Milone Magnificent in 5-0 Win
by Kyle Whitehead
Saturday, July 21, 2007
On a day when the 2007 Cape League Eastern Division All-Stars were announced, one man surprisingly left off that squad took center stage in a 5-0 A's win at Veteran's Field.
Tom Milone (USC) baffled Cotuit hitters all night long, displaying pinpoint control and an uncanny ability to change speeds. The Trojan threw a complete game shutout, scattering five hits over nine innings while walking one and striking out ten.
Cotuit, who has now lost eight in a row, never had more than one man on in an inning and did not advance a single runner beyond second base.
The two Chatham A's all-stars gave Milone all the offense he needed in the bottom of the first. After Cotuit starter J.B. Shuck (Ohio State) retired the first two men, third baseman Jermaine Curtis (UCLA) singled to get things going. Allan Dykstra (Wake Forest) then blasted a home run over the 357 sign in right centerfield to put the A's in front 2-0.
In the third, Chatham added two more with a little help from the Kettleer defense. Curtis singled home the third run for the A's and moved to second on a Dykstra groundout. With two away, Tim Federowicz (UNC) hit a high popup to shallow center that centerfielder Jonathan Pigott (Florida) never had a read on. The ball bounced off the palm off Pigott's glove and dropped in to score Curtis and give Chatham a 4-0 lead.
For good measure, Chatham scored again in the seventh on two walks, a hit and wild pitch, but Milone had the ballgame in his back pocket by that point.
Milone is the first Chatham pitcher to throw all nine innings. The only other complete game came last Thursday, when Alex White (UNC) went the distance in a five inning, fog shortened 4-3 win over Hyannis.
The A's will look to keep it going Sunday at 2pm at Doran Park in Bourne. Zach Putnam (Michigan) makes his first start of the year for Chatham. He will be opposed by Mitch Harris (Navy).
Box Score (coming soon)