YARMOUTH, Mass. – Trading aluminum bats for wood in the nation's premier collegiate amateur baseball league, six Virginia Tech baseball players made their summer debuts during the opening weekend of the 2023 Cape Cod Baseball League season, highlighted by several impact performances.
Brody Donay • Hyannis Harbor Hawks
Donay caught Saturday's opener for Hyannis against Orleans, recording a broken-bat single during the bottom of the ninth inning off Harvard's Chris Clark. On Sunday, he batted as the designated hitter during the Harbor Hawks' 11-5 win at Wareham.
Our first broken bat of the summer comes from @brodydonay 😎(@HokiesBaseball) pic.twitter.com/Fvhj6vcdPD
— Hyannis Harbor Hawks (@harborhawks) June 11, 2023
Jacob Exum • Bourne Braves
Exum was the first reliever Bourne called from its pen during Saturday's opener at Brewster. Taking the hill during the bottom of the fifth inning with the Braves ahead, 3-2, the Tech right-hander proceeded to log two and one-third innings of relief, striking out three batters while allowing a run on three hits. Exum departed in line for the victory with Bourne leading, 4-3, during the seventh inning, though was ultimately denied by the Whitecaps' comeback to win, 6-4.
Christian Martin • Falmouth Commodores
Martin made a pair of infield starts for Falmouth, going 3-for-5 with a walk and two RBIs during his CCBL debut on Saturday against Wareham. The Tech second baseman singled during his first summer at-bat and contributed an RBI single to the Commodores' five-run rally during the bottom of the ninth inning that nearly won them the game (11-10 defeat). On Sunday, Martin walked twice and picked up his third RBI of the weekend as Falmouth tied Bourne, 3-3, in 10 innings.
Garrett Michel • Bourne Braves
Michel made two starts at first base for Bourne, registering his first two hits and first two RBIs of the summer inside Sunday's 3-3, 10-inning tie at Falmouth. The 2023 Freshman All-American drew an RBI walk during the fifth inning that knotted the game at 2-2 and later plated the go-ahead run during the top of the 10th inning with his RBI single off Central Connecticut State's Luke Garofalo.
Andrew Sentlinger • Brewster Whitecaps
Sentlinger shoved during his first summer appearance with Brewster on Sunday, striking out five of the eight batters he faced in late relief at Chatham. Despite him allowing two inherited runners to score during the bottom of the eighth inning (gifting Chatham the 10-9 lead), Missouri's Dylan Leach hit a solo home run during the ninth inning that bailed out Sentlinger, allowing him to return and strike out three batters during the bottom of the ninth inning. Forcing extras, Sentlinger pitched into the 10th inning for Brewster, combining with Rutgers' Ben Gorski to shut out the Anglers and force the 10-10 tie.
Griffin Stieg • Bourne Braves
Following his Tech teammate, Jacob Exum, Stieg threw the final inning and two-thirds for Bourne during Saturday's opener at Brewster. Inheriting a 4-3 lead, the Hokies' right-hander sandwiched his two strikeouts during the seventh inning around the game-tying, unearned run, though was tagged with the loss as Brewster scored twice during the bottom of the eighth inning to win, 6-4.
On Friday, June 9, all 10 CCBL franchises participated in the league's annual workout at Fenway Park in Boston.