Orleans Firebirds
CCBL Cancels 2020 Season
Date:04/24/2020 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Nate Garran, Assistant General Manager ORLEANS, MA- On April 24, 2020, the Cape Cod Baseball League announced that it was unanimously decided by the CCBL Executive Committee that the 2020 Cape Cod Baseball League season would be cancelled "based on the health concerns and safety needs of all involved." Read the full statement from the CCBL here. Additionally, the Orle...
Playoffs Game 1: Orleans comeback falls short in home loss to Yarmouth-Dennis
Date:08/02/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden ORLEANS, Mass. – The 2019 Orleans Firebirds relied all season on their strong pitching staff and high quality defense. Orleans pitchers led the league in shutouts, runs allowed and earned run average while the defense committed the fewest errors of any season in the team’s storied history. Come postseason time few things can carry a team more than pitching and high-ca...
Game 44: Firebirds shut out Chatham in regular season finale/first look at Yarmouth-Dennis
Date:08/01/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden CHATHAM, Mass. – How teams respond after gut wrenching defeats speaks to the character and determination to turn the page to the next game on the schedule. For the Orleans Firebirds, it would have been very easy to sulk following the painful walk off at the hands of the Chatham Anglers less than 24 hours ago. It was the second such come-from-behind loss Orleans suffered at ...
Game 43: Firebirds clinch two seed in loss to Chatham
Date:07/31/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden CHATHAM, Mass. – Orleans and Chatham are as intertwined as any two Cape Cod towns can be. They’re the two furthest east geographical towns with teams, and feature rabid fan bases that fill their Rockwellian stadiums. It took until July 3 for the two teams to play in 2019 due to weather and scheduling, with the Anglers winning the first three contests in close affairs ...
Games 41 and 42: Firebirds move into tie for first place after doubleheader sweep of Harwich and Chatham
Date:07/30/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden HARWICH/ORLEANS, Mass. – Everything about Tuesday in the Cape Cod League was weird. A 2019 season that was consistently mired with poor weather conditions that led to numerous delays and cancelations forced the schedulers to get creative. The solution: Certain teams would play split day-night doubleheaders where they would play a road and home game against division rivals i...
Game 40: Orleans clinches postseason spot in convincing win over Yarmouth-Dennis
Date:07/29/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden YARMOUTH, Mass. – Any good sports rivalry must have a reasonable give and take. For the Orleans Firebirds and Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox the meetings have been exceptionally one-sided as the Red Sox at one point bested the Firebirds for nine straight games. Orleans had finally righted the tide with a statement victory against Y-D where the set a season-high in runs and hits. W...
Game 39: Solid pitching, Whitcomb's clutch homer nets Orleans a tie against Brewster
Date:07/28/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden ORLEANS, Mass. – As the Cape League season reaches its endpoint a common theme emerges across all 10 teams. Fatigue. Everyone has been playing the game nonstop since the early part of 2019 often through numerous bumps and bruises. Some played more games than other, but they’ve all been working hard without much of a break. The Orleans Firebirds (19-16-4) entered Sund...
Games 37 and 38: The Birds earn a doubleheader road split against Brewster
Date:07/28/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden BREWSTER, Mass. – After one inning of play Saturday afternoon a familiar theme emerged for the Orleans Firebirds. They were trailing by three runs and were left searching for answers squarely staring a third consecutive loss in the face. For a team that had very little go their way of late, it would have been easy to pack it up and view a three-run deficit as insurmountable...
Game 36: Firebirds offense held silent in loss to Falmouth
Date:07/26/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden ORLEANS, Mass. – Remembering the 2019 Orleans Firebirds will be a fairly easy enterprise. The pitching staff will go down as one of the best in club history and they’ve consistently performed exceptionally all summer. Friday night they held one of the Cape’s best offenses in the Falmouth Commodores to only two runs. Knowing that, Orleans would’ve liked the...
Game 35: Orleans offense struggles to get rolling in loss to Falmouth
Date:07/25/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden ORLEANS, Mass. – Throughout Thursday night’s game the Orleans Firebirds found themselves with numerous opportunities to score runs. The leadoff hitter was on base more often than not and innings were consistesntly being built. The Falmouth Commodore pitchers were constantly throwing from the stretch position with traffic around them on the bases, and it seemed inevita...
