For over a century, the Cape Cod Baseball League has remained the same. The same fans bring chairs and blankets to watch the game. The same traditions are passed down from one season to the next. The same stadiums fill up every night. The same talent that comes from colleges around the country. The league has grown by not overcomplicating the perfect recipe for summer baseball.
One thing, however, is never the same: the bullpen.
With the increased focus on workload management in collegiate athletics, many pitchers arrive on the Cape with limitations designed to protect their arms, making roster turnover a constant challenge for summer league teams.
The Cape season only lasts 60 days, from mid-June to mid-August. Most teams rarely have the same pitchers from the first practice to the final game. The Harwich Mariners have had a total of 30 pitchers from the first pitch of the season. Now, with the final days of the regular season rolling in, three remain from the very beginning: Andrew Basel, Ben Alekson and Bryan Matuschat.
The three pitchers have been with the team through it all, like the five-game win streak in the beginning of the season and also the six-game losing streak in the dog days of July.
All three pitchers had three completely different journeys on making it to the Cape. For Basel, the Northeastern pitcher came to the Mariners to help out for a couple of games and now has been a veteran presence.
"Last summer I played for the Valley Blue Sox, and after that I stayed in contact with Coach Steve and the staff. Throughout the spring we worked everything out, I got a temporary contract, and I've been here all summer," said Basel.
Ben Alekson took advantage of an opportunity with the head skipper Steve Englert in attendance at one of his games in college.
“Coach Steve works at Manhattan, so we played against them during the spring and I pitched pretty well. He's close with my pitching coach at Fairfield, so they got in contact, and the stars kind of aligned. I'm really grateful he gave me the opportunity to come here," said Alekson.
Bryan Matuschat is the only returner from last year. The right hander was a late-season signing last year and made his talent known in the 2025 CCBL playoffs.
"After the NECBL last year, Coach Steve called me and asked me to come eat some innings. I pitched well, got an opportunity in the playoffs, and after that he asked if I wanted to come back. I said absolutely. We're talking about the Cape, the most prestigious summer league in the country," said Matuschat
Staying Motivated
The Cape League is one of the hardest tests for college players to see if they are ready for the next step in their baseball journey. Some weeks in the season you have seven games in a row and as a bullpen arm that could mean you have to be ready every time.
"I think the biggest thing is just loving the game and having a great group of guys around me. Showing up to the field every day with some of my close friends makes it really easy to come here and enjoy it. When you realize how special this opportunity is and how many people would love to be in this position, it makes it easy to stay motivated every day," said Basel.
In college, these three pitchers had the luxury to see exactly what days they would be pitching as a starter. Having multiple days to scout a team and form a plan on how to attack a team's hitters. As a bullpen arm in this league, you have to change your perspective entirely and always be ready to eat some innings for your team. Alekson, a Friday starter for Fairfield University, has had to change his recipe for success.
"For the past three years I've thrown on the same day every week and had the same routine, so coming out of the bullpen has been completely new for me. I've had to learn more about myself and what I need to do every day to be ready to pitch multiple times a week. I've also leaned on the guys around me who have been relievers throughout their careers and picked their brains about their routines and how they prepare," said Alekson.
Bryan Matuschat sees this season as an opportunity to improve but more importantly, become Cape Cod Baseball royalty. Matuschat gains his motivation from the thought of being able to call himself a Cape League Champion.
"It's definitely a grind, but my biggest motivation is that I want this ring. I've been telling the guys that I want to win so badly. Sometimes during the dog days of the summer it can be easy to lose sight of that, but once playoffs come around, we're going to flip the switch. We're going to treat every game like a regional and go all in because we believe we have the team to win," said Matuschat.
Leaning on each other
All three pitchers have grown in the last 60 days, not just by live reps, but by learning different perspectives on their game from their peers. Despite Basel, Matuschat, and Alekson all coming from Northeast schools, they all want to see each other dominate when they return to their schools in the fall. That doesn't just apply for the three, many Mariners pitchers this year have shared their knowledge on pitching to their teammates.
