ORLEANS — The Orleans Firebirds ended a three-game losing streak with a win over Cape Cod Baseball League East Division foe Brewster on Tuesday night at Stony Brook. The Firebirds are now 5-5 in their last 10 games, which has them holding onto third place in the division over the Whitecaps but trailing Yarmouth-Dennis and Harwich.
Justin Rubin has been a spark among the Firebirds’ bats since arriving from Virginia. He’s had six hits in his first five games on the Cape. Jo Oyama (Southern Cal) has paced Orleans with a .357 batting average — second in the league — and has seven-game hitting streak going, dating back to a 3-for-5 performance at Bourne on July 1. Oyama has eight multi-hit games and has seven RBIs and 12 runs in 20 games.
Firebirds alumnus Jacob Wilson (Grand Canyon) was drafted sixth overall by the Oakland Athletics, and Luke Keaschall (Arizona State) was taken 49th by the Minnesota Twins in the 2023 Major League Baseball draft on Monday night.
Wilson played 10 games for the Firebirds during the 2022 season, hitting .278. Keaschall led the 2022 team in hits and RBIs with 44 and 20 respectively.
Mariners 5, Firebirds 0
Daniel Avitia had his worst outing, surrendering five runs in four innings, in a 5-0 loss to Harwich at Whitehouse Field on Friday, July 7. Jacob Humphrey (UMass Lowell) hit a two-run homer in the third.
The Firebirds left six runners on base and had just five hits against the East Division’s top team.
Commodores 6, Firebirds 3
Orleans next lost to Falmouth at Eldredge Park on July 8. Falmouth used a three-run third inning to erase a 1-0 deficit, then added three more runs in the top of the seventh. The Firebirds came back with two runs in the bottom half of the inning when Jack Penny (Notre Dame) hit a two-run homer to make it 6-3. But Orleans stranded two runners to end the inning.
Oyama went 2 for 4 from the leadoff spot and scored a run and Penny went 2 for 5 with two RBIs. The Firebirds stranded 12 runners in the game.
Kettleers 6, Firebirds 5
Cotuit edged Orleans at Lowell Park on July 9. The Kettleers broke open a one-all game in the fifth inning with one swing of the bat as Ryan Galanie (Wofford) hit a grand slam to make it 5-1. Orleans fought back with a three-run sixth inning to cut it to 5-4. Colin Tuft’s (Virginia) double drove in Fenwick Trimble (James Madison) before scoring a run of his own, while Drew Faurot was driven in by Rubin. The Firebirds tied the game when Eddie Micheletti Jr. (George Washington) scored off an error in the seventh inning. But Cotuit regained the lead when Cole Mathis’s (Charleston) single pushed Carter Mathison (Indiana) across.
Firebirds 8, Whitecaps 4
Oyama and Penney each scored twice to help Orleans end their losing streak. The Firebirds, who never trailed, put up two runs in the first and followed that up with five more runs in fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. Jake Casey (Kent State) had a solo home run for Orleans.
The Firebirds used six pitchers, with Jonathan Gonzalez (Stetson) earning the win. Vanderbilt starter Greysen Carter gave up zero hits and one run in his two innings pitched to go with two strikeouts. Sean Matson (Harvard) closed the game out in a non-save situation.
Upcoming games
July 13 at Harwich, 6:30 p.m.
July 14 vs. Bourne, 6:30 p.m.
July 15 at Wareham, 6 p.m.
July 16 vs. Cotuit, 6:30 p.m.
July 17 vs. Brewster, 6:30 p.m.
