CAPE COD BASEBALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP: Hudson’s Hill Work Stellar, Hyannis Downs Y-D in Title Opener (SLIDESHOW/VIDEO)

HYANNIS – Mississippi State’s Dakota Hudson was spectacular on the mound Sunday night for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks as he paced the hosts to an 8-1 win over the Y-D Red Sox in the series opener at McKeon Park for the Cape Cod Baseball League Championship and the vaunted Arnold Mycock Championship Trophy.

MIssissippi State's Dakota Hudson was brilliant on the mound for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks. Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports

Mississippi State’s Dakota Hudson was brilliant on the mound for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports

Hudson struck out eight batters in eight innings of work and needed just 102 pitches to complete his outing. He allowed only two Red Sox hits and one run while walking two batters. Columbia’s Kevin Roy came in relief for the ninth and final frame and Roy tossed a perfect inning, striking out two.

But Hudson wasn’t the only hero of the day for the Harbor Hawks.

With Y-D and Hyannis deadlocked in a 1-1 tie until the bottom of the fifth, Centerville and UConn’s Bobby Melley came through with a two-out screamer off the outstretched glove of Y-D first baseman Tommy Edman (Stanford) and the wheels, quite literally, came spinning off for the guests.

Florida Gulf Coast’s Jake Noll followed Melley’s rip with a single of his own to put two men on and then Louisville’s Blake Tiberi hit a chopper to second base that got misplayed and Melley came rambling home to make it 2-1. that spelled the end of a solid outing by Yale’s Mason Kukowski who was relieved by Hofstra’s Alec Eisenberg.

With men on second and third base, Y-D opted to intentionally walk Virginia’s Matt Thaiss to load the bases and Tulane backstop Jake Rogers stepped in. With a 2-2 count, Rogers fouled one off, took a ball to make it 3-2 and then fouled off one more before hitting a hot shot to the hot corner and Utah’s Dallas Carroll fielded it but threw the ball in the dirt past first base and both Noll and Tiberi came home to make it 4-1, Hyannis.

Texas A&M's Ryne Birk was phenomenal at the plate once again for the Harbor Hawks. Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports

Texas A&M’s Ryne Birk was phenomenal at the plate once again for the Harbor Hawks.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports

Texas A&M’s Ryne Birk then laced a 2-0 offering from Eisenberg that one-hopped to a diving centerfielder for a single but the ball scooted past him and both Thaiss and Rogers both scored to make it 6-1. The official scorer, however, ruled the basehit a triple.

Armed with a healthy, 6-1 lead, Hudson picked up steam on the mound and retired the side in succession in the sixth frame, followed by another run scored for Hyannis in the bottom half of the sixth. Corey Bird (Marshall), who had singled off of Y-D reliever Dalton Lehnen (Cincinnati) to lead off the bottom of the sixth, stole second base and then attempted to steal third base when Nate Rodriguez’s (Arkansas) throw flew over the third baseman’s head into left and Bird came screaming home and was called safe on a head-first slide for a 7-1 lead.

Hudson finished the 7th inning at 88 pitches and then took just 14 more pitches in the 8th to retire the guests.

Tristan Hildebrandt (Cal-State Fullerton) hammered a one-out double in the bottom of the 8th, advanced to third base on a passed ball and then scored on a Bird sacrifice fly for an 8-1 lead and the eventual final score.

Hyannis travels to Merrill “Red” Wilson Field Monday and could come home with the Cape Cod Baseball League championship title. The game versus the Y-D Red Sox begins at 4:00 pm.

Should the Harbor Hawks sweep the Y-D Red Sox, it will the first league title for Hyannis since 1991. Hyannis won back-to-back titles in 1978 and 1979 and hen again in 1991. Hyannis was crowned the West Division regular season champs and West Division Champions after sweeping Cotuit and Bourne in the West Division playoffs.

— Story and photos by Sean Walsh, sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

About CapeCod.com NewsCenter

The award-winning CapeCod.com NewsCenter provides the Cape Cod community with a constant, credible source for local news. We are on the job seven days a week.

Speak Your Mind

*



CapeCod.com
737 West Main Street
Hyannis, MA 02601
Contact Us | Advertise Terms of Use 
Employment and EEO | Privacy