CHATHAM – Every time Wake Forest’s Parker Dunshee has taken the mound for the Chatham Anglers this summer it has been the physical embodiment of sheer grit.
Wake Forest’s Parker Dunshee was superlative on the mound for the Chatham Anglers Tuesday night at Veterans Field.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
Dunshee was brilliant last night for the Anglers at Veterans Field as the junior righty struck out eight batters in six innings of work en route to the host’s 1-0 shutout of the Orleans Firebirds to even out the Cape League playoffs series between the two East Division rivals at 1-1.
The victory for Chatham sets up an all-or-nothing match up tonight at Eldredge Park at 7:00 pm.
Dunshee walked none and allowed the usually prolific bats of the Firebirds just two hits.
But the gritty righty was not alone in the effort.
Millersville University righty Brandon Miller – one of the Anglers’ top dogs this summer – came on in relief of his Chatham counterpart and was equally impressive, whiffing three batters in two innings of middle relief while walking none and allowing no hits.
And then came the trifecta.
Virginia Tech righty closer Aaron McGarity came on in the ninth for the host Anglers and tossed a perfect inning to make it a memorable – if nothing else – 1-0 blanking of the Cape League’s best-hitting team with the best win-loss record.
The sole run needed for Chatham to even the series came off the bats of Wake Forest outfielder Joey Rodriguez and Pepperdine’s Aaron Barnett.
Barnett led off the 4th inning with a single, Will Craig (Wake Forest) walked and then Luke Persico (UCLA) singled to leftfield to load the bases with one out. Rodriguez stepped in and drove the first pitch he saw from Orleans starter Eric Lauer (Kent State) to account for the game’s sole tally.
Rodriguez went 2-3 on the night with one RBI.
Lauer was equally as stellar as his opponent Dunshee who got the win. Lauer allowed just four hits in five innings of work and struck out nine while walking three.
Chatham will head to Orleans tonight (Eldredge Park) for a 7:00 pm match-up that will decided who will play the Y-D Red Sox on Thursday night in round two of the playoffs (Divisional finals).
— Story and photos by Sean Walsh, sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm
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