The position of closer is one of the least enviable in sports. You come in when the game is close and are expected to be impenetrable. Blow it, and you’re the scapegoat. A small lead can evaporate with one swing of the bat and it will be your fault.

Stanford pitcher Drew Storen thrives in this situation. Storen earned the closer’s role last spring as a freshman and didn’t disappoint head coach Mark Marquess. Armed with a 92 mile-per-hour fastball and a deceiving curveball, the first-year sensation had no problem adjusting to college competition. Storen led the team with eight saves and posted an impressive 5-3 record.

And he’s not letting his skills rust during the offseason.

Along with Stanford teammates, rising seniors Brent Milleville and Joey August and rising junior Jeff Inman, Storen migrated to the East Coast for the summer to compete in the Cape Cod Baseball League. There, he has pitched for the Cotuit Kettleers. With Stanford making a deep run to the CWS, Storen went to Massachusetts right after the college season ended.

The Cape Cod League is the premier amateur summer baseball league. MLB scouts make an annual pilgrimage to the eastern tip of Massachusetts to watch college players battle it out in a 10-team, wooden-bat league. The competition is fierce and admission is free. Names are made every year in the league, as players show off and sharpen their skills in the most professional setting this side of the amateur draft.

Storen’s Kettleers made it to the Western Division Series thanks in large part to his five saves and 2.76 ERA. In Game 1, Storen closed out a 6-4 victory over the Falmouth Commodores. After a loss and a rain out, the Kettleers needed a win on Tuesday in Game 3 to advance to the Cape League Championship series.

Lowell Park, Cotuit’s home turf, is a well-manicured field surrounded by tall trees. Nearly 3,000 fans were in attendance Tuesday, taking advantage of the opportunity to watch future MLB stars for free. Kids, wearing swimsuits and Crocs, punched their mitts and waited for a foul ball to come zipping their way.

Falmouth jumped out to an early lead in the top of the second inning, but Cotuit rallies in the third inning to score what would be the team’s last three runs of the game. With his team winning, Storen began his closer’s routine.

“It all starts when I put my cleats on in the fifth inning,” he said. “Then I watch hitters.”

After a few innings of watching, Storen began to jog up and down the left field line. Both team’s pitchers had settled down by the seventh inning and the score was still 3-1. Storen knew that there would be little room for error. As a freshman, he is one of the youngest players in the league. And as for the advantage a pitcher has against wood, rather than aluminum bats? It’s less than you might think.

“I haven’t noticed [a difference],” Storen said. “I think the fact that every hitter [in the league] bats three or four for their college team balances it out.”

Things stayed calm until Storen started warming up. The bullpen catcher was a high-school kid and his job was tough. Relatively small, at 6-foot-1 and 165 pounds, Storen hurled missiles from the base of the mound to get warm. At this point, one didn’t want to mess with Drew Storen.

“I love the closer mentality,” he said. “[It’s] high risk, high reward.”

After throwing a few curveballs just to make sure that the movement is still there, Storen took a seat to consider the task at hand. A save would propel his team into the championship. A rough outing would mean the end of the season.

Kettleers Head Coach Mike Roberts called Storen in from the bullpen.

It was only the eighth inning — Storen would need six outs for this save. After giving up a leadoff walk, the rising Stanford sophomore got down to business as he got two fly outs and a strikeout to end the inning.

Cotuit’s hitters failed to pad their 3-1 lead and Coach Roberts was faced with the decision whether to send Storen back out for the ninth.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence in Drew,” Roberts said after the game, “so I let him pitch.”

Storen allowed a leadoff double to right field and the Kettleers looked like they could be in trouble.

A pair of groundball outs scored the runner, making it 3-2 and leaving literally no room for error as the tying run strode to the plate. Storen wound up, delivered and hoped.

The wooden bat hit the ball and the home fans gasped. The ball was hit deep, but not deep enough. Brett Jackson, ordinarily a Pac-10 rival from Cal but here a teammate, was under it in centerfield. The game was over.

It was just another day on the Cape, where the nation’s best amateurs, including those from Stanford, make friends of enemies and enemies of friends as they hone their skills for the years to come.