Firebirds 2010 Season In Review... Plus, A Look At 2011

Eldredge Park 8/3/10 vs Chatham [Click to Enlarge]

Greetings from Orleans... I have been up on the Cape for the last week and a half and got to watch the end of the Firebirds' season. The Orleans Firebirds finished off the regular season with a record of 23-19-2 and 48 total points. They finished third in the Eastern Division and qualified for playoffs.

They faced Brewster in the first round of the playoffs and dug themselves into a hole early with an 8-2 loss in game one. In game two, they were able to bounce back and win 4-1 at home. In game three, the Firebirds took an early 4-2 lead and were unable to hold it.

In the ninth inning, with the game tied and Brewster threatening with the winning run on first, All Star closer, Marcus Stroman (Duke) entered the game with confidence. Stroman struck out Brewster second baseman Khayyan Norfork (Tennessee) who had been hot, hitting .462 in the playoffs. Brewster was able to push the winning run, Derek Jones (Washington State), into scoring position. Then, Taylor Ard (Mt. Hood Community College) hit a ball into the hole between second and third that looked like it could get through and possibly win the game. Shon Roe (Loyola Marymount) made an extraordinary play to retire Ard at first and hold Jones at second. Stroman then powered past Jeremy Schaffer (Tulane) to get out of the inning. In the tenth, Ronnie Shaeffer (UC Irvine) drove in Matt Newman (Arizona State) with a single and set up Orleans for a 5-4 win and a trip to South Yarmouth for game one of the Divisional finals.

In game one against the Y-D Red Sox, the Firebirds scored 10 runs. Most of the time, this is enough to blow out a team in the Cape League. The only problem was that Y-D scored 23 runs and crushed Orleans by 13 runs. In game two in the best-of-three series, Orleans lost 13-4 to put an end to their summer season.

Kolten Wong (Hawai'i), Marcus Stroman, and Kyle Simon (Arizona) got to play at Fenway Park on July 28th in the 2010 CCBL All Star Game. Wong went 0 for 4, Stroman allowed no runs on one hit, and Simon allowed one run on two hits. The West beat the East 5-0. Also, the most powerful hitters in the league competed in a Home Run Derby before the game. No Firebirds participated in this but Steve Selsky (Arizona) certainly deserved to and really wanted to.

Now that I've explained the playoffs and the All Star Game, I can get to my review of some of the players' summer performances.

First off, I would like to say congratulations to Kolten Wong, who received the MVP award for the 2010 regular season. I was unable to see Kolten play this season because he returned home to the islands on August 2nd due to a thumb injury. Wong hit .341 on the summer with 3 home runs and 11 RBI's. Wong will likely be drafted in the first or second round of the 2011 draft because of the hardware that he possesses as 'CCBL MVP.'

Marcus Stroman finished off the summer with 11 saves in 11 opportunities. He pitched 28 innings without allowing a single run on the summer! Stroman also only allowed 12 total hits on the season. Not only is Stroman a "lights out" closer, but he has a decent bat to go with it.

Steve Selsky finished off the season with 7 total home runs which was the second highest total in the league. Three of his home runs came in three straight playoff games. His .273 average was one of the higher ones on the team and when a home run was needed, Selsky was the guy to hit it. Selsky was drafted in the 34th round in 2010 but I would look for him to go a lot earlier in 2011.

Kevin Muno finished off his three year run on the Cape with a loss to his brother Danny [Muno] in the second round of playoffs. Kevin's time in an Orleans' uniform however was a success compared to most other Cape Leaguers. In 2007, Muno hit .182 in just 9 games as a freshman. He did not play for Orleans in 2008 but in 2009 he was invited back and hit .257 with 1 home run and 16 RBI's. He did this after being injured for most of the 2009 NCAA season and medically redshirted for that year. In 2010, Muno returned as a redshirt junior and hit .243 with 1 home run and 9 RBI's. Muno spent a lot of time as the Firebirds' leadoff hitter but was tossed around in the line-up a lot. Kevin was one of the most clutch hitters on the team. Kevin Muno was a 'fan favorite' in Orleans especially to my cousin Matt and to Dougie "Muno," who is one of the biggest Firebirds fans. In the CCBL, making it through a full summer with an average over .220 is an achievement itself. Muno, who did this multiple times, was not drafted in 2010 but will most likely be selected in June of 2011.

