Falmouth (17-21-2) finishes its regular season on a three-game skid heading into the playoffs after a 6-3 loss to Orleans (16-24) on Sunday night. The shortened seven-inning contest featured the debut of Matt Murtaugh (Siena), who started his night with four scoreless innings.
Murtaugh arrived to the Cape after tossing 33 innings in the Perfect Game Summer Collegiate League and seamlessly transitioned his success to the intensity of the CCBL. “[Being from] a small school, I feel like I got a lot to prove coming here,” said Murtaugh, who finds himself in a similar position as Nick Croce (Chipola).
“Me and Croce, we came from the same team over in the PG League (Saugerties Stallions). We were playing together this year, so we were very familiar with each other. He's actually one of my good friends off the field, so when we both got the call to be here it was kind of like a dream come true.”
Croce went 2-for-4 in the contest and has been hot in his first four games as a ‘Dore, batting .333 with a .708 OPS. He cracked open the scoring in the third with an RBI single before Tommy Harrison (Miami (OH)) followed suit to make it 2-0 Falmouth.
Murtaugh ran into trouble in the fifth as the Firebirds loaded the bases with nobody out. He’d walk in a run that cut the Commodores’ advantage in half and after a fielder’s choice, a bunt single and a hit batsman, Orleans found itself up 4-2.
A.J. Putty (Illinois) went deep in the top of the sixth to draw the ‘Dores within one, but that’s as close as they’d get. RBIs from Dominic Cadiz (UCLA) and Adam Magpoc (San Diego State) iced the game for Orleans in a 6-3 loss.
At the end of the day, Murtaugh feels like he’s found a home, despite the fact that things haven’t gotten off to the best start for him. “They're all really cool,” he said of his new teammates. “They're all very welcoming. I didn't go into a new locker room feeling weird…they made it feel homey for me.”
Falmouth begins the postseason against Bourne on Tuesday, Aug. 4 at Doran Park. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m.
