On the morning of November 27, 2011 Russell Ford of Orleans, MA, formerly of New Canaan CT, died peacefully at home, surrounded by his family and the dogs whom he rescued.

After moving to Cape Cod, MA in 1974, he dedicated 4 decades of service to the Cape Cod Baseball League. From 1978-83 Mr. Ford served as Cape League President and during that span helped foster the growth and popularity of the league. During his tenure as League President, Mr. Ford and CCBL executives gained support from Major League Baseball to switch from aluminum to wooden bats, the use of which continues to this day. In 2002 Ford was elected to the CCBL Hall of Fame along with fellow inductees, Buck Showalter, Ron Darling, Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek. The outstanding relief pitcher in the CCBL is called the Russ Ford Award in his honor.

From 1958 to 1961 Mr. Ford served as City Planning Director at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill where he worked on the early phase of development of the World Trade Center. A graduate of Yale University, class of ’45, and the Yale School of Architecture, Class of 1951, Mr. Ford and the late Taylor Gates, partners in the firm of Gates & Ford, designed homes in New Canaan, CT, several of which are on Connecticut’s current list of Historical Mid-Century homes.  Mr. Ford is a past president of the Ox Ridge Hunt Club in Darien, CT.

During World War II, at age 22 Lieutenant Russell Ford piloted an A-26 bomber in the European campaign, earning the Air Medal for meritorious achievement and heroism, the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism and the Purple Heart.

His wife of 57 years, Hope McWilliam Ford, died in September, 2002.  He is survived by his son Russell, Jr of Westport, CT and daughters Holly Ridgway of Chester, CT, Lucia Ford of West Groton, MA and Catharine Daly of Dover, MA; and six grandchildren.

Mr. Ford generously supported numerous national and local charities.  In lieu of flowers the family suggests one of the two following charities:  1)  the Orleans Athletic Association/Cardinals, c/o Dave Mitchell, PO Box 521, Orleans, MA 02653 to benefit the players and coaches of the baseball team.  2) The Orleans Conservation Trust, PO Box 1078, East Orleans, MA  02643-1078.

Services will be held at Church of the Holy Spirit, 204 Monument Road in Orleans on December 17, 2011 at 11am.

By Greg Joyce

On Friday night before game one of the playoffs, CCBL league president Judy Scarafile was on hand to present three league-wide awards to the Orleans Firebirds. Here is the official award presentation transcript:

“Tonight we are very pleased to have 3 awards about to be presented here on the field at Eldredge Park.

First is the 2011 East Division Championship Trophy.  League president Judy Walden Scarafile is presenting this to the Orleans Firebirds . This stunning bowl is being presented to President Don LeSieur, GM Sue Horton and Field Manager Kelly Nicholson.

Orleans finished the regular season with a 24-17 -3 record for a total of 51 points. They ended the regular season winning 9 of their last 10 and closed the season with a  4 – game winning  streak.

Congratulations to the entire Orleans Firebird organization!

Tonight we are very excited to present the Manny Robello 10^th Player Award to Orleans first baseman Ben Waldrip, from Medford, Mass and Jacksonville State. The hard hitting first baseman batted .276 for the season with 134 AB, 6 HR and 23 RBI. Ben played in 39 games. He was an All Star at Fenway Park last Friday night, playing 1B for the East Squad.  Ben was a Coca- Cola Player of the Week in June and  was drafted by Atlanta Braves in 2010 and Kansas City Royals in 2011. Also, Ben played for Coach Scott Pickler for one season at Cypress College. Congratulations Ben on receiving this prestigious award.

Our third award is the Russ Ford Outstanding Relief Pitcher Award. This is named after a wonderful gentleman from Orleans who has been an intergal part of the Orleans organization for decades. Russ went on to become League  president in the 1980’s. It is an honor for me to present this award to Trevor Gott, from Lexington , KY and the Univ of KY

Trevor had an amazing 13 saves in the 19 games he played in. He pitched 22 innings,  had 28 strike outs and only 4 walks. he finished the season with an outstanding 1.23 ERA.”

By Greg Joyce

The amazing 2011 summer for the Orleans Firebirds came to a crashing halt on Saturday night in Yarmouth, as the Red Sox knocked them out of the playoffs with a 11-10 defeat. The Firebirds came back once from a 4-0 deficit, but lost the lead in the bottom of the ninth, as they were sent packing by Y-D’s big bats.

The Firebirds took a 10-7 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but the Red Sox jumped on Trevor Gott (Kentucky) for four runs to win the game. The always-dependable Gott finally seemed human after going 12-for-12 in save opportunities during the regular season.

Connor Harrell (Vanderbilt) won the game for the Red Sox on a walk-off single to right field that scored Tyler Hanover (LSU). Hanover had reached on a two-run, game-tying single that got past Anthony Gomez (Vanderbilt) at shortstop.

