Selsky's (Arizona) RBI single. In the fourth, the 'Birds took the lead on Selsky's solo home run. In the fifth, an RBI single by Jayce Boyd (Florida State) made it 3-1. In the seventh, RBIs by Riccio Torrez (Arizona State) and Jayce Boyd made it 5-1 and a wild pitch scoring Matt Newman (Arizona State) added another.

The Firebirds won this one 6-1 over Yarmouth-Dennis. Also, Danny Muno (Fresno State) was released by Orleans and signed by Yarmouth-Dennis. Muno started for the Red Sox and went 0 for 2.


On Friday, the Firebirds took on the league's top team, the Brewster Whitecaps. They lost this one 4-3 and almost pulled off a great comeback.

The first Firebird run was scored in the third on a Matt Koch (Loyola Marymount) single to score Jason Esposito (Vanderbilt). In the seventh, the Firebirds scored their second run on a Matt Newman single that scored Matt Koch. In the ninth, Preston Tucker (Florida) doubled home Kevin Muno (San Diego) to pull within one run of Brewster. The Firebirds then had runners on the corners and were unable to bring them in.

Cameron Hobson (Dayton) went five innings and allowed three hits, three earned runs, two walks, and two strikeouts. Burny Mitchem (Dayton) allowed the fourth Whitecap run during his two innings of work on a Kirk Singer (Long Beach State) home run. Kenny Long (Illinois State) allowed one hit and no runs in the eighth and Jack Leathersich (UMass-Lowell) pitched a perfect ninth.

Andrew Gagnon (Long Beach State) got the win and improved to 4-0 on the season. He appears to be one of the better pitchers in the league, along with Matt Sisto, Kyle Simon, and his Brewster teammate Anthony Ranaudo (LSU). Ranaudo is from Jackson, NJ (which is about ten minutes away from where I live) and was drafted very early by the Boston Red Sox in 2010. His starts are being followed closely by the Cape Cod Times and their Twitter page www.Twitter.com/capeleagueCCT.

The Firebirds were rained out on Saturday against Falmouth.

On Sunday, the Firebirds lost to the Bourne Braves 2-0. They struggled at the plate and only had two hits on the game. In the ninth, however, Preston Tucker sent a deep fly ball to the fence that almost gave Orleans a 3-2 lead. It was caught and the game ended.

Andrew Kittredge (Washington) let up the two Bourne runs and got the loss. Kenny Long, Will Clinard (Vanderbilt) and Marcus Stroman (Duke) combined to allow no runs on one hit (allowed by Long).

The Firebirds try to gain ground on Harwich for the last playoff spot on Monday night at 7:00pm.

Firebirds Fall To Y-D 3-2 And To Brewster 6-2

Sorry for the lack of blog posts; I haven't had much time to blog because of work.

The Firebirds lost to Yarmouth-Dennis yesterday 3-2. Jayce Boyd (Florida State) 'went yard' in his first at-bat as a Firebird. However, Ben McMahan's (Florida) 2-run double in the bottom of the seventh gave Yarmouth-Dennis the lead and eventually the win.

Earlier today, the Firebirds lost to the division leading Brewster Whitecaps 6-2. Martin Viramontes (Loyola Marymount) struggled early and gave up four runs in the first two innings. Elliott Glynn (UConn) gave up the other two runs. Burny Mitchem (Dayton) and John Brebbia (Elon) finished out the game and threw a combined two and one-third innings of perfect baseball. Matt Newman (Arizona State) went 3 for 4 in the loss and Kevin Muno (San Diego) hit a home run to left.

The Firebirds drop to 7-11 and are quickly falling behind Brewster, Yarmouth-Dennis, and Chatham. The Firebirds host the Chatham Anglers tomorrow on July 4th, 2010. Be sure to watch for some great Firebirds baseball and red, white, and blue bases.

Firebirds Fall To Harbor Hawks 3 To 2 In 11 Innings

The Orleans Firebirds opened up their season Monday night in Hyannis taking on the Harbor Hawks. Matt Sisto (Hawai'i) took the hill for the Firebirds and gave up a two-run home run to Jason Nappi (Harding University) in the first. After giving up the big fly, Sisto settled down and was unhittable. Sisto went five innings and gave up three hits and two earned runs. Burny Mitchem (Dayton), Jack Leathersich (UMass-Lowell), and John Brebbia (Elon) combined for four scoreless innings of relief. Pictured is the infield (Left to Right) 3B-Kolten Wong, SS-Shon Roe, 1B-Dennis O'Grady, and 2B-Danny Muno during Leathersich's warmup.

Trent Howard (Central Michigan) took the hill for the Harbor Hawks. He went five and two-thirds innings and allowed two earned runs on six hits. Howard was going strong until the sixth inning when he gave up a leadoff single to Shon Roe (Loyola Marymount), a single to Kevin Muno (San Diego), and a sacrifice bunt by Danny Muno (Fresno State) to move the runners over. Kolten Wong (Hawai'i) singled home Roe to pull the 'Birds within one run. One of Orleans' best hitters, returning Firebird Steve Selsky (Arizona) laid down an unexpected bunt to bring Kevin Muno home and tie the game at two.

In the eleventh inning, the Firebirds loaded up the bases but stranded all three runners as Dallas Gallant (Sam Houston State) got Hyannis out of a jam. The Harbor Hawks came up in the bottom of the eleventh against Kenny Long (Illinois State) and their first two batters, Corey McElroy (Auburn) and Dane Phillips (Oklahoma State) reached base with a walk and a bunt single. Jason Nappi singled to load the bases for Cody Stubbs (Tennessee). Stubbs put the ball into the outfield like he was assigned to do, and got the sacrifice fly that he needed to bring McElroy in and put a "1" in the win column for Hyannis.

Kevin Muno did an impressive job in the leadoff spot for the Firebirds with two hits, a stolen base, and a run. Muno is in his third season for Orleans. He played for Orleans for half of the 2007 season, the entire 2009 season, and now the 2010 season. His younger brother Danny returns as well after playing for the Firebirds in 2009. Kevin Muno and Martin Viramontes (Loyola Marymount) are the only two players left on the Firebirds 2010 roster who played for the "Orleans Cardinals." Also returning to the Firebirds is catcher, Matt Koch (Loyola Marymount).

The Firebirds pitching looked great tonight, too. We are still awaiting the arrival of some key pitchers. Mitchell Lambson (Arizona State), Nolan Belcher (South Carolina), and Alex Panteliodis (Florida). We also await the arrival of  big bats, Riccio Torrez, Drew Maggi, and Matt Newman (Arizona State), Jayce Boyd (Florida State), and powerhouse Preston Tucker (Florida). They are all still playing in the College World Series so good luck to all of them!

First baseman and pitcher Nick Ramirez (CS-Fullerton) were recently eliminated by former Firebird Rob Rasmussen's (UCLA) unbelievable outing. Also on their way up to the Cape are Joe Loftus, Will Clinard, and Jason Esposito (Vanderbilt).

Tune in on Tuesday, June 15th, 2010 as the Firebirds host the Brewster Whitecaps at 7:00pm.