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.

Koch's Blast And Viramontes's Strong Performance Powers Firebirds Past Hyannis 7-5!

The Firebirds came into the game feeling pretty good after last night's win against Chatham. The 2008 Cape League All Star, Martin Viramontes (Loyola Marymount) took the rubber for Orleans against Hyannis's Trent Howard (Central Michigan). Viramontes went seven strong innings and allowed only three hits and one unearned run. He walked one and fanned two batters while lowering his ERA to 1.69 on the season.

Viramontes certainly got run support from the Firebirds' hitters. In the first inning, the league's hottest hitter, Kolten Wong (Hawai'i), doubled to lead off the bottom of the first. Kevin Muno (San Diego) moved Wong to second with a single and Jayce Boyd's (Florida State) double play ball scored him. Next inning, Matt Koch (Loyola Marymount) smacked a three-run home run over the fence in left-center field. In the fifth, Jayce Boyd doubled home Kevin Muno.

The Harbor Hawks scored a run in the fourth and two in the eighth to pull the score back to 5-3 in favor of Orleans. The Firebirds struck back in the eighth when Riccio Torrez (Arizona State) hit a double by ground's rule and scored on a squeeze bunt by Will Piwnica-Worms (Duke). Then, Shon Roe (Loyola Marymount) hit a sacrifice fly to score Torrez. Hyannis scored two runs in the top of the ninth but was stopped in the tracks of their attempt to pull off a comeback.

The Firebirds face the Falmouth Commodores on Sunday at Arnie Allen Diamond at 5:30pm. They have won two straight games and moved into fourth place in the Eastern Division. The Chatham Anglers have lost their last six games and sit one point [25] behind the Firebirds [26]. The Firebirds are now in hot pursuit of the Harwich Mariners [30] for third place in the East Division. In case you have not seen, you can follow the race to see who makes the playoffs on our "CCBL Playoff Picture" page. The link is located on the bar at the top of the page. Be sure to check back on Monday morning for an article on tomorrow night's game.

Firebirds Beat Harwich, Fall To Y-D, And Fall To Harwich All By One Run

The Firebirds beat the Harwich Mariners 3-2 on Monday. A three-run fifth inning capped the offense for Orleans. Steve Selsky (Arizona) doubled home Jayce Boyd (Florida State) to score the first run. Then, Matt Koch's (Loyola Marymount) single and a throwing error by the left fielder scored Selsky and Preston Tucker (Florida). Ryan Carpenter (Gonzaga) started the game and allowed the two Harwich runs over five and one-third innings. Jack Leathersich (UMass-Lowell), Will Clinard (Vanderbilt), Mitchell Lambson (Arizona State), and the closer Marcus Stroman (Duke) finished the remainder of the game without allowing a hit.

The Orleans Firebirds lost to the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox 3-2 on Tuesday. Y-D's first three runs came early and Orleans couldn't climb back. Shon Roe (Loyola Marymount) and Preston Tucker drove home the Firebirds' runs. Matt Sisto allowed three earned runs and watch his ERA increase to 1.73 on the season. Kolten Wong (Hawai'i) and Kevin Muno (San Diego) each had three hits for Orleans.

The Firebirds were defeated by Harwich 2-1 in 14 innings on Thursday at Whitehouse Field. Orleans and Harwich each scored a run in the first inning and could not score one throughout the next twelve. Orleans' run was scored on a Jason Esposito (Vanderbilt) RBI single. In the fourteenth, Clint Moore (Army) hit a ball back to Kenny Long (Illinois State). Long threw it passed the first baseman and it seemed that the ball went out of play. Selsky put his hands up to signal to the umpire that the ball had gone out of play, but the umpire did not stop play. Harwich scored on the play and got the win. The Firebirds protested the game and the call will be reviewed.

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.

Kevin Muno's 2 RBI's Help Take Down Wareham 3-0!