“You’ve gotta give Y-D credit,” field manager Kelly Nicholson said. “They battled right down to the end. I thought that ball that got hit to Gomez was gonna get caught. I think the base runner got in the way and it kind of knuckled away from him. But hey, it’s baseball man. Stuff happens.”

Early on, it was not looking promising for the Firebirds as they fell behind 4-0. But their luck began to change in the fifth inning, when they got on the scoreboard for the first time in the series. Gomez slapped a double to right field that brought home Ronnie Shaeffer (UC Irvine) to begin the chipping away at the lead.

The Red Sox made it 5-1 in the bottom of the inning, but Orleans had a big sixth inning in return. Ben Waldrip (Jacksonville State) led off with a single, and moved to third on a double from Maxx Tissenbaum (Stony Brook). They both came in to score on a three-run shot by Jayce Boyd (Florida State) over the center field fence.

Now only trailing by one, the Firebirds continued their rally. Rudy Flores (Florida International) and Shaeffer hit back-to-back singles., and were moved over on a sac-bunt from Matt Lowenstein (Loyola Marymount). After Andrew Aplin (Arizona State) walked, Gomez hit a hard ground ball to the third baseman that was misplayed and allowed two runs to score, as Orleans took the 6-5 lead.

In the seventh inning, the Firebirds added to their lead, with all of the runs coming with two outs. Flores started the rally by slamming a double to deep center field off the fence. He came home to score when Shaeffer hit a fly ball to left field that was dropped, putting Shaeffer at second.

Lowenstein kept the rally going with a single, allowing Aplin to step into the batters box. He came through with a RBI single to right field that made it 8-5 Orleans.

The Red Sox then began to chip away at the lead, and it was a one-run game heading into the ninth. Aplin added some insurance runs when he lifted a home run over the right field fence for a 10-7 lead.

Matt Boyd (Oregon State) got the start on the mound for the Firebirds, recording the no decision. Boyd threw five innings, allowing five runs, nine hits, three home runs, and had five strikeouts.

Every batter in the starting lineup for Orleans recorded a hit, with six players racking up more than one.

Despite the tough ending to an incredible summer, Nicholson was able to identify what he would remember from his 2011 team.

“They did a good job,” he said. “Obviously this loss is gonna hurt, but the thing I’m going to remember about this team is that they won 11 out of 12 and won the East. I think anytime you can play well at the end and at least win your division on the Cape, you’ve had a good summer.”

By Greg Joyce

Orleans ran into some stellar pitching on Friday night in their first playoff game, and the offense went missing. Y-D’s Mark Appel (Stanford) stifled the Firebirds for eight innings of scoreless baseball, and the Red Sox took Game One, 4-0 at Eldredge Park.

Appel nearly went the distance for Y-D, throwing 110 pitches over eight innings of work, allowing just five hits, two walks, and striking out 10 batters.

“He was really good,” field manager Kelly Nicholson said of Aplin. “I think early he was touching sixes and sevens and throwing that nasty changeup and dropping that slider in there for strikes. Hey, good pitching is going to beat good hitting, we’ve talked about that all summer. You gotta give him a lot of credit.

“He was probably gonna beat most teams that he pitched against tonight. I think he’s probably one of the top ten picks in the draft next summer I would think, based on the summer he’s had. He has to have an off night for a team to have a chance to win against him. ”

All five hits the offense mustered off Appel were singles, and they could not manufacture any runs throughout the game.

The Firebirds’ best chance came in the bottom of the second, when they loaded the bases with two outs. But Andrew Aplin (Arizona State) was fooled by Appel and struck out, leaving the three runners stranded.

“We had a chance with Aplin with the bases loaded, but [Appel] threw a dirty changeup and got Aplin to swing and miss,” Nicholson said.

John Brebbia (Elon) got the start for Orleans, and lasted eight innings, allowing four runs, three of them earned. He left a few pitches up, but saved the bullpen for the rest of the series by toughing out eight innings of work.

“I think that’s going to be big going into Sunday, if we get to Sunday,” Nicholson said. “He picked us up big time. I think it’s the first time all summer that we’ve had a starter go eight innings and it was on 89 pitches. Breb did a pretty good job tonight. Not an A game, but B, B-.”

The Red Sox took a 2-0 lead in the third inning off Brebbia, which started when Tyler Hanover (LSU) doubled for his first of four hits on the night. Hanover came around to score when an attempted sac-bunt turned into an infield hit and an error by Ben Waldrip (Jacksonville State) on a muffed catch on the throw.

Y-D’s Cody Keefer (UCLA) added to the lead in the fifth inning, when he hit a two-run home run to right field to make it a four-run lead.

In relief of Brebbia, Tyler Gebler (Rutgers) threw a scoreless ninth for the Firebirds.

Orleans will be back in action in Yarmouth tomorrow for Game Two of the series, and Nicholson has faith in his team.

