Jun

29

The Cape League Rox (Y-D vs. Falmouth @ Brockton)

Posted by Andrew | Filed Under Games | 3 Comments

Last night, the Y-D Red Sox defeated the Falmouth Commodores 5-4 at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, MA. Campanelli is home to the Brockton Rox of the Can-Am League, an independent minor league equivalent to A-ball. The game was dubbed a “Cape League Championship Series re-match”, but we all know that nearly all of the players on both teams are different.

As a side note, Campanelli is hailed as one of the best parks in independent baseball and I’d encourage all Cape League fans to make the trip up Route 24 to see it sometime. Not many MLB players are born in the park (in fact, more big league dreams will fade), but it’s a good place to enjoy a baseball game.

Our report today comes from our friend Brian Foley of The College Baseball Blog (see the original post).

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The College Baseball Blog made the trip down to Brockton MA to take in the First Annual Cape Cod Hall of Fame Classic between the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox and the Falmouth Commodores. The game was played at Campanelli Stadium which serves as the home of the independent league Brockton Rox.

The Red Sox were able to pick up a 5-4 victory over the Commodores holding off a ninth inning rally as the Commodores had the tying run on third base with two outs but UC-Riverside closer Joe Kelly was able to get Darrin Ruff to ground out to second to end the game.

The Red Sox sent Jerry Sullivan from Oral Roberts University to the mound to take on Commodore starting pitcher Rex Brothers out of Lipscomb University. Sullivan is a 6-4 210 pound right hand pitcher who is able to dominate the strikezone by spotting a low 90’s fastball with a great curveball which makes him very difficult to hit. He had one tough inning on Saturday where the Commodores got to him for three runs in the third inning but was outstanding in his 6.1 innings of work by keeping batters off balance. Rex Brothers on the other hand is a 6′0 185 pound lefty that really didn’t have much on his stuff tonight with a high 80’s fastball and a mediocre curveball.

The biggest star of the night was Jared Mitchell (LSU) of Yarmouth-Dennis who really showed off his talents by being a force on the base paths with a stolen base and scoring on a subsequent single to the second basemen from second base beating the throw at the plate. He was just impressive all around and really stood out on the evening.

The biggest issue I had on the evening was that this game was played in Brockton where alcohol was served at the game. I just think that the Rox should have shut off the beer taps for the evening with a college event going on. I also thought the game lacked the intensity of a game on the Cape as the 1,173 people were spread apart in the minor league facility.

Comments

3 Responses to “The Cape League Rox (Y-D vs. Falmouth @ Brockton)”

  1. Joshua on June 30th, 2008 10:02 am

    The game was GREAT!! Although, the alcohol was a problem!!

  2. The Wicker Man on June 30th, 2008 10:25 am

    I’d imagine that the Cape League would have to adhere to the Rox’ policy regarding alcohol. The NCAA ban on alcohol only applies to tournament play (College World Series, Final Four, etc).

    Personally, I’m not sure what there is to really gain by playing a game in Brockton (or Fall River). I think the CCBL teams and league should apply the energy used to play a game outside the Cape and focus on making their parks, atmosphere better.

    ps- I attended the Hyannis/Cotuit game last night and the new lights at McKeon are great. The game was outstanding, too.

  3. Brian Foley on June 30th, 2008 9:45 pm

    I agree with you guys about everything. I just am not a fan of College sports selling alcohol. I remember going to BU hockey games and all the students would get drunk on the beer. It just hurt the atmosphere I think. The Cape League is great FAMILY entertainment and should be enjoyed like that.

    I don’t get down to the Cape enough and should move down there guys.

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