Monomoy Baseball Rolls Over Cape Cod Tech

 PLEASANT LAKE – Monomoy baseball’s bats flourished against shorthanded Cape Cod Tech in a five-inning shutout last Thursday.

The 17-0 win was something of a bounce back for Monomoy (7-3), which the day prior had taken a hard loss to Martha’s Vineyard, according to head coach Louis Elia.

 “We have our good days and our bad days,” Elia said. “Hopefully we have more good days than bad, but I’m pretty proud of these guys. I mean, they work hard, so [we need just] a few tweaks here and there.”

The Sharks sprung to a 2-0 lead after one inning, then continued to add until a 10-run burst in the fourth. The scoring output was spread throughout the lineup: Chace Robbins, Casey Huse, Finn Hyora, Chase Yarletts, Michael Webster, Jacob Larivee, Lincoln Sanford and Ben Hager all batted in runs.

 “They hit the ball hard,” Elia said. “They hit with guys in scoring position. For the most part, they played really well.”

Sanford threw four scoreless innings and Xavier Doyle struck out two in the fifth to finish the shutout win. 

It’s Elia’s first year at Monomoy, and the new coach has brought a new style, according to Huse, a senior captain. The overall message is to practice how you play.

 “I like it, though,” Huse said. “He gets really hard on us, which is good for everyone on the team. Makes us focus a lot more.”

Elia coached Nauset for eight years and was an assistant coach with Sandwich for two years, he said.

 “We practice hard,” Elia said. “We do a lot of defense. We do a lot of hitting situations and yeah, we try and make their practices harder than the game.”

For Cape Tech (3-5), coming off a year in which they broke a 12-year postseason drought, the loss Thursday was in part a symptom of playing a busy schedule while down several players, according to second-year head coach Frank Zaino. He said five starters were out due to injuries. 

Freshman players have stepped into the starting lineup for the injured Crusaders, according to Zaino, who called Cape Tech a “good, young team.”

 “These young kids are doing everything that I’m asking of them, you know what I mean?” he said. “They’re just thrown into the fire a year early.”

Freshman Connor Gent pitched four innings for Cape Tech, and senior Josh Cohan came in for the fifth. 

Cape Tech opened the season with a 30-1 win against Rising Tide, and they bounced back after Monomoy with a 3-1 win Monday against Norfolk Aggie. When the Crusaders are winning, they’re playing “Zaino ball”: running, stealing, double stealing, stealing home, putting down squeeze bunts. 

 “Putting pressure on the other team, that’s basically what it is,” Zaino said.

But Cape Tech can’t tap into that style of baseball when faced with large deficits early in games, according to Zaino. And in the short term, the Crusaders have innings to fill and a dearth of pitchers to complete them. 

 “It’s been a tough year with injuries,” Zaino said.