“We’re gonna go with the same lineup and see what we can do over there,” he said. “Our guys are gonna be ready to go. They’ve competed all summer. Y-D knows that if they have to come back to our park for game three, they’re in a little bit of trouble.”

By Greg Joyce

Prior to Wednesday night’s regular season home finale against Chatham, the Orleans Firebirds organization handed out their annual awards, citing eight players who went above and beyond expectations throughout the season.

The Charles F. Moore, Sr. Award for the team’s most valuable player went to Matt Duffy (Long Beach State), who was outstanding for the Firebirds all season long. Coming in as a temp, Duffy filled in at shortstop, second base, and third base, displaying his versatility in the field. He also slid into the three-spot in the lineup by the midpoint of the season, and finished the season as the team’s leading hitter, batting .346.

Duffy’s roommate and journey-mate, Ben Waldrip (Jacksonville State) shared the Charles F. Moore, Jr. Award with John Brebbia (Elon). The award cited Waldrip and Brebbia for their outstanding performance on and off the field. The young men have performed incredibly on the field for their team, and are two of the nicest players you will meet off the field as well.

Trevor Gott (Kentucky) was awarded with the Thomas Yankus Pitching Award for his performance on the mound. Gott finished the season 12-for-12 in save opportunities, with a 1.29 ERA. The All-Star’s cool demeanor and impressive poise on the hill earned him the relief pitcher of the year for the CCBL.

The next award was the Castleberry Coaches’ award, and it went to Reed Gragnani (Virginia) and Ronnie Shaeffer (UC Irvine). These two players did everything their coaches asked of them, and came to the field each and every day with great attitudes that their coaches were lucky to have.

Finally, the Harry Hossfeld Spirit Award was given to Andrew Aplin (Arizona State) and Anthony Gomez (Vanderbilt). These two players gave the Firebirds a much-needed spark when they arrived at the beginning of July, and their presence and energy could be felt in every game. Whether they were hitting, making spectacular defensive plays, or just getting guys excited in the dugout, Aplin and Gomez gave Orleans the jumpstart it needed to lock up the number one seed in the East.

By Greg Joyce

They say you want to be playing your best baseball heading into the playoffs, and the Orleans Firebirds are certainly doing that. They capped off their 2011 regular season campaign with a 9-8 win over the Chatham Anglers at home in front of 3,458 at Eldredge Park, the second game of a day-night doubleheader.

The offense put on a show in the game after trailing early, and the bullpen held off a late surge by the Anglers in the latter innings, giving the Firebirds some good momentum as they begin the playoffs.

Down 1-0 in the second inning, Maxx Tissenbaum (Stony Brook) tied the game with one swing. He got a hold of a pitch and blasted it down the right field line for a monster home run, his second of the doubleheader.

Chatham took the 2-1 lead back in the next inning, but it didn’t take long for the Firebirds to erase that deficit. Matt Lowenstein (Loyola Marymount) drew a walk to begin the inning, and moved to third on a single to right field by Andrew Aplin (Arizona State). That brought up Anthony Gomez (Vanderbilt), who grounded into a double play but scored Lowenstein in the process, tying the game at two.

Then, the Firebirds took the lead for good in the fourth inning on the back two more long bombs. Ben Waldrip (Jacksonville State) started off the inning with a single, and one batter later, Tarran Senay (NC State) came up big. Joining Tissenbaum with two home runs on the day, Senay crushed a pitch into the bullpen in right field to give Orleans the 4-2 lead.

“Yeah that was cool,” field manager Kelly Nicholson said of Tissenbaum and Senay’s two-home run days. “They’re good hitters.”

But the Birds were not finished with the long ball. Three batters later and with two runners on base, Andrew Aplin (Arizona State) connected for a three-run bomb into the bullpen for the 7-2 edge.

“Big home run,” Nicholson said of Aplin’s shot. “[Tissenbaum, Senay, and Aplin] did a terrific job tonight.”

Orleans padded their lead in the fifth inning, when Rudy Flores (Florida International) walked with the bases loaded to score Matt Duffy (Long Beach State).

On the other side of things for the Firebirds, Jason Wheeler (Loyola Marymount) got out of some tough jams and pitched a gutsy five innings to earn the win. He allowed just two runs in his start, and got through difficult innings unscathed to hold the lead.

In the sixth inning, Aplin banged a double to the gap in right to lead off, and eventually crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly from Duffy that made it 9-2.

From that point on, the Anglers scored six unanswered runs off the Orleans bullpen, but Trevor Gott (Kentucky) came into the game in the ninth inning and shut the door for his 12th save of the season.

The win in the nightcap was just the icing on the cake after the Firebirds had clinched the division earlier in the day at Chatham.

Said Nicholson,“I’m really, really proud of what we accomplished, but as I told them at the end, I’m really proud of how they accomplished it: with professionalism, class, poise, and I thought they did a very nice job.”

