One Bourne swing stood between Y-D and its second loss of the summer. Instead, Kevin Takeuchi (Southern California) made the biggest defensive play of the Red Sox's season.
With the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox up 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth, Peyton Rodgers fell behind in the count 2-0 to Trent Caraway (Miami). Before Rodgers could throw another pitch, Y-D manager Scott Pickler intentionally walked Caraway to load the bases with only one out. The decision was anything but routine, bringing up Andrew Costello (South Carolina), the Cape League's hottest hitter with an OPS north of 1.000.
Takeuchi made sure the gamble paid off.
In a 2-1 count, Rodgers ran Costello inside on a fastball, forcing a high chopper to Takeuchi, standing just 5-foot-10 at this base. Takeuchi leaped to snag the high chopper, tagged third and fired to first to complete a game-ending double play, as Y-D escaped Bourne with a 4-3 Sunday.
“Peyton's a dog on the mound, I knew he was gonna be able to get it done for us,” Takeuchi told sideline reporter Olivia Lambert. “I was just in the right spot, and was able to make a play for my boys and get the win for us.”
The move by Pickler was brilliant after all. There’s a reason he has the most all-time wins by a CCBL manager.
“[The intentional walk] allowed me to back up my infield and have the opportunity for the double play. I just thought it was the right thing to do,” Pickler said. “We were already in a 2-0 count and I didn't want to give the hitter a 3-0 fastball, I thought it was the right play. [Costello] is a really good hitter, but Peyton just got it done.”
Although Rodgers finally surrendered his first run of the summer on a ninth-inning fielder's choice, the damage ended there. He earned his first save and his ERA is now 0.59 across a league-high 15 1/3 innings.
“Peyton has mastered a slow heartbeat,” pitching coach Eric Beattie said. “He never tries to do too much. He knows who he is, he knows what he needs to do to be successful, and he just stays within himself.”
Before ninth-inning drama unfolded, Taylor Penn (Arizona State) got the start for Y-D on the mound. He threw four innings of one-run ball, striking out four batters and has a 3.00 earned run average in three appearances.
“Pitching is just like one of those things where if you think too hard about it, you won’t do too well,” Penn said. “I feel like even the first two innings I was trying to do too much, but I just kind of simplified it down and got more success.”
Penn is extremely animated on the bump. After every pitch, he’s constantly talking to himself and trying to stay focused.
“I just know I have to be on the attack, going at hitters, not passive,” Penn said. “I don't just want to lay it in there.”
Y-D got down 2-0 early, but to no one's surprise the deficit quickly went away. Lucas Franco's (TCU) sacrifice fly in the second inning and Tommy Goodin's (Vanderbilt) RBI single in the third tied the game. Takeuchi's RBI single in the fifth and Goodin's RBI groundout later in the inning gave Y-D a 4-2 lead.
Newly added Dimitri Angelakos (Georgia Tech) pitched two scoreless frames before Rodgers came in for the save. Timely hitting combined with a pitching staff that’s holding teams to a .159 batting average with runners in scoring position has Y-D at a league-best 12-1 record. Y-D has a few long trips on the Cape in the coming days. and its first stop is at Cotuit on Monday at 5 p.m.
“These guys are used to playing in other leagues where they traveled eight hours,” Pickler said. “Going to places like Bourne and Cotuit is a pleasure.”
