BOURNE, Mass. — Ryan Cooney (Oregon) had a chance to drive in runners with bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning — he couldn’t do it, but he had another chance in the eighth.
Cooney had the bases fully juiced once again, but on pitch No. 13 he struck out swinging on a pitch in the dirt.
One of the stories during the previous losing streak for the Braves was that they fall behind and the bats came alive too late. On Wednesday against the Falmouth Commodores, that rang true once again with Bourne falling 5-3, having its three-game win streak snapped headed into the off day on Thursday.
“We definitely didn't hit,” field manager Scott Landers said. “We had our chances tonight, especially late in the game. We went down looking and swinging, but we got to hit better. We can't strike out in those situations.”
The Braves got the scoring started for the fourth straight game, as Jon LeGrande (St. John’s) would reach first base on a leadoff walk in the first. He would then steal second, and would cash in shortly after to put Bourne up 1-0 as a wild pitch from Kaden Echeman (Northern Kentucky) allowed LeGrande to score all the way from second.
A half inning later came the answer from Falmouth, starting with Mark Quatrani (Cornell) getting hit by a pitch. He would advance to second on a single by Justin Osterhouse (Alabama), and then touch home plate on an RBI single from Antonio Morales (Wake Forest) to tie the game at 1-1.
Derrick Smith (NC State) would then check in for Matthew Shorey in the fifth, but he would only get one out after the bats from the Commodores woke up in the frame.
Adrian Lopez (USC) started the momentum with a walk, then advanced on a wild pitch. Maika Niu (Marshall) would score Lopez on a triple and then score himself on an RBI infield single by Bear Harrison (Texas A&M) that ricocheted off of the leg of Smith. A two-run double by Kent Schmidt (Georgia Tech) would increase the lead, giving Falmouth the 5-1 advantage at the conclusion of the inning.
The Braves would chip away in the seventh, as Logan Hughes (Texas Tech) and Jimmy Krieg (Oregon State) would both walk. The pair would then both trot in for a score on the same swing, as a LeGrande single would cut the deficit to 5-3.
Bases were loaded for Cooney in the eighth, but he couldn’t do enough to get any more runs on the board for the Braves. Legrande reached third in the ninth after a double and groundout by Gavin Kelly (West Virginia), but Robby Porco would close the door for Falmouth, striking out Kade Lewis (Wake Forest) to end the game with LeGrande stranded at third.
“We’re going to rest up and get back at it on Friday,” Landers said.
Bourne Braves Player of the Game
Matthew Shorey (Vanderbilt) got the start for the Braves, going four innings, striking out two hitters and allowing one run.
Key moment
The fifth inning proved to be costly, as four of the five runs for Falmouth came in the frame.
A look ahead
The Braves (4-5-1, 9 points) will be off on Thursday and will return to action on Friday with a home game at Doran Park against the Chatham Anglers (2-5-3, 7 points ). Bourne is 2-0 against the Anglers this year, with the most recent game being a 6-1 victory at Veterans Field on Saturday.
First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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