After an amazing turnaround from Orleans to go from fourth place to first place in just two weeks, Nicholson reflected on what makes this team stand out from others.

“Just that they’ve competed all summer,” he said. “Even games that we lost early in the summer, those guys would compete right down to the final at bat. Once we got Aplin here, once we got Gomez here, those guys are high-energy guys. They provide good energy. And it’s exactly what this club needed. We just started playing well at the right time.”

Now that the regular season has finally wrapped up, the skipper can begin preparing for the difficult road that lies ahead.

“We’ve got our hands full with Y-D,” he said. “We would like to think that Y-D has their hands full with us. But there’s a lot of baseball to be played. We could be here 10 or 12 more days, which is the goal. You’re in it now, man. Whoever gets to six wins first gets a ring. It’s gonna be fun.”

By Greg Joyce

Just over two weeks ago in Chatham, it seemed as though the Orleans Firebirds had hit rock bottom. They had just lost their seventh game in nine contests, an 8-3 defeat at the hands of the Anglers. They were down to fourth place in the East, and it was not looking good for the Birds.

Then, the Firebirds grinded out a 2-0 win over Y-D, swept a doubleheader at Harwich on the strength of a game-saving catch, and never looked back.  12 games and 11 wins later, the Orleans Firebirds are Eastern Division regular season champs.

On Wednesday afternoon in Chatham, the Firebirds locked up the number one seed in the East. Thanks to strong pitching from Tyler Johnson (Stony Brook) and four RBI from Maxx Tissenbaum (Stony Brook), Orleans defeated the Anglers 6-2 in the first game of the day-night doubleheader.

Earning his fourth win of the season, Johnson came up huge for Orleans, allowing just one hit and no runs over 6.1 innings of work.

“It’s obviously tough to go out there and compete for an Eastern Division Championship,” Johnson said. “But it was a beautiful day out there today, and I just went out there and said to myself, ‘Do the same thing you always do: throw the fastball, and use your defense.’ It was real fun.”

As he has all season, Johnson used his sinking fastball to get many of his outs, and that pitch was the key to his success.

“That’s my go-to pitch,” Johnson said. “When I need an out, I’ll throw that ball hopefully where I want to, usually where I want to, which was really a big key for me today. When I command that pitch, it makes it easier for me to pitch. I got a lot of groundballs, and I felt pretty good today.”

Johnson’s college and summer teammate provided all the offense he would need on the day. Tissenbaum drove in the first run on a RBI single in the fifth, scoring Reed Gragnani (Virginia) to make it a 1-0 lead.

But Tissenbaum waited till the eighth inning to do some more serious damage. After two batters were walked to begin the inning, Tissenbaum hit a bomb to right field for a three-run home run, giving Orleans the 4-0 advantage.

The home run was Tissenbaum’s second of the year, and after losing some playing time through the summer, his hard work and determination is finally showing off.

“It’s just been a lot of hard work,” Tissenbaum said. “I just kept on working cause I knew I’d get my chance at some point, and I’d try to do the best with whatever I can.”

“I told [Tissenbaum] today that I was really proud of him,” field manager Kelly Nicholson said. “His hard work and his good attitude paid off. A lot of guys would have sulked and pouted and quit, and instead he just worked harder and he reaped the rewards for it. It was awesome to see.”

Matt Duffy (Long Beach State) added a sac-fly in the inning to stretch the lead to 5-0, before the Anglers could put up two runs in the bottom of the inning.

In the top of the ninth, Tarran Senay (NC State) kept his bat hot with a long home run to right field, his fifth straight game with an extra-base hit.

The win secured home field advantage throughout the first two rounds of the playoffs for the Firebirds. More importantly, it showed the heart the team has had, coming back from fourth place to win 11 out of their last 12 games to take over first.

“It’s awesome,” Tissenbaum said. “It feels really good. It’s a lot of confidence going into the playoffs and knowing that we can pull off a real big comeback like we did. We were way back at one point, and came right back, so that’s good.”

“It’s real nice,” added Johnson. “A couple weeks ago, we were in a bit of a slide, but the last two weeks, we’ve really hit our stride. Sometimes, it’s who’s hottest going into the playoffs. It should be a fun ride.”

Nicholson summed up the two-week whirlwind best.

“I had a gut feeling we were gonna go on a run,” he said. “I didn’t know the run was gonna be as good as it’s been. But everybody has them. And like I told you, you gotta just survive and stay around .500 and you gotta survive those four or five game losing streaks, cause you’re gonna have them. It happens in this league and it happens in baseball. Baseball’s a crazy game. I think that game against Y-D when they came to our place and Tyler [Johnson] pitched and then we went over to Harwich and that catch by Aplin…I think it really energized us and I think it gave us some momentum. These guys have just really come together well. I couldn’t be happier for this group of guys and the coaching staff. They’ve done a terrific job.”

