After Brock Ketelsen (Stanford) forced a walk to load the bases for Y-D in the fifth inning, Bourne pitcher Rhys Bowie (Wake Forest) was about to get pulled after a strong day on the mound. Instead, he waved off manager Scott Landers, hoping he'd make a quick few outs. Landers let him stay, but Y-D knows a thing or two about timely hitting.
John Beverley (Auburn) stepped in the following at-bat and smoked the first pitch he saw to center field, giving Y-D its first run of the game. Beverley’s RBI single was the engine of a four-run fifth, as Y-D cruised to a 4-2 win against Bourne.
Manager Scott Pickler and Y-D climbed to a league-best 6-1 on the season and now boast a run differential of plus-25, which is nine better than the second-highest mark in the league (Harwich). The pitching development early on has been spectacular, as Y-D is the only Cape League team to have a sub-three ERA (2.36). Taylor Penn (Arizona State) gave Y-D three flawless innings of work before Mother Nature was called in the fourth, causing a downpour and rattling Penn a bit. He let up a run on a wild pitch just before the umpires paused play.
“I was kind of cruising, and it started raining. Being at ASU, where it basically doesn't rain, and now having to worry about the ball being a little slippery, I was just trying to get through it,” Penn said. “But [Pickler] was telling me after the game that I didn’t have to play through it, I probably could’ve prolonged the time until they called it, so I’m not getting into that situation. It was a good talk.”
Penn finished his night with three innings, allowing two earned runs while striking out three and walking none. He’s usually a reliever, but the staff had full trust in Penn to lead Y-D on Saturday.
“Taylor threw the ball well today. His command was much better today than it was last week,” pitching coach Eric Beattie said. “He was just starting to introduce his best pitch, and then the rain came. He let a couple of balls get away. It was kind of a tough break on him, but he threw the ball really well.”
Peyton Rodgers (UC Irvine) came in after the rain delay in the fourth. He threw six scoreless innings to close out the game, tying the longest outing by any pitcher in the CCBL this year through the first week of the season. He’s now tossed a league-high 12 ⅓ innings, all without allowing a run.
“Peyton commands the ball to both sides of the plate. He can throw it up when it's needed, down when it's needed,” Beattie said. “He does it with different pitches too. Everything is working for him, but his command is the biggest tool there.”
Rodgers was able to breeze through due to Y-D’s game-changing fifth inning at the plate. After Beverley drove in the first run, Tommy Goodin (Vanderbilt) sprinted home to tie the game on a wild pitch. Jake Souders (Mississippi State) got the Red Wilson crowd roaring on a two-run single, and Rodgers handled the rest.
Y-D’s top spot in the standings is at stake on Sunday, as it travels to Harwich (5-2) for a Cape Cod East Division clash at 5:30 p.m.