Games 33 and 34: Orleans uses offensive outburst in nightcap to split doubleheader with Harwich
Date:07/24/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden ORLEANS, Mass. – 27 outs. It’s the required number of outs to win a regulation baseball game from college all the way to the professional level. In the Cape League, when doubleheaders take place the games are shortened to seven. This was an unfortunate case for the Orleans Firebirds, who weren’t able to manage a hit against the Harwich Mariners before a full nin...
Game 32: Love's strong outing, Daniels' big bat leads Orleans to win over Hyannis
Date:07/22/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden HYANNIS, Mass. – For a team locked in a pennant race, the Orleans Firebirds don’t have the benefit of playing without urgency. They remain right in the middle of the league, but have strictly quality opponents remaining on the schedule. The remaining positive is that they won’t have any more long trips to face West Division opponents. Monday night’s makeup...
Game 31: Firebirds offense falls flat in loss to Falmouth
Date:07/20/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden FALMOUTH, Mass. – When assessing the Orleans Firebirds it’s hard to point to many flaws. The pitching has been among the leagues best throughout the summer, they make the routine play at a high rate and have found ways to put their opponents away when they make mistakes. However, the offense has at times been suspect due to a lot of swing and misses throughout the bat...
Game 30: Eder's tremendous outing, big bats pace Orleans to victory
Date:07/19/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden ORLEANS, Mass. – After the first three meetings between the Orleans Firebirds and Bourne Braves, the pitching for the Birds dominated. They suffocated a punchless Braves' offense that mustered a grand total of two runs through three games, all of which occurred during the season’s first week. The Orleans offense busted out and their starting pitcher excelled...
Game 29: Firebirds score late to secure sixth shutout win of the season
Date:07/16/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden ORLEANS, Mass. – In the three previous meetings between the Orleans Firebirds and Cotuit Kettleers, a single word is necessary to describe the contest: Close. An uncomfortable kind of close that makes every manager’s hairs stand up on the back of their necks. As the game marched along at a frantic pace, neither team could scratch a run across. Both starting pitchers w...
Game 28: Orleans mounts five-run rally to secure tie
Date:07/14/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Josh White COTUIT, Mass. – The grind of everyday baseball on the Cape can be grueling for college players who are accustomed to playing just a few times a week. With rainouts washing out originally scheduled contests in June, the Firebirds were in a tough position with 17 straight days with a game. After exploding for 15 runs the night prior, Orleans looked like a team tha...
Game 27: Firebirds win blowout affair for Kelly Nicholson's 350th victory
Date:07/13/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden ORLEANS, Mass. – Throughout Orleans manager Kelly Nicholson’s tenure, wins and losses were never his purpose in coaching. Nicholson preferred to work with young men knowing he’d have a positive impact on young athletes, regardless of the outcome of their baseball careers. However, you don’t get to spend 15 seasons as the skipper of a Cape League team witho...
The team at home: Orleans infielder Eddie McCabe uses his strong family unit in success
Date:07/12/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden ORLEANS, Mass. – To say family is important to Eddie McCabe II would be a massive understatement. The 20-year-old Georgetown infielder grew up in a large household in Norwalk, Connecticut the eldest of five kids where sacrifices were crucial to everyone’s success. His father goes by Ed (they share different middle names), the father and son share a love of sports and ...
Game 26: Quiet offensive night and key hit dooms Orleans against Hyannis
Date:07/11/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden ORLEANS, Mass. – Through eight innings of play on Thursday night the game looked like it would roll the Orleans Firebirds way. The pitching staff dominated, the offense kept getting runners on base but fell just short in driving them in. Against an opponent like the Hyannis Harbor Hawks who sit in the cellar of the Cape an opening surely would happen where the Birds could t...
Game 25: Stellar pitching paces Orleans in victory over Harwich
Date:07/10/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden ORLEANS, Mass. – Through 25 games of action in the 2019 Cape Cod Baseball League season, a few trends have emerged. The East Division has shown its superiority over their west counterparts with five fairly even teams battling out for four postseason spots. The Orleans Firebirds find themselves squarely in the middle of the five-team pack. Unable to best Chatham and Yarmouth...
