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.