Orleans Swept in Division Series

SOUTH YARMOUTH – The Orleans Firebirds roared into the Cape Cod Baseball League playoffs as winners of the East Division after storming through the back quarter of the regular season. 

But in the postseason, that 40-game schedule is reduced to a three-game set, and one or two bad days is all it takes for the summer to be cut shorter than desired. That essentially turned out to be the case for Orleans, a team fresh off a seven-game win streak that rose quickly up the standings to finish with the best winning percentage on the Cape. The Firebirds were swept by the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Division Series, losing game one in Orleans 4-1 and game two in South Yarmouth 9-2. 

Across both games, the Red Sox outhit the Firebirds 22-13. They committed a single error to the Firebirds’ five (four of which came in game one). Orleans didn’t hold a lead at any point during the series. Yarmouth-Dennis basically led wire-to-wire, jumping on Orleans pitching and scoring in the first innings of each game.

“They played better,” Orleans manager Kelly Nicholson said. “They played better for two games. They deserved to win the series. They just played better, pitched better, hit better, defended better, ran the bases better. They just beat us.”

Game one unraveled quickly for Orleans, who started the series by surrendering a sequence of single, error, walk before recording an out. A fielder’s choice brought in one run, then another scored on a throwing error by Firebirds shortstop Elijah Ickes (Hawaii).

The sole run for Orleans came on a solo shot in the third inning by Landon Hairston (Arizona State). The Firebirds brought the potential tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth after Kai Wagner (Northern Colorado) was hit by a pitch and Javar Williams (Wake Forest) doubled, but designated hitter Tyler Myatt (Tennessee) struck out and second baseman Alejandro Garza (Cal Poly) flew out to end the game. 

In game two, Firebirds ace JT Raab (Georgetown) struggled to get anything going against the Red Sox’s bats, allowing four runs on seven hits, a walk and two strikeouts in two innings. Orleans scored a pair down 6-0 in the fifth but Yarmouth-Dennis continued to add runs against the Firebirds’ bullpen. 

The Division Series sweep by the Red Sox (19-18-3) was the second year in a row and third time in four years they’ve eliminated Orleans from the postseason. The two teams have met in four consecutive playoff series, with Orleans winning an East Championship series against Yarmouth-Dennis in 2023. 

The Red Sox will face the Harwich Mariners in the East Championship Series beginning Friday. The Firebirds (22-16-2) won the East Division for the first time since 2017. 

“I don't think anybody thought we would wind up where we were,” Nicholson said. “It's a real credit to our guys. They just persevered and got hot at the right time, and it was cool to win the division.”