Shon Roe finished off the season with a .299 average after going 4 for 6 in the final game of the regular season in Chatham. In the playoffs, Roe hit his only home run of the summer and batted .348. Shon ended the season with a 10-game hitting streak since July 26, 2010. A streak that included 18 total hits and 5 muti-hit games.

Maxx Tissenbaum (Stony Brook) was added to the roster in the last week of the season. He only had 2 hits in 3 games for the Firebirds during the regular season. However, in the playoffs Tissenbaum exploded, hitting 9 times in 21 at bats for a .429 batting average. Coach Kelly Nicholson moved Tissenbaum up into the second slot in the line-up for the playoffs after their game one loss to Brewster. When you combine his playoff and regular season performance, his batting average ends up at .344 on the summer.

Preston Tucker (Florida) is one of the best hitters in the NCAA, although his .113 average did not show. In the playoffs, however, Tucker got used to the wood bat and hit 2 home runs, 2 doubles, and drove in 3 runs. Expect Tucker (a sophomore going into his junior season) to get drafted in the middle rounds in 2011 because of the excellent numbers he puts up for the Gators.

Kyle Simon finished off the regular season with a 1-2 record and a 0.92 ERA in 39 innings. Simon will likely be drafted pretty early in 2011 after a stellar summer on the Cape.

Matt Sisto (Hawai'i) will head back to school with a 3-2 record and 1.79 ERA on the summer (playoffs included). Sisto will also probably be drafted in the earlier rounds of the 2011 draft.

The Firebirds' bullpen was capped by low ERA's all together. Marcus Stroman, of course, anchored the 'pen with his 0.00 ERA. Mitchell Lambson (Arizona State) got the 'Birds out of some big jams and also only had a 0.96 ERA. Side-armer, Kenny Long (Illlinois State) had a regular season ERA of 1.13. Also, Jack Leathersich (UMass-Lowell) finished with an ERA of 1.71.

Now, we look forward to the 2011 season. By doing so, this brings up many questions and options.

One major one is "Who will return?" Most of the time, the guys who play in the Cape their freshman season return for their sophomore season. With that we can look for Jayce Boyd and Maxx Tissenbaum to return and play a key role on the 2011 team. Also, some guys who played as sophomores will return for their junior year; some others will not. The number of players who will return as juniors in 2011 will determine how many sophmores will be needed to fill the roster.

One of the major questions is if Marcus Stroman will be back in a Firebirds uniform in 2011. He will be a sophomore who is ineligible for the 2011 MLB Draft. Does this mean he will return to Orleans? Will he be invited to Team USA? Will the Firebirds' bullpen be as strong as it was in 2010? This all depends on what Stroman decides to do in 2011. Also, if he is invited to play for Team USA, will he choose to go? Kolten Wong didn't go and ended up winning MVP of the whole league.

The Firebirds will look to rebound in 2011 and win a CCBL Championship. I will keep you updated throughout the offseason on the 2011 schedule, 2011 temporary roster release, big league debuts, and other information regarding the Firebirds.

Birds Of Fire Enter Last Five Games Of The Season Hot!

The 20-18-1 Firebirds are 6-0-1 in their last seven games. Everything is starting to come together for the Firebirds entering the last five games before playoffs. The Firebirds have passed Harwich for third place in the East with back-to-back wins over the Mariners. They won the first game 8-2 and scored all eight runs in the ninth inning. In the second game, Jayce Boyd (Florida State) drove in 6 runs to power Orleans to a 14-3 win. Kolten Wong (Hawai'i) is back to hitting and leads the league with his .341 average. The Firebirds as a team sit in fifth in batting average (.229) and are .001 out of third behind Bourne (.230) and Falmouth (.230). Orleans' 2.39 ERA leads the Cape League by 0.21 over Brewster.

Around the league, Orleans and Yarmouth-Dennis are streaking, Brewster is slumping, Chatham was slupming and has not been able to move out of last place, and Harwich has lost two in a row and slid into fourth place. In the West, the race for first place is within three points [Cotuit-40pts, Bourne-38pts, and Wareham 37pts] and the race for fourth is within five points [Falmouth-31pts and Hyannis-26pts]. Also, first place Cotuit just signed Barret Loux (Texas A&M). Loux was the 6th overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft.