Game 24: Orleans breaks losing skid behind excellent relief from Esqueda
Date:07/10/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden ORLEANS, Mass. – Through a half inning of play Tuesday evening an unfortunate familiar development emerged at Eldredge Park. The Orleans Firebirds were trailing 2-0 as their best pitcher was ambushed with an early deficit with the team mired in a six-game skid. They were facing another divisional opponent who could’ve potentially catapulted them into last place with a...
Game 23: Defensive errors, early deficit dooms Orleans against Chatham
Date:07/09/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden ORLEANS, Mass. – The game of baseball can frustrate like few other sports can. You can hit the ball right on the barrel, execute a pitch exactly where you want and give your all diving for a ball in the gap. Regardless of the effort put forth success is never guaranteed. For the Orleans Firebirds, they’ve felt all of the above through a six-game losing streak that has...
Game 22: Orleans bullpen falters late in shortened loss to Yarmouth-Dennis
Date:07/08/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden YARMOUTH, Mass. – A common turn-of-phrase in the game of baseball is that there are two types of ballplayers. There are those who are humbled, and those who are about to be. After 10 games of their 17-straight days without an off day the Orleans Firebirds have experienced both extremes of the spectrum. It began with five straight victories as the team looked unbeatable in j...
Game 21: Firebirds bats stay silent, late miscues lead to loss against Yarmouth-Dennis
Date:07/06/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden ORLEANS, Mass. – Through the first seven innings of play Saturday night a common occurrence took place at Eldredge Park. Both starters for the Orleans Firebirds and the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox were on top of their game as threatening weather loomed over the packed crowd. Unfortunately for the Birds, a disastrous eighth inning where balls found holes and errant throws led to...
Game 20: Orleans falls to Wareham in series finale
Date:07/05/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Josh White WAREHAM, Mass. – The old adage in baseball is that good pitching beats good hitting. And that was true between the Firebirds and the Gatemen in their first three meetings. Orleans held Wareham to just four combined runs over those contests, staying undefeated against the Gatemen. But Friday evening, the best pitching team in the Cape couldn’t contain the league’s...
Game 19: Firebirds comeback falls short in holiday loss to Chatham
Date:07/04/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden ORLEANS, Mass. – The atmosphere surrounding the Fourth of July holiday in Orleans was palpable. It began with a tremendous parade around the small Cape town with many smiling patriotic faces. As the day turned to night, the mood intensified as the Cape’s best rivalry readied for the second edition of the 2019 season. Unfortunately for the hometown Birds, it was a toug...
Game 18: Orleans loses heartbreaker to rival Chatham in series-opener
Date:07/03/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Josh White CHATHAM, Mass. – Orleans didn’t go down without a fight. The Firebirds trailed by three runs heading into the ninth and answered. Right fielder Zach Britton (Louisville) belted a two-run double to left-center and second baseman Danny Serretti (North Carolina) knotted the ballgame up with a base hit to right. Yet, despite marching back, Orleans was unable to hold off t...
Game 17: Firebirds stave off Harbor Hawks' late charge
Date:07/02/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Josh White ORLEANS, Mass. – It wasn’t pretty but the Firebirds got the job done. Orleans led the league in every major pitching category heading into Tuesday evening, but it was the Firebirds’ hitters that shined in the early going against the struggling Hyannis Harbor Hawks. Kelly Nicholson’s club put up seven runs across the first four innings and Orleans fended of...
Game 16: Orleans takes advantage of Falmouth mistakes en route to fourth straight win
Date:07/01/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden FALMOUTH, Mass. – Orleans Firebirds manager Kelly Nicholson has said repeatedly that if an opposing team is going to make mistakes it’s vital to take advantage. Through the first five innings of play, the Firebirds had no opportunities. 15 of the first 16 batters failed to reach base as the team looked lost at the plate. Falmouth’s starter Carmen Mlodzinsk...
Game 15: Firebirds stay hot to sweep home-and-home with Harwich
Date:06/30/2019 Source:Orleans Firebirds
By: Alec Henden ORLEANS, Mass. – The parallels between the home-and-home matchup between the Orleans Firebirds and the Harwich Mariners were numerous. Ominous rain clouds hung overhead after 'play ball' was stated, and eventually the sun peaked through to provide a great atmosphere for baseball. The Birds also came out on top in both matchups to remain hot and complete a perfect we...