By Greg Joyce

It was more of the same for Orleans on Sunday night, and considering the way they are playing as of late, that is a very good thing. With strong starting pitching, no errors, and at least one hit from every batter in the starting lineup, the Firebirds enjoyed a 7-3 win over the Brewster Whitecaps in front of 2,718 at Eldredge Park.

Once again, Matt Duffy (Long Beach State) and Ben Waldrip (Jacksonville State) led the way for the Firebirds, as Duffy recorded three hits and Waldrip had two singles with two RBI. Anthony Gomez (Vanderbilt) and Jayce Boyd (Florida State) also racked up two hits apiece in the win.

Mike Hauschild (Dayton) got the start for Orleans, and he turned in yet another impressive performance. Hauschild let up just two runs, one in the third and another in the fifth, but was otherwise flawless. He recorded his third win of the summer, and finished with five strikeouts and no walks.

“It really helps,” field manager Kelly Nicholson said of getting six strong innings from your starter. “I’m stating the obvious, but it really helps our ballclub for your starter to go out and give you six solid innings and two runs or less. It’s a good recipe for a great result.”

Down 1-0 in the fourth, the Firebirds had the heart of their lineup coming up and they came through to get the lead. Gomez led off the inning with a single to right field, which was followed by a single from Duffy to put runners on the corners with one out. Waldrip came up and slapped a single to left-center field, scoring Gomez to tie the game at one.

The next batter was Reed Gragnani (Virginia), and he grounded into a double play, but it allowed Duffy to score as the Firebirds took the 2-1 lead.

The Whitecaps responded with a run in the top of the fifth inning, but Orleans was quick to battle back and took the lead for good in the next half inning.

Boyd began the fifth with a long double off the left field fence that nearly went for a home run. Then, Andrew Aplin (Arizona State) connected on a pitch for a double of his own that plated Boyd to make it 3-2 Orleans.

Gomez moved over Aplin with a sacrifice bunt, which proved important when Duffy followed with a RBI single to bring home Aplin. Gragnani added a ground rule double to right before Brewster finally got out of the inning.

Orleans wasn’t done scoring though, as they padded their lead in the next inning. With one out, Maxx Tissenbaum (Stony Brook) got the sweet spot of the bat on the ball for a double into the gap in right. Boyd drove him home on the next play with a single to left field.

Then with two outs, Boyd stole second base, which was important when Gomez hit a single up the middle, as Boyd came in to score on the play.

On his third hit of the night, Duffy moved Gomez to third on an infield single just over the first baseman’s head. That set up Waldrip for another RBI, as he hit a single through the hole on the left side, scoring Gomez and making it a 7-3 Orleans lead.

With Tarran Senay (NC State) recording a double, his fourth straight game with an extra-base hit, and Ronnie Shaeffer (UC Irvine) hitting an infield single, all starters for the Firebirds got into the hit column.

“It’s great,” Nicholson said of all nine getting a hit. “It’s nice to see these guys playing well at the right time. We still have a lot of baseball left to play. But it’s good to see these guys playing well and having fun and enjoying being out here.”

Kurt Heyer (Arizona) continued to be dominant out of the bullpen, as he threw two innings of scoreless relief with four K’s for Orleans.

“[Heyer]’s in a really good role for this team right now,” Nicholson said.

In the ninth, Nicholson handed the ball to Trevor Gott (Kentucky), whom he called “arguably the best closer on the Cape.” Although it was a non-save situation, Gott closed out the game, giving up a harmless run before recording the final out.

The win put the Firebirds back in a tie for first with Harwich, adding an extra importance to the final two games of the season that remain. Orleans controls its own destiny, and two wins over Chatham will give them home field advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs, and the Eastern Division title.

“We’d really like to win the division,” Nicholson said. “We’re in a good spot to do that. I think we control our own destiny, and yeah we’d like to be the Eastern Division Champions, just like Harwich would. I think this organization takes some pride in that. I know I do.”

With just two games remaining before the playoffs, the Firebirds just need to do one thing: keep playing more of the same baseball. Winners in nine of their last ten games, they are playing their best baseball as of late. Just at the right time.

By Greg Joyce

Through six innings at Y-D on Saturday night, the Orleans Firebirds were losing 2-0. They had put up seven hits, but couldn’t get the push they needed to make a mark in the run column. But then came the seventh inning, and the Firebirds finally pounced, scoring six runs to complete the comeback and beat the Red Sox 6-3.

With a runner at first and one out in the seventh, Tarran Senay (NC State) continued his recent tear at the plate, and lined a single to right field. Ronnie Shaeffer (UC Irvine) came up next, and recorded his third hit of the day, a fly ball to left field that fell for a hit, scoring Jayce Boyd (Florida State). An errant throw from the left fielder allowed Senay and Shaeffer to each move up a base on the play.