The Firebirds came into this game looking for a win after being swept in the Sunday double-header by Bourne. They got just what they were looking for tonight against Wareham. Matt Sisto (Hawai'i) started the game for Orleans and went five and one-third innings, allowed two hits, no runs, no walks, and one strikeout. Eric Pfisterer (Duke) started the game for the Gatemen and went six innings, allowed five hits, one run, and one walk, while striking out four.

The Firebirds started the scoring off early. In the bottom of the first, Kolten Wong (Hawai'i) doubled and was singled home by Steve Selsky (Arizona).

Will Clinard (Vanderbilt) came on after Sisto and threw one inning. Clinard allowed no runs, one hit, and two walks. He was relieved by Marcus Stroman (Duke) who threw two and two-thirds innings, allowing no hits, no runs, one walk, and five strikeouts.

In the bottom of the seventh with two outs, Matt Koch (Loyola Marymount) singled to start the rally. Then, Danny Muno (Fresno State) doubled out of the nine hole and moved Koch to third. Kevin Muno (San Diego) drove home Koch and his younger brother Danny home to expand the lead to 3-0.

The two runs were charged to Joseph Flynn (Franklin Pierce) who gave up three hits, no walks, and recorded no strikeouts. Andrew McKirahan (Texas) pitched the eighth for Wareham and gave up no runs on two hits.

Matt Sisto got the win. Eric Pfisterer took the loss. Marcus Stroman recorded the save. Jason Esposito (Vanderbilt), Danny Muno, and Steve Selsky each had two hits in the 3-0 win. Orleans hosts Yarmouth-Dennis tomorrow at 7:00pm and look for back-to-back home wins in their red caps.

Firebirds Beat Harwich 3-2 On Back-To-Back Hit-By-Pitches!

The Firebirds took down the Harwich Mariners tonight, 3-2, on my last day of school before summer vacation. Cameron Hobson (Dayton) got the start for the Firebirds and went six innings. He allowed one earned run, four hits, and two walks, while striking out one.

In the fourth inning, Will Piwnica-Worms (Duke) singled home Steve Selksy (Arizona) to give Orleans a 1-0 lead over Harwich.

In the sixth, the Firebirds increased their lead to 2-0 on a Matt Koch (Loyola Marymount) RBI single scoring Kevin Muno (San Diego). In the bottom of the sixth, Harwich got a run back on a home run by Brian Goodwin (North Carolina). This was the one run allowed by Hobson.

Burny Mitchem (Dayton) came on in the seventh and walked his first batter faced, John Hicks (Virginia). Kenny Long (Illinois State) took the hill with one out in the seventh. The first batter he faced, Aaron Conway (Missouri State) hit a sacrifice fly to score Hicks and tie the game, 2-2. Long threw two and two thirds innings, allowed no runs, one hit, two walks, and struck out two.

In the ninth, Mick Doyle (Notre Dame) struck out to start the inning followed by a Danny Muno (Fresno State) double. Kolten Wong (Hawai'i) then drew a walk and a wild pitch advanced both Muno and Wong. Kevin Muno was then hit by the pitch in the helmet to load the bases. Steve Selsky was hit by a pitch in the back that allowed Danny Muno to trot home and give Orleans a 3-2 lead. Long held off the Mariners in the bottom of the inning to seal the deal and get his second win of the season.

The Firebirds improved to 5-5-0 on the season. They play the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox tomorrow for the first time this season at 7:00pm at Eldredge Park.

I am going to start posting stories in addition to scores on the blog making it more personal and interesting. Also, there is a new "Fan Counter" on the left side of the page. If you hit refresh on the homepage, the sidebars will not appear. You need to hit the "Home" tab if you wish to refresh the page.

Firebirds Win 1-0 In Cotuit On Selsky's RBI Single!

The Orleans Firebirds came into today's game against the Cotuit Kettleers with a record of 0 wins, 3 losses, and 0 ties. Two of their losses were your traditional Cape Cod Baseball League game (a close, low scoring game).

