BOURNE, Mass. — Bourne had scored a combined five runs in its last two matchups.

The offensive production has been a story for the Braves this season. When they don’t score a lot, or do it early, oftentimes they leave the game with a loss. When they score a lot, and do it early, they win.

In a Friday night matchup against Falmouth, Bourne did both, scoring eight runs in the first three innings on the way to a 14-4 victory, clinching a playoff berth.

Gavin Kelly (West Virginia) got the momentum started in the first with a leadoff infield single. The bases became loaded after the next two Braves reached, as Kade Lewis (Wake Forest) walked and Braden Holcomb (Vanderbilt) singled.

After an RBI walk from Ryker Waite (Vanderbilt) and an RBI sacrifice fly by Cal Sefcik (Cincinnati), Bourne had a 2-0 lead.

Then the Braves blew the game open in the second. Mark Quatrani (Notre Dame) got on after getting hit by a pitch and Ryan Cooney (Oregon) singled. Jon LeGrande (St. John’s) knocked them both in after he reached on a throwing error by pitcher Tommy O’Harran (Stanford), where he used his wheels to get to third. An RBI single from Kelly knocked in LeGrande.

A single from Lewis sent Kelly to third, and after a walk from Holcomb, an RBI sacrifice fly from Waite scored Kelly. Sefcik then reached on a fielding error by Adrian Lopez (USC) at shortstop, and an RBI sacrifice fly by Sebastian Mexico (Louisiana Tech) scored Lewis to have the Braves leave the frame with a 7-0 lead.

Bourne tacked on another run in the third, as Kelly had runners on second and third following a single from Cooney and a double by LeGrande. Kelly knocked the ball in play, scoring Cooney on an RBI groundout.

The runs didn’t stop for Bourne in the fourth, as runners were on second and third after Kelly walked and Lewis got hit by a pitch. Kelly then stole third, where Kelly advanced to second after a wild pitch by Andrew Rogovic (Northeastern).

Kelly then scored when Holcomb reached on a fielder’s choice put in play by Holcomb. Holcomb then advanced to second after a walk from Waite, which was followed by an RBI single from Sefick that scored Lewis. Holcomb then trotted in to touch home on a RBI walk from Mexico.

An RBI sacrifice fly hit by Quatrani that scored Waite would be the final run of the inning and have the Braves take a 12-0 advantage.

After Rhys Bowie (Wake Forest) pitched a scoreless five innings, the Commodores got on the board in the sixth when Bowie was tapped out for Jackson Baker (Houston). A trio of walks from Antonio Morales (Wake Forest), Maika Niu (Arkansas) and Cayden Brumbaugh (Nebraska) loaded the bases.

A pair of wild pitches from Baker scored Morales and Niu. A collision between Cooney and Waite then occurred on a ground ball hit up the middle by Kent Schmidt (Georgia Tech), which scored Brumbaugh. Waite was forced to leave the game due to injury, and the frame ended with the Braves in front 12-3.

Falmouth tacked on another in the seventh, starting with a leadoff ground-rule double from Justin Osterhouse (Alabama). After he advanced to third on a wild pitch from Matthew Sapienza (Georgetown), he scored on an RBI sacrifice fly from Morales to make it a 12-4 game.

Bourne then ended the game in the eighth to force a run-rule, as Quatrani got to third after a Drew Wyers (Mississippi State) infield single and a balk by Grant Meert (Johns Hopkins). Quatrani scored on a wild pitch from Meert, and after a Kelly walk, Jason Torres (Alabama) knocked in Wyers on an RBI single to make it a 14-4 Braves win.

Bourne Braves Player of the Game

Bowie was electric in his debut, tossing five shutout innings with 11 strikeouts and zero hits, with a pair of Commodores reaching via one walk and a hit-by-pitch.

Key moment

The five-run second inning by the Braves gave them a comfortable lead early and they never looked back, which has usually been the case when they post a big inning offensively early.

A look ahead

Bourne (18-18-2, 38 points) will travel to Lowell Park on Saturday to face Cotuit (16-19-3, 35 points). The last time the two teams met the Braves won, 5-4.

First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

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