Then, with runners at second and third and one out, the Firebirds elected not to put on a sacrifice bunt or a safety squeeze, and allowed Matt Lowenstein (Loyola Marymount) to swing the bat. Their decision proved wise, as Lowenstein hit a hard bouncing ball over the head of the Y-D second baseman and into right field to tie the game at two.

“I thought [assistant coach Benny Craig] showed a lot of confidence in our hitters,” field manager Kelly Nicholson said. “There were some situations where we could have sacrificed and we could have safety squeezed, but he just let guys hit, and they came through big.”

The next batter was Anthony Gomez (Vanderbilt), and he gave the Firebirds the lead for good when he shot a single into right field to score Shaeffer.

Then Matt Duffy (Long Beach State) joined the rally with his second of three hits on the night, lining a single to right field to make it 4-2 Orleans.

After Ben Waldrip (Jacksonville State) drew a walk to load the bases, Jake Stewart (Stanford) recorded a productive out, grounding into a fielder’s choice that brought home Gomez.

Finally, Reed Gragnani (Virginia) capped off the rally with a RBI single to right field for the 6-2 lead.

Matt Boyd (Oregon State) was the starter on the hill for Orleans, and threw five solid innings, allowing just one run in the process. He did not factor in the decision, but struck out six and held the Firebirds close until their big seventh inning.

Coming on in relief of Boyd was Kenny Long (Illinois State), who allowed one run over three innings of work to record the win.

“Matt Boyd was really good, and Kenny Long was really good,” Nicholson said.

Kyle Ottoson (Arizona State) pitched the last inning, giving up one run, but shutting down any last comeback attempt from Y-D.

Senay has now recorded an extra-base hit in each of the last three games (two doubles and a home run), with 4 RBI as well.

“He’s really swinging the bat at the right time,” Nicholson said. “That’s the nice thing about the Cape League: you lose a guy to professional baseball, and you get a guy like Senay, who could be playing professionally, and he steps in and continues to swing a hot bat. It’s really good to see that. He’s had a good attitude all summer, he’s worked pretty hard all summer, so it’s good to see it pay off.”

Duffy and Shaeffer both racked up three hits apiece in the game, while Gragnani finished with two. With his 3-for-5 performance, Duffy raised his batting average to .341, putting him .001 out of first place in the league in batting.

Every Firebird reached base at least once, and eight out of the nine batters had a hit in the game.

Said Nicholson, “All around, it was a good team win.”

By Greg Joyce

They both came in as temporary players, uncertain of how long their stay on the Cape would be. They both played well enough to earn full contracts. They usually play next to each other on the diamond, and hit back-to-back in the Orleans Firebirds lineup. They are roommates and have developed a great friendship, on and off the field. And on Friday, they will both shine under the bright lights of Fenway Park for the 2011 Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game. Together.

Matt Duffy (Long Beach State) and Ben Waldrip (Jacksonville State) have done nearly everything together during their summer on the Cape. Although they may have different playing styles, their success has been off the charts, exemplifying what the Cape League is all about: players who come in and turn heads, making a name for themselves. Duffy and Waldrip have certainly done that in Orleans, as they have become household names with their performances every night. Now with both being named to the All-Star team, they are starting to get recognized league-wide. After going through leaps and bounds just to get a chance to play on the Cape, both Duffy and Waldrip are finally getting the recognition they deserve.

Getting to the Cape

The road to the Cape was not easy for either player.

Duffy knew he wanted to be playing for a Cape League team this summer, and worked for it all year long at Long Beach State.

“I pushed with my coaches to try to get me out here on the Cape for a long time,” Duffy said. “Our infield coach and third base coach at Long Beach, Jesse Zepeda, really fought to get me out here too. He did everything he could: made calls, every day, every week.”

The determination paid off, as Duffy was finally offered a temporary contract by Orleans field manager Kelly Nicholson, after other teams passed over him.

Waldrip had a similar story in terms of trying to get a roster spot. After putting up stellar numbers in his freshman season at St. Anselm’s, the big man was not even invited to try out to play on the Cape.

“It was kind of a bummer,” Waldrip said about not getting the invite.

In his sophomore year, Waldrip was coming off surgery and played for Y-D field manager Scott Pickler at Cypress College. But not even Pickler would give Waldrip a shot on the Cape, and he was forced to play in the New England Collegiate Baseball League instead.

“It was kind of like people were always saying ‘You’re not good enough to play in this league,’” Waldrip said.

Finally after putting up more impressive numbers in his junior year at Jacksonville State, Waldrip was offered the temporary contract.

“I talked to Kelly on the phone, and he was like, ‘We need a temporary first baseman,’” Waldrip explained. “So I was like, ‘If I hit, will I stick around?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah we’ll keep you as long as we can.’ But realistically, I figured at some point I’d be released.”

“And everyone was saying, ‘Oh, you’re just gonna be here for a couple weeks,’” he said.

Given what it took for them just to get temporary contracts, Duffy and Waldrip both came in with a chip on their shoulder. In a league filled with guys from big-name schools and powerhouse conferences, both players knew they had something to prove.