Martin Viramontes (Loyola Marymount) took the hill for Orleans throwing heat. Viramontes pitched five solid innings allowing just two hits while walking one and striking out five. Burny Mitchem (Dayton) threw two innings in relief and allowed one hit and one walk, while striking out one. Kenny Long (Illinois State) then came in in the eighth and threw two perfect innings to get his first save of the season by preserving the Firebirds' first win of the season. In doing so, he struck out four batters and dropped his earned run average to 1.80!

In the third inning, Kolten Wong (Hawai'i) singled with two outs. Kevin Muno (San Diego) then doubled and advanced Wong to third. Steve Selsky (Arizona) then singled to score Kolten Wong. Kevin Muno was caught in a run down on the play and was tagged out trying to score.

Steve Selsky went 2 for 3, walked, and drove in a run. He now has the second highest batting average (.467) in the Cape League according to http://tinyurl.com/232efa6. Kolten Wong went 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Wong currently has the fifth highest batting average (.412) in the Cape League. He also leads the Cape Cod Baseball League in stolen bases with seven.

The Firebirds are beginning to piece it all together. Kolten Wong, Steve Selsky, Matt Koch, and Kevin Muno all continue to swing hot bats. In addition, the Firebirds have many talented players such as Preston Tucker (Florida). Will Geoghegan of Right Field Fog said in his article, "Go ahead and put Preston Tucker down as my Home Run Derby pick." The Firebirds currently have talent in Orleans and talent on the way to the Cape soon. Look for this Firebirds to get hot near the middle of the season and hopefully carry this into the postseason.

Orleans travels to Wareham tomorrow to play the first of their two double-headers that were required to include two extra teams (1 east and 1 west) in the playoffs. Both games of the double-header will be seven innings long, too.

2010 Roster Posted!

Highlighted by 4 returning players (Matt Koch, Riccio Torrez, Tommy Kahnle and Steve Selsky), the 2010 Orleans Firebirds' roster is on the bottom of the page until the season starts. For full details check out http://orleansfirebirds.com/roster.html

Also, the standings are updated with the Hyannis organization's name change to the Harbor Hawks.

Matt Koch: A Hero Again! ORL wins 3-2!

Matt Koch wins it in the bottom of the 9th for Orleans by driving in Ross Heffley and Jeremy Gould! He singled to left in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs, after fouling off 5 pitches. That's all for tonight as I have to finish packing for my trip to Orleans. Magic Number down to 2! D-H tomorrow at Wareham; no Twitter updates, sorry.

Firebirds Win 6 to 5 in 12 Innings!!!

Firebirds' ace, Rob Rasmussen took the hill for Orleans. He went 4 innings allowing 2 earned runs. Rasmussen left with the game tied 3-3. Steve Selsky's and Devin Lohman's home runs provided the first 3 runs of the game for Orleans.

The Firebirds got another run in the 5th on a very odd play. Mike Olt blooped one to center that Falmouth's center fielder, Todd Cunningham dropped. Running on 2 outs, Ross Heffley scored easily. Then, Danny Muno tried to score and was thrown out at home to end the inning with a mini-collision at the plate.

In the 9th, Orleans allowed 2 runs and Falmouth took a 5-4 lead over Orleans.

In the bottom of the 9th, Jaren Matthews reached on a walk. Gary Brown sacrifice bunted him over to 2nd. Devin Lohman moved him over on a ground out. Then, Matt Koch stepped to the plate and singled to left to drive Matthews in and tie the game.

On to the 12th now with Orleans batting. At this point, they could only tie or win because 12 is the maximum number of innings in the regular season that a game can go into. Kevin Muno, who went 4 for 5, walked. His younger brother, Danny tried to sacrifice bunt him over but drew a walk. Mike Olt was then intentionally walked. Jaren Matthews came up with 1 out and grounded to 2nd base. The 2nd basemen threw home and got Danny Muno out at home. The catcher tried to complete the double play by getting Matthews at 1st but threw it away; allowing Mike Olt to score the winning run for Orleans.

