Bruins to play for West Division All-Star Team in Cape Cod Baseball League
Jeremy Ydens was the leadoff hitter for the Bruins for the second half of the season and now holds that role for his summer team, the Wareham Gatemen. Ydens was named a Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star last week. (Mia Kayser/Daily Bruin)
By Sam Connon
July 15, 2018 11:17 p.m.
The Cape Cod Baseball League is approaching its All-Star break, but a couple of Bruins won’t be getting too much time off.
Two UCLA baseball players, rising juniors pitcher Ryan Garcia and outfielder Jeremy Ydens, were named to the CCBL West Division All-Star Team last week. Both Bruins are playing for the Wareham Gatemen, who are currently in first place in the West Division.
Ydens’ .326 batting average is good for second on the Gatemen and fifth in the league. The outfielder is also second on the team in hits, stolen bases and RBIs, while leading Wareham in runs and sacrifice flies.
Garcia owns a 2.25 ERA through his first four starts of the summer season, tossing 11.25 strikeouts per nine innings. The right-hander is the lone Gateman who has appeared exclusively as a starting pitcher this season, and his ERA is ranked No. 3 among starting pitchers on the team.
Joining Ydens and Garcia on the Gatemen is rising redshirt junior pitcher Jack Ralston and rising junior shortstop Ryan Kreidler. Ralston has pitched 5 1/3 innings and has an 8.43 ERA, while Kreidler – the Gatemen’s primary No. 6 hitter – is hitting .258 with 10 RBIs.
Rising junior first baseman Michael Toglia is playing less than 30 miles away for the Cotuit Kettleers. He was not selected as an All-Star, but his six home runs are the second most on the Kettleers. In a game against the Falmouth Commodores on July 5, Toglia launched two nearly identical home runs to right field, despite losing 17-7.
Cotuit visited Wareham on Friday night, resulting in a matchup boasting five Bruins between the two teams. The Gatemen won 8-2, as Ydens and Toglia picked up an RBI apiece. Ydens slapped an RBI single in the bottom of the first to give Wareham a 3-1 lead, while Toglia tallied his RBI on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch in the seventh.
The sixth and final Bruin playing in Cape Cod this summer is rising junior Nick Scheidler. The left-hander has a 2.45 ERA out of the bullpen for the Chatham Anglers but is yet to notch a win. He faced off against the Gatemen on July 11, tossing three hitless innings in an Anglers loss.
The CCBL All-Star Game will be played at Whitehouse Field in Harwich, Massachusetts on July 22.