“I have a huge chip on my shoulder, any time we play any teams,” Duffy said. “It’s like I have to prove myself every day, cause none of these coaches wanted to take me on a temp [contract], let alone a full [contract].”

“Right, and in a way that’s been cool for me too,” Waldrip added. “None of the other teams would ever take me in my first two years of summer ball. It’s nice to come out and finally just show who you are and play against the teams who never wanted to take you.

“[Coming from] smaller schools, you have to come down here and kind of make a name for yourself. Cause people are like, ‘Oh, where’s that school?’ I like it in a way. You’re not being known for where you come from. You’re making your own impression on the people, and they’re gonna like you for what kind of player you are, not just where you go to school.”

Unsure Times

After working so hard just to get temporary contracts, Duffy and Waldrip knew from the moment they arrived in Orleans that their days there could be numbered.

“I didn’t really have a ton of expectations coming in, just trying to stick around for as long as I could,” Duffy said.

“Coming in, we were living together, so every night we were kind of talking about what we were gonna do if we got released or when we got released,” Waldrip said. “We were just kind of coming out every day, doing the best we could to just stick around day to day and hopefully impress enough people that we’d get the opportunity to stick around.”

Right from the beginning of the season, Duffy and Waldrip turned heads. And they didn’t just impress fans; they impressed their coaches and teammates alike.

Duffy began the season hitting in the bottom third of the lineup, but by the end of June, he had taken over the leadoff spot and was the team’s best hitter. On top of that, he showed he could play at shortstop, third base, or second base, proving to be a valuable and versatile player early on.

Waldrip recorded his first home run of the year on June 17 in Falmouth, and never looked back after that. His second bomb came two nights later, an opposite field shot that seemed like it was still rising when it hit the netting over the 350’ sign in left field.

The early success of the two temps was showcased best in a win against Brewster on June 25, as Duffy and Waldrip drove in all five runs for Orleans. It was after the game that many people started focusing on how the Firebirds could keep both guys around, with final rosters due on July 1.

Both players knew of the deadline, and were just hoping for a full contract from Nicholson.

“The whole time, I’d ask Kelly, you know, ‘If you’re gonna release me, I understand, I just need to know so I can either try to catch on somewhere else down here or go to some other league,’” Waldrip said.

Getting the Call

It was Duffy who found out first that he’d be sticking around for the whole summer, and Waldrip found out a few days later. Having stuck together through the first month of the season, it was only fitting that the two went in to sign their full contracts at the same time.

“It was pretty cool cause we had kind of gone through the whole thing together,” Duffy said.

Finally knowing they were safe on the team, Duffy and Waldrip were able to just focus on baseball, and the two continued to perform at the highest level.

“This whole summer’s kind of surpassed expectations,” Duffy said. “We just kind of came in going day to day, trying to stick around each day. What it’s turned into is definitely not something I expected it to.”

For Waldrip, the summer has been a dream come true as well, but for a slightly different reason. Growing up in Medford, Mass., he spent his summers watching games on the Cape, hoping some day he too would get to don one of the jerseys himself.

“Growing up around the Cape, spending summers down here, I always wanted to play in this league,” Waldrip said. “So getting the opportunity to come down and play in the league, I just wanted to one, have fun, and two, just get away from everything, just play baseball, and not worry about anything except baseball. It all ended up working out.”

The All-Star Nod

When Duffy and Waldrip arrived at Eldredge Park together in Waldrip’s truck last Friday, their teammate Maxx Tissenbaum (Stony Brook) came up to them with the big news: that morning, they had both been named starters on the 2011 Cape League Eastern Division All-Star team.

“We pulled up to the field, and Tissenbaum walked up and said congratulations,” Waldrip said.

“That was pretty cool,” Duffy added. “Going through everything together, the same kind of path, both having pretty good success. Making the All-Star team was kind of just icing on the cake.”

The two will make the trip to Fenway Park on Friday night to represent Orleans and the Eastern division with teammates Trevor Gott (Kentucky) and Tyler Johnson (Stony Brook). Waldrip will be the starting first baseman, while Duffy will be over at shortstop.

Their selections were well deserved, and their manager was their biggest advocate in the process.

“I’ve been up here for seven summers as a manager, and I told Matt Duffy and Ben Waldrip, I’ve never walked out of an All-Star meeting more happy,” Nicholson said the night of the selection. “Two temporary guys that are starting in the All-Star game. It’s a great story. And they’re roommates. They’re hall of fame kids. High, high-character young men. I couldn’t be happier. It couldn’t happen to two better guys. I’m really, really happy for them.”

They wont be playing right next to each other or batting one after the other as they usually do on a nightly basis with the Firebirds, but they will be there together. It wouldn’t have happened any other way.

