By Brian Melanson
Offensive Player of the Week: Hunter Hines
The Mississippi State slugger continues to perform when his number is called for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. On Sunday, June 18, Hines mashed his second home run of the season, a three-run bomb that gave Y-D an early lead against the Falmouth Commodores. Hines would account for all four of the Red Sox’s RBIs after singling home the game-tying run in the bottom of the tenth to tie the game again. On June 23 against the Brewster Whitecaps, Hines tied the league lead in homers, hitting a two-run blast that won Y-D the game, 2-0. Currently, he is tied for first in the Cape Cod Baseball League in home runs (3) and RBIs (13) and is just outside the top five in batting average (.333)
Hines launches his third home run of the year to secure Y-D the win (photo courtesy of Zach Foley)
Pitcher of the Week: Blake Aita
The Kennesaw State righty has been one of the most reliable late relievers in the Red Sox bullpen. On June 18 against Falmouth, Aita pitched four innings with four strikeouts and no earned runs to keep the Commodores at bay and end the game in a tie. In two innings of work against the Brewster Whitecaps on June 23, he did not allow a hit and issued three strikeouts to earn him his first save of the year and shut the door on the Whitecaps en route to Y-D’s shutout victory. He is currently tied for first in the CCBL with a 0.00 ERA to go along with his nine total strikeouts. Batters were just 3-24 against him this week and 4-31 on the season.
Blake Aita issues one of his three strikeouts in Y-D’s shutout of Brewster (photo courtesy of Zach Foley)
