By: Finn Riley
Yarmouth, M.A 一 On Tuesday, the Whitecaps concluded the regular season with a 2-2 tie against the Y-D Red Sox and have solidified themselves as a top-two seed in the East.
Brewster’s final match before the playoffs was a bit of an offensive struggle, but certainly had some positive takeaways.
The highlight of the day for Brewster came from Nick Lorusso (Maryland) who plated both Whitecaps runs on a double through the right-center gap with two outs in the top of the fifth inning.
Lorusso recorded the only multi-hit performance for Brewster, as he singled in the first inning as well.
“Having that kind of confidence is huge […] and it’s coming at the right time since it’s making that push in the playoffs, and it’s not just me but a lot of guys have gained some confidence heading into it,” Lorusso said.
So far in his Cape League campaign, Lorusso has totaled a .379 batting average over 29 at-bats and has also collected four doubles and six runs batted in.
The Whitecaps pitching staff got off to a rocky start as they allowed the first Red Sox run to score in the first inning. However, the combination of Brewster bullpen arms kept the Y-D bats to just one more run over the remaining eight innings.
Whitecaps pitchers Braxton Pearson (TCU), Joe Sinnella (Seton Hall), Jack Stroud (Texas State), and Brennan Oxford (Wake Forest) combined for eight strikeouts and no runs across six innings.
Following the game, Pitching Coach Jason Rathbun spoke on the influx of new bullpen arms and how he plans to utilize them in the playoffs.
“Definitely matchups, […] we were able to get these guys out there in good matchup situations with lefties and righties. They answered the bell, I thought the new guys pitched great today and I thought the pitching staff as a whole did great.”
The Caps pitching staff has seen plenty of newcomers over the past few days, with pitchers such as Thomas Chmielewski (Princeton), Zach Grace (Wake Forest), and Troy Butler (Herkimer CC) to name a few.
These new arms will be crucial to the success of the Whitecaps in the postseason, as the strength of the pitching staff often decides the outcomes of tight playoff games.
The Caps will have to wait until the result of the Y-D Red Sox v. Chatham Anglers game on Wednesday to know what spot they have in the East. If the Red Sox win, then Brewster will be the second seed, if the Red Sox lose, then Brewster will be the first seed.
Either way, the Whitecaps will get a day off on Wednesday and will be back at Stony Brook Field for Game One of the playoffs on Thursday.