Bryan Matuschat has clocked around 100+ innings this year, having one of the highest workloads in the country. In most instances a college coach would prefer guys with that much work to return home and rest up but for Bryan, learning new ways to care for his arm from guys has kept him in the bullpen this season.
“Jakob Schultz, a couple weeks into the season this year, really taught me a lot about arm care and how to take care of my body throughout the season. Last year when I came here as a freshman, I was kind of a fly on the wall, just taking everything in and learning from everyone. I picked up a great plyo routine from Troy Dressler (2025 Harwich Mariner) and learned a lot of little things from the older guys. This year I understand things a little more, but I’m still trying to learn from everyone because there’s always something new to pick up,” said Matuschat.
Andrew Basel has been able to add a new pitch to his repertoire because of Payton Soske. Soske was recently signed by the New York Yankees in the last MLB draft process.
“Payton Soske has been one of the biggest ones. He came from Columbia and is one of the smartest people I’ve ever met when it comes to understanding the game. I’ve been able to constantly ask him questions about his sinker, what makes it so good, how he gets guys off time, and what makes it so hard to pick up out of his hand. He didn’t just give me his grip and tell me to try it; he actually helped me understand why it works. For the last three weeks, we’ve been throwing during BP and talking through it, and he’s helped me make a lot of adjustments and get a lot better with that pitch,” said Basel.
Ben Alekson has learned to throw a new pitch from guys like Basel and Matuschat because they already have that pitch in their mix.
“One pitch I added a couple outings ago was a cutter. It’s always been something I’ve played around with, but I never really committed to adding it to my arsenal. Over the past month, I’ve been able to work on it with a lot of different guys, especially Basel, Bryan and Ryan Taffe when he was here. The four of us all threw that pitch, so we were able to bounce ideas off each other, talk about what works and what doesn’t, and just learn from each other. I’ve been trying to take as much as I can from those guys and use their knowledge to keep improving the pitch,” said Alekson.
👍 Tradtion
Every bullpen has their own celebrations or traditions. This year for the Harwich Mariners, “thumbs up” is the one giving the team so much success. What started as an inside joke from the team's comedian, Adam Arthur, quickly became the team's celebration after a closing pitcher ended the game.
"It was actually a joke with Adam Arthur. He had this whole backstory behind it, and he was like, 'Why don't we start doing this when we close games?' He came up with the idea, and after one game I went out there, gave the thumbs up, and I looked over and everybody in the bullpen was doing it back. Then the next game another guy did it, and it just kind of stuck. Now when you're walking around town or at the field and someone gives you a thumbs up, everyone knows exactly what it means. It's just become our thing," laughed Basel.
The "thumbs up” can be seen by players doing the hand gesture to each other walking by, as an emoji commented on their teammate’s instagram post, or the tell that the Mariners won another game this season.
Leadership
It can be nerve-racking being a college pitcher and getting the call that the Harwich Mariners need you to give them some innings of work. Every game, college and MLB scouts come to see what players they need to have on their radar. Bryan Matuschat, being a veteran to this Mariners team, likes to instill confidence into his teammates.
"I think the biggest thing is just making guys feel comfortable. When you come here, especially on two days' notice, it can be overwhelming because you're meeting a whole new group of guys and jumping into a new environment. We just try to let them know that they're here for a reason. They're good enough to compete, and we're all here to help each other get better and win games," said Matuschat.
Throughout the summer, the Mariners bullpen has taken on a variety of identities. Basel considers it a "chaotic family," while Alekson calls it "electric." Matuschat says it's "great vibes." Three different descriptions from three different personalities, all pointing to the same thing: a group that has become one of the team's most valuable assets.
Together, Basel, Alekson and Matuschat have provided 50 innings out of the Mariners' bullpen this summer. The trio has combined for 37 strikeouts, becoming a reliable presence through the highs and lows of the season.
Every season, Cape League bullpens change. New pitchers arrive, old teammates move on and roles shift. But for one summer in Harwich, Basel, Alekson and Matuschat created something that went beyond balls and strikes: a bullpen brotherhood.
