By clinching the Cape Cod League’s Eastern Division regular season title with ease and dispatching the rival Chatham A’s in two straight games in the preliminary round of the Cape League playoffs, the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox held serve as the nation’s top team according to Perfect Game Crosschecker’s Summer 16—a weekly ranking of the nation’s top college summer league clubs. Y-D, winners of two of the last threeCape
playoff titles, has held the No. 1 spot every week this season.
The remainder of the Summer 16 rankings underwent the most significant shakeup of the season, however, as a number of national and league championships were completed since last week’s rankings. Among teams that vaulted into the rankings were the upstart Havasu (Ariz.) Heat, which unexpectedly ran the table at the National Baseball Congress World Series in
Wichita
on Sunday to finish the year with a gaudy 48-2 overall record. The previously-unranked Heat, members of the Pacific Southwest League, moved up to No. 2 in the rankings.
Also on Sunday, in
Johnstown, Pa.
, Youse’s Maryland Orioles won their fifth consecutive All-American Amateur Baseball Association title and 13th overall. The Orioles, members of the Cal Ripken Sr. League, moved to No. 10.
Meanwhile, the No. 3 Thomasville Hi-Toms, No. 4 Vermont Mountaineers and No. 6 Waynesboro Generals made the most significant climb in the rankings after winning league championships.
Thomasville
jumped ahead of league rivals and previously-ranked Edenton and
Martinsville
in the Coastal Plain League by winning the annual Pettit Cup on Sunday. Vermont swept undefeated to the New England Collegiate League title on Saturday while Waynesboro followed up a Valley League regular season title by winning the league’s three-tier playoff crown late last week. No. 12 Coppell captured the Texas Collegiate League title Sunday night.
PG Crosschecker’s ranking of the top 16 summer league teams. Records as of Aug. 12; previous ranking in parentheses:
1.
Yarmouth-Dennis
Red
Sox
(1)
Cape
Cod 33-12-1
Georgia SS Gordon Beckham (.284-9-35) led
Cape
in home runs, Stanford C-1B Jason Castro (.341-4-24) was No. 2 hitter.
2. Havasu Heat (NR) Pacific Southwest 48-2
Missouri Baptist RHP Matt
Murray
(8-0, 1.72), 1B Scott Talbert (.462-6-49) led Heat to big season, NBC World Series title.
3.
Thomasville
Hi-Toms (NR) Coastal Plain 43-17
Georgia
1B Rich Poythress (.324-13-49), The Citadel OF Chris Swauger (.311-14-45) lift Hi-Toms to Pettit Cup championship.
4.
Vermont
Mountaineers (12)
New
England
30-18
Maine
OF Curt Smith (.329-6-27), Georgetown RHP Matt Gaggioli (5-3, 1.83) lead red-hot
Vermont
to NECBL crown.
5.
Santa
Barbara
Foresters (3)
California
47-10
Defending NBC champs finished fourth;
Oklahoma
State
1B Rebel Ridling’s hot bat (.381-11-59) cooled off in
Wichita
.
6.
Waynesboro
Generals (15) Valley 37-16-1
Akron
1B Kurt Davidson (.307-5-54),
Butler
RHP Jon Dages (7-2, 2.62) power Generals to regular season, playoff titles.
7.
Derby
Twins (5) Jayhawk 40-16
Jayhawk League champions primed for NBC title run before two close, late losses to finalists Havasu, league-rival Hays
8.
Falmouth
Commodores (11)
Cape
Cod 24-22
So-so record belies impact of prospect-laden pitching staff; Commodores could give Y-D tough run in
Cape
final series.
9.
Eau Claire
Express (NR) Northwoods 41-26
Express flying behind Yavapai,
Ariz.
, JC LHP Kole Calhoun (3-0, 0.38, 14 SV), Nebraska-Omaha LHP Tim Huber (8-1, 2.94).
10. Youse’s
Maryland
Orioles (NR)
Cal
Ripken Sr. 32-15-1
Five-time AAABA champs clinch latest title on 6-0, two-hitter by Towson RHP Josh Squatriro (4-1, 0.53, 3 BB/53 SO).
11.
Chatham
A’s (4)
Cape Cod
25-18-3
A’s bumped by Y-D in playoffs, despite
Wake
Forest
1B Allan Dykstra (.308-5-31), USC RHP Tommy Milone (6-1, 2.92).
12. Coppell Copperheads (16)
Texas
30-19
Copperheads clinch second TCL title Sunday as Texas-recruit Brandon Belt (5-for-11, 5 RBIs) wins playoff MVP honors.
13.
Vienna
Senators (6) Clark Griffith 47-7
Pitching-rich Senators run away with CGL regular-season title, follow up with 3-2 record at NBC World Series.
14.
Moses
Lake
Pirates (13) West Coast 32-14
Pirates close to within game of WCCL title behind
Long
Beach
State
closer Dan Wolford (2-0, 1.27, 11 SV).
15.
Columbus
All-Americans (10)
Great
Lakes
28-14
Youngstown
State
1B Eric Diedrich (.350-5-27), Ohio State RHP Jake Hale (3-2, 1.39) power
Columbus
to GLL crown.
16. Mat-Su Miners (14)
Alaska
26-11
Miners earn share of Alaska League title with AIA Fire, but neither team elect to participate in NBC World Series in
Wichita
.
--COMPILED BY ALLAN SIMPSON