Mar

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Dice-K v. The Cape?

Posted by Greg | Filed Under News | 

dice-k.jpgOne of our regular correspondents, Dave B., wrote to us today about the Dice-K / Cape Cod Baseball League connection in Red Sox spring training camp this week:

“Much has been written in the Boston area newspapers about the fact that the first start for Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Boston Red Sox will be…when the Red Sox play Boston College. An interesting sidelight to all of the attention that will be focused on Matsuzaka is that the first batter to face him in a game will be Johnny Ayers.

Ayers is a junior IF / OF for the Eagles. He is also the punter on the B.C. football team. Ayers will be playing for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox this summer. He has recently been quoted as saying that he hopes for the opportunity to play professional baseball.

The third batter in the Boston College lineup is Jared McGuire from Harwich, MA. who had a very solid season while playing for the Hyannis Mets last summer.

The attention this game is receiving far exceeds that of most exhibition games because it will be Matsuzaka’s first appearance in a Red Sox uniform. The throng of Japanese media, in addition to the normal attention that Red Sox Nation places on the team, should make for a very exciting atmosphere for the Boston College players.”

Thanks, Dave!

Comments

2 Responses to “Dice-K v. The Cape?”

  1. Dave B. on March 2nd, 2007 1:41 pm

    From the March 2 Cape Cod Times…
    ********************************************

    March 2, 2007
    Former Harwich Star McGuire Eager to Face Matsuzaka Today

    FROM STAFF
    AND WIRE REPORTS

    FORT MYERS, Fla. - Last year he faced Curt Schilling, battling the Red Sox ace for 11 pitches before grounding out.
    Former Harwich High star Jared McGuire thought that was a huge deal. But it’s nothing compared with what will take place tonight when the Boston College senior steps into the batter’s box against Daisuke Matsuzaka.
    A packed house at City of Palms Park will be watching, along with baseball fans across New England and throughout Japan.
    “I’m all excited,” McGuire recently told Lenny Megliola of the MetroWest Daily News. “I watched the World Baseball Classic and saw how he dominated. Now he’s going to pitch against us. I can’t believe it.”
    The first Eagle to face Matsuzaka will be shortstop Johnny Ayers, who has signed to play for Yarmouth-Dennis of the Cape Cod League this summer. McGuire is expected to bat third.
    McGuire, a left fielder, has been named to the 2007 Brooks Wallace Award List. The award is annually presented to the top player in college baseball. He was the 2005 Big East Conference Player of the Year as a sophomore, and last season he hit .264 with three home runs and 37 RBIs.
    Of facing Matsuzaka, McGuire admitted, “It will be tough to make it just another at-bat.”
    Boston College is 0-3 and McGuire is batting .200 (2-for-10). The Eagles recently lost to top-ranked Vanderbilt, 7-6.

  2. Greg on March 3rd, 2007 8:52 am

    We now know that Ayers hit an opposite field double off of Matsuzaka in the lead-off position. Dice-K went on to shut down the Eagles after that, throwing 19 strikes out of 25 pitches.

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