As I said a little over a week ago, we are entering the August stretch of the summer where the Firebirds' attendance peaks and 'Mr. Firebird' pumps up the crowd along the right field line. Also, I am heading up to the Cape tomorrow morning. This means that my blog posts will be shorter but there will be more Twitter updates. You can follow my Tweets on the right side of the page or at www.Twitter.com/OrlFirebirds. Also, the official Firebirds' Twitter page, www.Twitter.com/FirebirdsCCBL has very in-depth updates.

Carpenter's Near No-No Caps Orleans' 3-1 Win Over Bourne!

Ryan Carpenter (Gonzaga) took a no-hitter into the ninth inning for the Firebirds. Creede Simpson (Auburn) pinch-hit to start the ninth inning and tripled to deep right to break up the no-hitter. Scott Woodward's (Coastal Carolina) sacrifice fly then scored Simpson. Marcus Stroman (Duke) relieved Carpenter and shut the door on Bourne to record his eighth save of the summer.

Bourne's starter, Will Jolin (UConn) took a no-hitter through five innings until Kolten Wong (Hawai'i) broke it up with a single. Steve Selsky (Arizona) then drove him home with an RBI double to give Orleans a 1-0 lead. Jayce Boyd (Florida State) grounded out to second to move Selsky over to third base. Riccio Torrez (Arizona State) singled home Selsky to give Orleans a 2-0 lead. In the eighth, Ronnie Shaeffer (UC-Irvine) doubled home Jayce Boyd to provide Orleans with some insurance.

Ryan Carpenter took home the win, Will Jolin got the loss, and Marcus Stroman got the save. Carpenter's nine strikeouts, one hit allowed, and one earned run helped drop his ERA to 2.43. Stroman has been outstanding on the summer. He allowed no hits and struck out one tonight, and has not allowed a run in 23 innings pitched this summer.

The Orleans Firebirds improve to 17-18-1 on the season and sit one point behind Harwich who lost tonight in a great comeback by Wareham. However, Harwich plays Y-D in a double header tomorrow. Orleans moves eight points ahead of Chatham for the final playoff spot in the East. The Firebirds host Cotuit tomorrow night at 7:00pm at Eldredge Park. You can tune into the Firebirds' TeamLine Broadcast tomorrow night to see the game. The link is located in the "Helpful CCBL Links" page on the bar near the top of the page.

Playin' A Little Catch Up Entering The August Stretch

Wow, it seems like it has been a while since I've posted. I am heading up to the Cape in a week and I've been working a lot lately. Any way, I am going to catch you up on how the Firebirds have been doing; so here we go.

The Orleans Firebirds are now 16-18-1 and have 33 points. They currently sit six points ahead of Chatham who has 27, and three points behind Harwich's 36 points. They are battling Chatham for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East while trying to catch Harwich at the same time. Brewster has lost three games in a row and the East Division is starting to become a lot closer. On the same token, Orleans has played three more games than Y-D, Chatham, and Harwich, and one more game than Brewster.

Three Firebirds were recently named to the CCBL East All Star Team. Here are the links to the East and West rosters. Kolten Wong (Hawai'i) will start for the East All Star Team at second base. Kyle Simon (Arizona) will bring his 0.95 ERA into the All Star Game for the East. Also, the Firebirds' closer, Tom Gordon Marcus Stroman (Duke) will come into the All Star Game with 7 saves and 0 runs allowed in 22 innings pitched. The All Star Game is July 28th, 2010 at Fenway Park at 7:00pm. Buy Tickets Here

On the Upper Cape, Bourne and Cotuit lead a very tight West Division. Bourne is 17-15-0 and Cotuit is 16-14-2. They both have 34 points. Hyannis sits in last place even though they are just ten points behind Bourne and Cotuit.

Kolten Wong has had one hit in his last five games, dropping his average to .312 (which is still a great average in this pitchers' league that we know as the Cape League). Steve Selsky (Arizona) has been unstoppable lately and has hit in his last five games, increasing his batting average to .259 on the summer. Selsky sits in third place in the Cape League with 4 home runs. Also, I thought I'd include that Orleans (as usual) leads the Cape League in attendance with an average of 1,664 fans per home game.

We now enter the last stretch of games before the playoffs that I like to call the "August Stretch". This usually includes the attendance average touching about 2,500 per game. It also means that appearances from "Mr. Firebird" (formerly Mr. Cardinal) will cause an unusually large number of kids to dance along the right field line between innings. Then, they will force the P.A. announcer to yell at them to get off the field.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.