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Orleans Dominates in 6-0 Victory over Cotuit
July 26, 2010
By Tyler Maland
Batting third in the lineup for the fourth straight time after leading off all season, Wong went 3-for-4 with three RBI including a two-out, two-run double and two stolen bases. He was hitless in four straight games from July 20th to July 24th, but has compiled six hits and five stolen bases in his last three games.
Playing behind his University of Hawai'i teammate apparently provides an extra boost. In the seven games Sisto has started this season, Wong (pictured right) is hitting .423 (11 for 26) with five RBI and five runs.
After allowing five runs in his last two starts, Sisto regained his momentum as well. The 6-5 righthander scattered six hits in six effective innings, walking one and striking out three without giving up any runs.
The biggest Cotuit scoring threat came in the third inning, when Michael Faulkner (Arkansas St.) singled with one out, stole second, and moved to third on a ground out. But Sisto got out of the inning with a little help from - guess who - Kolten Wong. Jordan Leyland (UC Irvine) hit a sharp grounder up the middle, but Wong fielded the ball on an outstretched dive, sprung to his feet, and made a strong throw to first to retire Leyland.
While Sisto pounded the zone, the Firebirds' bats were thumping as well. Wong came up with runners on first and second and two outs in the third and lined a Matt Murray (Georgia Southern) offering off the wall in right field. Both runners scored, tallying Wong's first runs batted in since June 27th.
Orleans scored again in the fourth inning, when Joe Loftus (Vanderbilt) hit a slow chopper down the third baseline with runners on the corners and the ball was misplayed by Levi Hyams (Georgia), allowing Matt Newman (Arizona St.) to score.
Loftus hurt the Kettleers again in the seventh inning, when he followed a Matt Koch (Loyola Marymount) leadoff single by launching a double to deep right-center. Koch scored on a single through the left side by Shon Roe (Loyola Marymount), who promptly stole second on a fake squeeze play. Wong followed with another RBI, a single up the middle, before a sacrifice fly by Jayce Boyd (Florida St.) plated the final Firebirds run of the game.
Sisto left after six innings, and was replaced smoothly by three relievers. Nolan Belcher (South Carolina) pitched a perfect seventh with two strikeouts, Jack Leathersich (UMASS-Lowell) a hitless eighth with two strikeouts, and Kenny Long (Illinois St.) finished things off with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Koch matched Wong's total with three hits, two of them line drives to the opposite field, and he also scored two runs. Roe was 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI, and Newman and Loftus each had one hit and one run. Wong's three hits brought his average up to .331, second in the league, and his two stolen bases put him first in the league with 22.
Deven Marrero (Arizona St.) was 2-for-4 for Cotuit, with both hits coming off of Sisto. The Kettleers had won six out of their last seven before running into the red-hot Firebirds, who are unbeaten in their last five games and are 7-2-1 in their last ten.
Orleans is back up to .500 for the first time since June 26th, with an 18-18-1 record, good for fourth place in the East and only one game out of third. Cotuit is now 17-15-2, and remains in first place in the West. Cotuit plays at home on Tuesday against Wareham at 5:00 p.m.
The Firebirds are off for the All-Star break before playing at Harwich at 7:00 p.m. July 29th for the first of two straight games against the Mariners. Wong, Kyle Simon (Arizona), and Marcus Stroman (Duke) will all represent the East Division in the All-Star game on Wednesday, with the Fenway Park gates opening up at 4:30 p.m. prior to the 7:00 game.
View Kolten Wong's Post-Game Interview