Roommates, Brothers

During their first week in Orleans, Duffy and Waldrip were living in a house with Tissenbaum, but eventually moved into their current house with the vonThaden family, where they have been together all along the way.

“It was kind of weird because we were the two temp guys and [Tissenbaum] was on a full [contract],” Waldrip said. “I’m sure he didn’t understand a lot of the things we were going through.”

Throughout the summer, Duffy and Waldrip have been able to grow close, whether it is at the field or just in downtime at their house.

“[Early on], we were always hanging out with each other, talking, getting to know each other, and we grew real close, especially dealing with the same things all summer,” Waldrip said.

“Just going through the whole summer with him, [he is] kind of like a brother now,” Duffy said.

The two feel lucky for the way their living situation has worked out, as they have grown close not only with each other, but with the vonThaden family as well.

“We’ve had a great time,” Waldrip said. “We’ve been fortunate enough to stay with the vonThadens. We couldn’t have asked for a better setup and a better host family than what they are for us. We’ve had the best opportunity to have our own place and come together and bond. Not just me and Matt, but the host family too.”

“And with the whole living situation, it makes it so much easier just to relax and play baseball,” Duffy added.

As for the roommate dynamics?

“He’s soft,” Duffy said jokingly of Waldrip, as the two broke into laughter. “I’m kidding. It’s been pretty good. I wouldn’t say I’m messy, but I’d say I’m a messier roommate than he is. He’s not too tough to deal with.”

Looking Ahead

There is still more baseball to be played for Duffy, Waldrip, and the Firebirds, with the playoffs just around the corner. Of course, Duffy and Waldrip are a huge reason why the Birds are even talking about postseason baseball, as on many nights throughout the season they have carried their team to victories.

With four regular season games left on the schedule, Duffy and Waldrip have lit up the stat sheet on a nightly basis. Duffy has slid into the three-spot in the lineup, and is hitting a team-high .331 at the plate. Meanwhile, Waldrip is tied for the league-lead in home runs with six, and leads the Firebirds with 20 RBI. The two have combined for 70 hits, 23 runs, and 32 RBI. The 70 hits are almost a quarter of the team’s hits on the season, a ridiculous stat for any two players, not to mention two temps.

Although they have been identical in everything they have done this summer, Duffy and Waldrip may go down different paths after the season is over.

Having just finished his sophomore year at Long Beach State, Duffy will head back there for his junior season and will be eligible for next year’s MLB draft.

“I’ve still got another year of school, and I don’t know,” Duffy said. “We’ll see what happens in the draft. I haven’t really talked to anybody too much about expectations or where I’m supposed to go or even if I’m supposed to go. So I’m just kind of playing it by ear, gonna work towards the spring, and try to have a good season next year at Long Beach.”

As for Waldrip, the Kansas City Royals’ 40th-round draft pick from this past June will have some decisions to make.

“I’ve heard multiple times talking to the Royals this summer, that they got upset, saying, ‘We feel like you have a chip on your shoulder,’” Waldrip said. “And I was like, ‘Well, you know, I do in a way.’ Because they didn’t want to sign me at the beginning of the summer. They thought I wasn’t good enough.”

With the amazing summer that Waldrip has had, the Royals are now in hot pursuit of the first baseman, but nothing has been decided upon yet. Last week, a report from the Cape Cod Times surfaced that Waldrip would be signing with Kansas City right after the All-Star game, however Big Ben has said otherwise.

“That’s not true,” he said on Tuesday night. “Their scouting director is quoted in it, and we had talked and they haven’t negotiated anything different with me. So I told him I wasn’t gonna take the initial offer, and they haven’t negotiated.

“Whoever wrote it should have called me or something to find out the truth,” added Waldrip while laughing.

Waldrip has until August 15th to decide whether or not he wants to sign with the Royals, and will likely have more serious talks with them after the end of the season.

“They didn’t really want to sign me at the beginning of the summer, and now they’ve been coming on hotter because I’ve been playing well,” he said. “Definitely by [August 15th] I’ll have a decision. Money’s gonna play a big part in it, whatever they’re willing to offer. I still have another year of school left, so if I don’t end up signing, then I’ll go back to school for my last year, hopefully stay healthy, and get drafted higher next year.”

With such a big decision weighing on his shoulders, Waldrip isn’t quite ready to end his memorable summer in Orleans just yet.

“I’ve had a ton of fun this summer, living with Duff, coming here every day playing baseball with the fans, the atmosphere that Orleans has, and I’d like to finish out the summer,” Waldrip said.

Nothing is certain in the futures of either Duffy or Waldrip, but then again, that’s how their summer in Orleans began. As is the case for many baseball players, they never really know what’s next. With so many uncertainties to deal with, the two can at least take solace in one definite thing: their common bonds.

Two unknowns, two temps, two roommates, two friends-turned-brothers, and now, two All-Stars. Matt Duffy and Ben Waldrip have both accomplished so much in just two months on the Cape, and they have done it all together.