Magic Number down to 3 wins to make the playoffs! Remember, this number decreases every time that Orleans wins and (or) Brewster loses. Yarmouth-Dennis has clinched itself a playoff spot also. Orleans takes on Harwich at home on Friday. I may have coverage of that one on Twitter and may not. Also, they have a double-header at Wareham on Saturday. I will not have coverage of that on Twitter. The post for that game will probably just include the scores.

Also, Alex Hassan will sign a contract with the Red Sox Thursday at Fenway Park.

Beat Down In Bourne! Firebirds Win 11-1!

Remember Kevin Muno's 4-hit performance three nights ago? That was the 1st, 4-hit game Orleans had had in almost 2 years. The way the Firebirds have been playing, someone was bound to do it again. This time it was Devin Lohman. Lohman went 4 for 5 in Orleans 11-1 win over Bourne.

Orleans quickly got on the board with a Jaren Matthews RBI single in the 1st. Bourne put up 1 in the 2nd but the lead fell back into the Firebirds' hands in the 3rd on a Danny Muno 2-run double to score Gary Brown. Then, a Jaren Matthews sacrifice fly scored Danny Muno to make it a 4-1 Firebird lead.

Orleans went down quietly in the 4th which means its time to "explode" in the fifth. They did just that. Actually, they did more than that. The big inning began with singles by Alex Hassan and Jaren Matthews. Alex Hassan scored on a wild pitch. Steve Selsky was walked and that brought up Jeremy Gould. Gould hit a 3-run homer to drive in Matthews and Selsky to give Orleans an 8-1 lead. Then, Matt Koch started them back up with a single and was driven home on Devin Lohman's first "big fly" of the summer. 10-1 Orleans after 5.

Orleans didn't strike again until the 9th when Devin Lohman drove in Koch while grounding out. If Lohman could have gotten another hit, he would have became the first Orleans player to go 5 for 5 since "who knows when."

Orleans has a double header on Sunday against the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.

Kevin Muno Comes Up Big But Darkness Ends Game With Orleans Down 5-3

If only the game could have continued... Oh well, let's get started.

The Cotuit Kettleers got out to an early lead on a Cory Vaughn RBI single. Orleans responded with a double by Kevin Muno, a Muno stolen base and a Devin Lohman RBI single to tie it at 1-1.

The Kettleers then scored 2 in the bottom 3rd to take a 3-1 lead. Firebirds turn. They responded with 4 runs on a Matt Koch RBI double, an Alex Hassan RBI ground out, and a Riccio Torrez 2-run double. 5-3 Firebirds.

Then, it was all Kettleers from there as Cotuit scored 2 in the 6th and 1 in the 7th on Tony Plagman's 2 RBI's before the game was called. 8-5 Kettleers over the Firebirds.

Gary Brown and Devin Lohman had 2 hits each for the Firebirds. The real stud, however, was Kevin Muno. Muno went 4 for 4, and stole 2 bases. The starting pitchers, Cole Cook and Seth Blair, each went 4 innings allowing 5 earned runs. Benjamin Rowen picked up the win and Tommy Kahnle got the loss. The 15-11 Firebirds travel to Harwich on Friday to take on the former Cape League champion Mariners.

4 Run 2nd Lifts Kettleers Over Birds

The Firebirds got off to a 1 run lead in the 1st but were unable to hold it as Matt Hiserman surrendered 4 runs in the top of the 2nd. The Firebirds were unable to claw their way back in this one and took the loss, 6 to 2. Mike Olt and Alex Hassan both went 1 for 4 with an RBI. Jaren Matthews and Matt Koch each had 2 hits in the loss. Brian Guinn and Cory Vaughn each had 2 RBI's in Cotuit's win. Thier pitcher, Jake Buchanan pitched a CG allowing 1 earned run on 6 hits.

Orleans is now 15-10-0 and still sits at the top of the East. They take on Brewster today and look to start a new winning streak.