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.

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 Win 2 In A Row!

On Monday, the Firebirds faced the Chatham Anglers at Veterans Field and won 2-1.

Ryan Carpenter (Gonzaga) started the game and went five and one-third innings, allowing one run, four hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. The run came on a Brian Humphries (Pepperdine) sacrifice-fly that scored Dan Paolini (Siena) in the third. Burny Mitchem (Dayton), John Brebbia (Elon), and Mitchell Lambson (Arizona State) combined to throw a perfect two and two-thirds innings. Marcus Stroman (Duke) pitched the ninth and allowed one hit while striking out one. Stroman earned himself the save.

The two Firebird runs came in the seventh and eighth when Will Piwnica-Worms (Duke) and Kolten Wong (Hawai'i) scored unearned runs due to errors.

Today, the Firebirds took on the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox at Red Wilson Field in a game that lasted ten innings. The Firebirds won this one 5-3.

The Firebirds were finally able to benefit from errors in the first inning when Kolten Wong (who reached base on an error) scored on another error.

Matt Sisto (Hawai'i) continued his excellence on the mound so far this season. Sisto went five innings, allowing no runs, two hits, no walks, and four strikeouts. Sisto dropped his earned run average to 0.84 on the season!

Jack Leathersich (UMass-Lowell) (who was released and then signed to a full contract due to the release of Elliott Glynn (UConn)) gave up a two-run home run to Matt Watson (Boston College). In the seventh, Matt Vinson (Arkansas) doubled home a run off of Joe Loftus (Vanderbilt). Loftus was relieved by Will Clinard (Vanderbilt).

In the bottom of the ninth, the Y-D Red Sox loaded the bases against Clinard. Mitchell Lambson came on in relief and was miraculously able to work Orleans out of a bases loaded, no out jam!

The Firebirds took advantage of Lambson's performance and wasted no time at all. Kolten Wong singled, followed by a Matt Newman (Arizona State) single. Then, with one out, Jayce Boyd (Florida State) singled them both home to give Orleans a 5-3 lead. The lead was preserved by Mitchell Lambson's one-two-three tenth inning.

Orleans improves to 9-12-0 and is currently tied with Harwich for the last playoff position. They are off tomorrow but host Yarmouth-Dennis on Thursday.

Also, I found out that the reason Alex Panteliodis (Florida) is not playing in Orleans is because he is having hip surgery over the summer.

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 Get Their Fourth Straight Win! 5-3 Over Cotuit!

Marcus Stroman (Duke) started the game for Orleans and threw five scoreless innings whiles striking out five and only allowing three hits. Cameron Hobson (Dayton) came on in relief and allowed Cotuit to cross the plate twice on sacrifice flies. Dennis O'Grady (Duke) then came on and threw one and two-thirds perfect innings. Burny Mitchem (Dayton) came on in the ninth, loaded the bases, and allowed a run; but eventually picked up the save and sealed the win for Orleans.

Kolten Wong (Hawai'i) lead off the bottom of the first with a single, followed by consecutive walks to Kevin Muno (San Diego), Steve Selsky (Arizona), and Will Piwnica-Worms (Duke). Wong scored on Piwnica-Worms' walk. Then, Shon Roe (Loyola Marymount) hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Kevin Muno. Ronnie Shaeffer (UC-Irvine) followed with a sacrifice fly of his own to center that scored Selsky. The Orleans Firebirds scored three runs in the first inning on just one hit.

In the second inning, Steve Selsky hit a sacrifice fly to center that plated Cam Kneeland (UMass-Lowell) and put Orleans up 4-0.

In the fifth, Will Piwnica-Worms singled home Kevin Muno after he stole third two pitches earlier.

Will Piwnica-Worms was the offensive star of the game for Orleans. He went 2 for 4 and drove in two runs. Steve Selsky now leads the Cape Cod Baseball League in batting average with his .478 average. Kolten Wong also added to his league leading 8 stolen bases.

The Orleans Firebirds are starting to piece everything together. Will Clinard, Jason Esposito, and Joe Loftus (All from Vanderbilt) should be in Orleans and activated for Tuesday. Elliott Glynn (UConn) is also back in Orleans after playing for the Firebirds in 2009 and the Cardinals in 2008. The Firebirds are off tomorrow and host the Brewster Whitecaps on Tuesday at 7:00pm.

Chatham's Oropesa Hits Walk-Off Homer In The 13th

Last night, Cameron Hobson (Dayton) got the Firebirds started off right against Chatham. He went six innings and allowed one earned run on just four hits. That one run crossed the plate due to a balk.

In the fifth, Will Piwnica-Worms got on base and was picked off because he broke for second too early. The umpires ruled that Chatham's pitcher, Joe Zimmerman (New Orleans) balked. Mick Doyle (Notre Dame) came to the plate and hit a clutch double to tie the score at 1.

Kolten Wong (Hawai'i) hit a solo home run in the eigth to put the 'Birds up 2-1. In the ninth, Dan Paolini (Siena) tied the game with an RBI single. Yet again, the Firebirds would need more than nine innings to decide the game.

Things were going smoothly for the Firebirds until the thirteenth inning. Rick Oropesa (USC) hit a three-run home run off of Dennis O'Grady (Duke) to win it for the Chatham Anglers.