Maxwell Costes highlights Maryland baseball performances on the summer circuit

July is nearing an end and summer league baseball is heating up. Maryland baseball has 20 players competing in collegiate leagues this summer. Let’s take a look at how some key players are doing, as the playoffs round the corner.

Rising sophomore Maxwell Costes has been a standout player this summer. Playing for the Amsterdam Mohawks in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, he has made an appearance in 32 games and is batting .385. On Wednesday, he was named “Player of the Night” after hitting four home runs in a doubleheader against the Saugerties Stallions. This puts him at 11 home runs so far this season — a PGCBL single-season record. His team holds a 31-9 record and is preparing to be a No. 1 seed as it nears the postseason.

For the most prominent summer league, the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Brewster Whitecaps is home to pitching reliever Sean Fisher, and catcher Justin Vought. Fisher is displaying an impressive earned run average of 1.26 this season, with 21.1 innings pitched in 10 games. He’s won three games and hasn’t had a loss yet.

As for Vought, he is struggling to make contact at the plate this summer, averaging .185 in 12 appearances. His fielding hasn’t been too strong either, as two consecutive bad throws of his cost the Whitecaps their win to the Falmouth Commodores Monday night. Brewster is 15-19-1 this season, three points out of an East Division playoff spot.

Trevor LaBonte has also seen some action in the NECBL, playing for the Sanford Mariners. The right-hander has just a 1-2 record with a 5.31 ERA, but has come on strong lately. With an outstanding start against the Upper Valley Nighthawks last Tuesday, LaBonte was named the Week 6 NECBL Pitcher of the Week.

Another Terps duo on the summer circuit is outfielder Randy Bednar and pitcher Sean Heine, who are both playing this summer in the New England Collegiate Baseball League for the Keene Swamp Bats. Bednar recently landed a spot on the 2019 Northern Division All- Star Team. This season he is hitting .322 with 46 hits, seven of which are home runs. On the mound, Heine has two wins and two losses under his belt. He’s made an appearance in 11 games, though he has a high ERA of 6.85.

Playoff schedules are not finalized yet, but each of these leagues begin their postseasons soon. The Cape Cod League and NECBL regular seasons end Aug. 1, while the PGCBL regular season ends July 31.