Thanks to a hot bat from Dante Vachini (Cal Poly) and an unrelenting pitching staff, the Yarmouth Dennis-Red Sox beat the Brewster Whitecaps 5-0 to improve to an 18-2-1 record.
Vachini, who was barely hitting .200 before today’s game, recorded two extra-base hits. This gave Y-D fans a taste of his Cal Poly talent, who was known to make contact and get on base often (.285 batting average, .333 on-base percentage).
Ultimately, the outfielder went 2-for-4 with three RBI, which included a home run in the third inning to make Y-D’s second hit of the game. This was Vachini’s second home run of the season, and a sign that his bat was igniting a flame.
“I didn’t change much, I just trusted the process,” said Vachini. “In baseball, even though you hit the ball hard, sometimes you don’t get a hit. And today I got a lucky day.”
After his four-bagger, Vachini came through with an RBI base hit to deep right field to extend Y-D’s lead to 3-0. He knew to prepare for offspeed pitches in this at-bat, because in his previous one, he went deep off of a fastball, he said.
Vachini also praised the Y-D pitching staff for their successful showing on the mound, and dedicated his home run to them.
“Just tried to get one [big hit] for our pitching staff today. Easy to win when they don’t give up a run” he said.
To that end, the five members of the Y-D pitching staff combined their arms to keep Brewster scoreless.
Cade O’Leary (Florida State University), who usually serves as a reliever in the Y-D rotation, made his first Cape League start on the mound.
The transition in pitching roles did not seem to affect him at all. Over four innings, the right-hander tallied seven strikeouts and only allowed three hits. O’Leary told Y-D’s sideline reporter Olivia Lambert that the switch from the reliever to starting role was quite seamless, as every outing for him poses the same goal: to get outs.
Another commonality among his starter and relief outings is what he uses to stay relaxed on the mound with runners on base, that is, his breath. He used it today to stay composed and trust his mechanics in the presence of Brewster’s aggressive baserunning.
“Using breath has been something that has been huge for me in those situations, just kind of calming myself down,” O’Leary told Lambert in a postgame interview.
O’Leary’s successors also performed well. Nolan Bernard (University of South Florida) was credited with the win after pitching for two innings and only allowing one hit with two strikeouts.
Then, Zach Robinson (UMBC), Rhett Vaughn (Florida State University), and Brisen Tweedy (University of South Florida) pitched in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings, respectively. In total, the three right-handers only allowed two hits and recorded a combined five strikeouts.
Y-D will have the opportunity to continue playing well-rounded baseball on Friday, July 10 against the Bourne Braves, at home, at 5:00 pm EDT.
