West Division Takes All-Star Game With Walk-off Win

FALMOUTH –The playoff race in the Cape Cod Baseball League is red hot. Three clubs — Brewster, Orleans, and Harwich — have 12 wins each and are fighting for two playoff spots in the East Division.

On Saturday, those same players who have been going toe-to-toe all summer, joined forces as fans, volunteers and food trucks flocked to Falmouth’s Guv Fuller Field for the 33rd edition of the CCBL All-Star Game. The event featured five lead changes and culminated in a walk-off 9-8 win for the West All-Stars.

“It's cool,” said Jake Ogden (Miami) who was one of three Harwich Mariners in the game. “Picking up things from different guys, talking baseball with all these guys, it's a great experience. You can learn a lot from it.”

The real action for the West started in the eighth inning. After a pitching change that brought in Chatham right-hander Tanner Franklin (Tennessee) for the final out of the frame, the West loaded the bases with Wareham infielder Yohann Dessureault at the dish. The Stetson Hatter hit a potential inning-ending fly ball to right field, but Brewster Whitecaps outfielder J.D. Rogers (Vanderbilt) slipped and missed the catch. Three runners scored, making it 8-7.

Dessureault later scored on a single from Hyannis’ Eric Snow (Auburn), and the game entered the ninth knotted at eight. In the top half, the East squad went down in order, leaving the drama for the bottom of the ninth.

After Franklin surrendered back-to-back walks to start the inning, Yarmouth-Dennis manager Scott Pickler, who served as the East team’s skipper for the contest, turned to right-hander Ryan Sprock (Elon) to diffuse the situation. Sprock induced a groundout from the first batter he faced but was unable to pull off the escape as the second batter — Hyannis’ Kane Kepley (North Carolina) — lined a single to right field, completing the comeback for the West.

“It was really cool,” said Chatham’s Ashton Larson (LSU), who went 2-for-3. “It was really fun to be out here with everyone, all the best players from around the league, and get to be back with some friends from previous stuff on the circuit.”

While the game didn’t end in the East All-Stars’ favor, they still had plenty of highlights throughout the day, starting with the Home Run Derby. The event was emceed by WEEI’s Rob Bradford and went to a swing-off after Y-D’s Ethan Petry (South Carolina) and Wareham’s Nate Earley (Louisville) tied with five homers each in the final round.

In the five-out tiebreaker, Petry secured the victory by lacing two more homers.

About an hour and a half later, the fireworks continued. The East hung two runs in the first three innings and then really set the tone in the fourth and fifth innings.

Harwich’s Cade Kurland (Florida) led the inning off with a single. He stole second and scored on a double from Chatham’s Aiva Arquette (Washington), who advanced to third on the throw.

Arquette was driven in one batter later on a sacrifice fly to Wareham's Brendan Summerhill (Arizona). On the play, Summerhill slammed into the center-field fence at full speed and laid on the field for an extended period of time. Onsite medical staff rushed out to assist and determined that an ambulance was required. Upon its arrival, he was stretchered into the vehicle and driven to Falmouth Hospital.

In the fifth inning, once the shock had partially dissipated from the previous frame, the East's bats went back to work. Y-D’s Easton Carmichael (Oklahoma), who finished the game 3-for-3 and took home East MVP honors, singled to right field to lead off the inning. Then, with one on and nobody out, Brewster’s Nick Dumesnil (California Baptist) drilled a towering homer, putting the East up 6-4.

“It felt great to get a good pitch to hit and to execute it,” Dumesnil said. “[My biggest takeaway] is the fun we had. Just being with all the guys and all the other teams and just competing with everyone.”

Despite the game not going their way, the East Division participants all shared the same sentiment as Dumesnil.

“It was a great experience,” said Orleans right-hander Itsuki Takemoto, who hails from Osaka, Japan, and attends the University of Hawaii. “Everybody is so great. I learned a lot. This is obviously the best college baseball league.”