Firebirds start off the new summer campaign with a win!

After a little over ten months, the day has finally come that marks the start of the 2012 Cape Cod Baseball League season. These next two and a half months are what the people of Orleans, college baseball enthusiasts, and thousands of vacationers look forward to all year. The Cape Cod Baseball League is America's premier summer baseball league not only because of the unique venues and memories it creates for all who experience it, but also because it is the reason that certain college ballplayers find themselves on the radar of many MLB teams when the next draft rolls around.

The Firebirds 4-3 win over Brewster marks the start of a summer where a player could follow in the footsteps of former Cape Leaguers Justin Maxwell (made Bourne Braves at try-out, 2003 CCBL All-Star, current Houston Astros OF) or Kolten Wong (chose to play for Orleans Firebirds instead of Team USA, 2010 CCBL MVP, 2011 St. Louis Cardinals 1st round draft pick).

Firebirds outfielder Michael Montville (Maryland) found his swing with the wooden bat tonight. He ripped a solo home run into the net beyond the left field fence that gave the Orleans Firebirds a 4-3 lead over the Brewster Whitecaps. Montville seems to have found his swing early; perhaps he could be our next Kolten Wong.

Trevor Gott (Kentucky)

The Firebirds also saw a familiar face when Trevor Gott (Kentucky) trotted out to the mound from the right field bullpen to record his first save of the season. Gott anchored the Orleans bullpen last season and recorded 12 saves. He also recorded the save for the winning team, the Eastern Division, in the 2011 Cape League All-Star game.

Other Firebirds who contributed by adding two hits each were Conrad Gregor (Vanderbilt) and Max Rossiter (Arizona State).

This win will hopefully be the first of many for the Firebirds this season; a season which could launch the careers of many players while also being the most enjoyable summer of their lives. The atmosphere of Cape League baseball games is something that players and also fans will never experience elsewhere.

Mr. Firebird at a game in July 2011

Tonight's winning pitcher, starter Trevor Williams (Arizona State) said in a post-game interview with the Firebirds broadcasters, "I've heard stories of the great fans."

On a separate note, I plan on blogging sporadically throughout the summer. I plan on not focusing on the game stories as much as the progression of the team, development of the Firebirds players, and other special events that occur.

Firebirds Fall to 11-11-3 After 2-0 Loss to Gatemen

Tonight's game against the Wareham Gatemen featured very little offense supporting the stereotypical idea of the Cape League as primarily a pitchers' league. Wareham's Joshua Turley (Baylor) dominated the Firebirds offense tonight, striking out 8 and allowing just 1 hit through 5 innings pitched.

On the Firebirds side of things, Ryan Carpenter (Gonzaga) threw 6 strong innings despite picking up the loss. Carpenter's two big mistakes came in the second inning when he game up back-to-back solo home runs to Daniel Palka (Georgia Tech) and Johnny Field (Arizona). Carpenter allowed 5 hits and 2 runs through 6 innings while striking out 7 Gatemen.

A strong bullpen combination of Pat Butler (UConn), Kyle Hunter (Dartmouth), and Tyler Gebler (Rutgers) finished off the game for Orleans.

The Firebirds only hit through the first 8 and 2/3 innings came in the first inning off the bat of Matt Duffy (Long Beach State). With two outs in the ninth, Jayce Boyd (Florida State) tried to rally the 'Birds with a double but it was just too little too late.

The Firebirds now sit in third place in the East Division with a record of 11-11-3 and 25 points. Harwich and Brewster sit at the top of the East with 32 and 29 points respectively. Y-D is in fourth place with 23 points followed by Chatham's 13.

Ben Waldrip's (Jacksonville State) 5 home runs have him tied for the league lead with Victor Roache (Georgia Southern) of Cotuit. There is the possibility we may see him in the Home Run Derby at Fenway Park before the Cape League All-Star Game on July 29.

Matt Duffy and Matt Koch (Loyola Marymount) are tied for the team's high batting average at .294. Andrew Aplin (Arizona State) follows them with a .290 average; Steve Selsky (Arizona) trails with his .253 average.

Ryan Carpenter leads the Orleans pitching staff with 20 strikeouts. Closer, Trevor Gott's (Kentucky) 6 saves seem to be going unnoticed. Gott has a 0.77 ERA with 14 strikeouts.

The Firebirds try to end their two-game losing skid tomorrow night against the Y-D Red Sox at 5:00pm.

Firebirds Enter July a Bit Above .500

It's been a while since I last blogged about the 'Birds because I've been pretty busy lately. On that note, I have a lot of catching up to do. I'm not going to do this the way I usually do with a game-by-game recap but more of a summary on how the team has been doing lately. Here we go.

The Firebirds' record of 8-7-1 has them tied for second in points (17) right now with Brewster. Because Brewster has played one less game and has one less loss, they currently own the second place spot. Harwich currently sits at the top of the East Division with their 10-6-0 record and 20 total points.

The Firebirds roster has seen some new additions lately. Some players were signed or activated while others were released. On the left side of the page, I highlighted the recent additions to the roster (from 6/21 to 7/1) in red.

Matt Duffy (Long Beach State) has been swinging a hot bat of late, hitting .333 with 17 hits and 3 RBI. He leads the 'Birds in batting average, at bats, and hits (as of 7/1).

Steve Selsky (Arizona) picked up where he left off in 2010. Despite seeing his average drop lately, Selsky is still batting .292 with 14 hits, 2 home runs, and 10 RBI. In a pitching-dominated league like the Cape, those are some pretty good numbers.

Ben Waldrip (Jacksonville State) is hitting .268 with 11 hits, 3 home runs, and 10 RBI. His 3 home runs not only lead the Firebirds but also tie him for the league lead in home runs.

Tyler Johnson (Stony Brook) leads the team in wins with his 2-0 record. Johnson has a 1.62 ERA in 16.2 innings pitched and has also struck out 9 batters.

Relievers, John Brebbia (Elon) and Kenny Long (Illinois State) are tied for the team high in strike outs with 10. Brebbia has yet to allow an earned run (as of 7/1).

The Firebirds next game is tonight at Bourne at 6:00pm.

Also, don't forget to buy your tickets for the Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game at Fenway Park on Friday, July 29, 2011. Visit http://mlb.mlb.com/bos/ticketing/cape_cod_league.jsp to purchase tickets online and also check out http://v2.capecodbaseball.org/allstar/ on the new CCBL site for more information.