Jeffrey Passantino might be the biggest surprise of the 2016 Cape Cod Baseball League. Three starts into his summer, the stocky and focused righty from Lipscomb University is third in the Cape League in ERA (1.00), a number that leads all pitchers in West Division.
His key? Location, location, location. Passantino drills the lower portion of the plate to the frustration of all Cape Cod hitters. To date, he has given up a mere eight hits and two earned runs in his three starts and pitched into the sixth inning in every game. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in 13.2 innings.
Most recently, Passantino threw six innings of one-run ball (unearned) the last time Falmouth faced Cotuit at the Guv. Passantino will face Cotuit again tonight, with the hopes of continuing his mastery of the Kettleers.
Oh yeah, he also officially signed a contract with the Commodores yesterday so Passantino isn’t going anywhere.
Falmouth (10-10) rematches Cotuit (5-15) after the Kettleers put a beating on the Commodores last night, a 9-4 loss. Cotuit homered four times, including back-to-back home runs in the third and fourth innings. Still, the Commodores left 11 batters on the bases, including leaving the bases loaded twice. They rallied with three runs in the top of the ninth but were unable to finish the comeback.
Opposing Passantino is Cal Becker (Sonoma State University). Becker has appeared in five games and made two starts but never pitching more than 2.2 innings. He is 0-1 with a 5.22 ERA.
Despite the offense surge from Cotuit, they still sit last in the league with an overall team average of .212. The Kettleers have won three of their past four after a 2-11 start to the season.
Baseball, Independance Day, and the Cape Cod Baseball League. It doesn’t get much better. First pitch from Guv Fuller Field is at 6pm. Commodore Call Pregame, including our daily visit with head coach Trundy starts at 5:45!
You can contact the writer at blakebenard@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @BlakeBenard.
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