In the Cape Cod Baseball League’s one-game first-round playoff series, Merrill “Red” Wilson Field hosted a pitchers’ duel between the Y-D Red Sox and Orleans Firebirds. Meanwhile, Veterans Field featured a back-and-forth, down-to-the-wire thriller between the Chatham Anglers and Harwich Mariners.

Here are some observations from No. 1 seed Y-D’s 1-0 win over No. 4 seed Orleans and No. 3 seed Harwich’s 7-5 win over No. 2 seed Chatham:

Fang and Takemato dominate Y-D

The No. 4 seed Orleans Firebirds had something no other team on the Cape had: arguably the two best pitchers in the league. Callan Fang (Harvard) led the Cape League in strikeouts (39) while Itskuki Takemato (Hawaii) stood atop the ERA leaderboard (0.79). For the winner-take-all playoff matchup, Orleans turned to Fang for the start with Takemato ready to go out of the bullpen.

The Firebirds’ 1-2 punch pitched brilliantly.

Fang set down the side 1-2-3 twice in his first three innings while only allowing one base runner. Fang's fastball kept Y-D’s lineup off balance early, registering three strikeouts on the pitch. In each of the next two innings, Fang faced runners in scoring position jams, but he effectively escaped both unscathed, getting groundouts off changeups.

The Ivy League Pitcher of the Year looked as if he was going to cruise through the sixth with two quick outs, but the Red Sox used a two-out rally to take a 1-0 lead and get Fang out of the game. Yet, they couldn’t add onto the lead as Takemato forced a pop-up.

Takeamto proceeded to cruise through Y-D’s lineup in the seventh and eighth innings, allowing just one base runner while striking out four. The right-hander’s fastball was too overpowering for the Red Sox while his variety of off-speed pitches kept them off balance.

Y-D’s pitching staff outduels Orleans

For the Red Sox to compete with Fang and Takemato, they needed their pitching staff to pitch at the same elite level. Carson Ballard (Georgia Tech), Sean Youngerman (Oklahoma State) and Aiven Cabral (Northeastern) did exactly that.

Ballard spun 4 ⅓ scoreless innings before passing the baton to Youngerman. Throughout his start, Ballard pounded the zone. Even when Orleans made contact, it was frequently weak, helping him excel in getting out of jams.

In the first inning, he forced an inning-ending groundout with a runner on second. In the fourth, he picked off Bennett Markinson at second base with one out before stranding Mike Mancini — who stole second following the pick-off — by striking out Ian Daugherty.

Despite his success getting out of jams, Pickler turned to Youngerman with a runner on second and one out in the fifth. Youngerman picked up right where Ballard left off, getting out of the inning despite a two-out walk.

Over the next two innings, Youngerman also pounded the zone, challenging Orleans to do damage. Ben Ziegler-Namoa led off the sixth with a single, but Youngerman then set down the next six Firebirds he faced. This successfully got the ball to Cabral, the closer, who notched a two-out save allowing just one baserunner.

All it took was one

While Fang was dealing through the sixth inning, the game changed when Easton Carmichael (Oklahoma) poked a two-out single into center field. One of five hits against Fang, Carmichael wasn’t content with staying on first base. On the first pitch of the ensuing batter, Ryan Sprock’s (Elon), at bat, Carmichael stole second base.

A pitch later, Sprock sent a deep drive into left field. Off the bat, it looked like it had the potential to sail over the fence. Yet, because the wind was blowing in, it stayed in the park. Still, left fielder Austin Smith (San Diego) had difficulty tracking it and couldn’t make a play on the warning track. This allowed Carmichael to score while Sprock advanced to second.

Despite stranding Sprock, and finishing the game 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, all Y-D needed was one run. While they had their chances, the Firebirds also went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Additionally, Orleans was held without an extra-base hit throughout the game.

Cam Maldonado ignites Harwich’s offense

When the Mariners needed a win most, Cam Maldonado (Northeastern) — a Cape League All-Star and John J. Claffey Award (Outstanding New England Player) recipient — shined versus Chatham.

After striking out in his first at-bat, Maldonado laced a one-out single in the top of the third into left field, which advanced Sam McNulty (Boston College) to third. The Mariners then loaded the bases before McNulty scored on a single from Aden Hill and Maldonado scored on a sac fly from Cade Kurland (Florida).

Between the Mariners taking the lead and Maldonado’s next at-bat, Chatham tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth. Leading off the fifth inning, Maldonado registered his second single. After moving up to second on a sac-bunt, the outfielder scored on a Kurland double giving Hariwch a 3-2 lead.

Despite walking in his next at-bat, the Mariners couldn’t bring Maldonado home as they were held to one run over the next three innings. At that time, Chatham commanded a 5-4 lead heading into the ninth.

With their season on the ropes, Maldonado led off the ninth inning. Three pitches later, he stood on third base after ripping a line drive down the right field line. Aiden Robbins (Seton Hall) then drove Maldonado in to tie the game 5-5 on a single before Harwich added two more in the frame en route to its 7-5 win.

Chatham’s early struggles with runners in scoring position

Throughout the back-and-forth contest, the Anglers had 16 at-bats with runners in scoring position. Six of those came in the first two innings. And none of them resulted in hits.

In the bottom of the first, Will Bermudez (UC Irvine) was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame before stealing second base. With no outs, the center fielder gave Chatham a golden opportunity to strike first in its first playoff game since 2019. Yet, Harwich starter Ryan DeSanto (Penn State) escaped the inning by retiring the next three Anglers consecutively.

The bottom of the second started much like the first. Robin Villeneuve (Texas Tech) led the inning off with a double before Campbell Smithwick (Ole Miss) was hit. Chatham again had a perfect opportunity to strike first. And it again faltered as DeSanto worked around a no-out jam.

Failing to capitalize on their opportunities proved costly for Chatham as Harwich took the game’s first lead in the third inning. While they responded by going 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position the rest of the game, the Anglers’ five runs weren’t enough to make it to the next round of the playoffs.

Danny Macchiarola and Kevin Zarnoch contain Chatham

When Danny Macchiarola (Holy Cross) entered the game in relief, Chatham had just taken a 4-3 lead and had a runner on second with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. Needing to keep Harwich within reach, Macchiarola set the tone for his outing by striking out Jayden Davis (Vanderbilt) to limit further damage.

Despite facing traffic in the sixth inning, Macchiarola again kept the score 4-3 as he held the Anglers off the scoreboard for the first time in three innings. Then, a scoreless soft contact-riddled seventh inning helped the Mariners tie the game 4-4 in the eighth.

While he returned to the mound in the eighth, Macchiarola couldn’t complete the inning despite getting two outs. With runners on the corners, Harwich manager Steve Englert called upon Kevin Zarnoch (UMass Lowell). Chayton Krauss (Dallas Baptist) proceeded to lace a go-ahead single before the right-hander notched a strikeout to escape further damage.

But with the lead and a clean inning in the ninth, Zarnoch — who didn’t allow an unearned run across eight regular season innings — dominated the Anglers’ lineup. First, he struck out Villeneuve. Then, he mowed through Smithwick on a three-pitch punchout. Finally, he forced a weak Davis fly out to extend the Mariners’ season.

(Photograph by Kyndall Williams)