Hitter of the Game — Clay Grady
Grady had been struggling at the plate a bit of late, as his average dipped below .170 less than a week ago at Wareham. However, he followed up a 1-for-4 day against Harwich with another strong outing at the plate on Thursday, going 2-for-2 with a walk, two runs and a stolen base.
As the second man up to the plate for Bourne in the third, Grady slapped a one-out single into center field and was later brought around thanks to Houston’s RBI single. He drew a five-pitch walk when he came back up an inning later.
Grady was then plucked by the first pitch of his third plate appearance of the night, putting him on base for the third time. The Virginia native struck again in the seventh with a single and advanced to third on Jackson’s double before taking advantage of a Stanfield groundout to cross the dish.
“I just simplified things in my mind, it wasn’t anything mechanically or with my swing,” Grady said. “I tried to not change the approach too much, but just simplify and try to get to the ball and put it [in] play. Whatever happens, happens, hit it hard.”
Pitcher of the Game — Zach Crotchfelt
A fiery arm that can throw strikes out of the bullpen, Crotchfelt has established himself as a spark plug for the Braves as the season has progressed. Despite his ERA being well over 10 at one point this summer, he’s pitched well enough to lower it to 7.56.
The left-hander enjoyed perhaps his most dominant outing of the 2024 campaign to date, as he went six up, six down in two innings of work on Thursday.
Facing Larson — the Anglers’ two-hitter — to start his day, Crotchfelt had no trouble, inducing a popout in five pitches. From there, he picked up consecutive strikeouts, both swinging, to get out of his first inning of work.
It was more of the same when he came back out in the seventh. He tossed another punchout and navigated the frame with ease. In total, 18 of his 27 pitches were for strikes, cementing a strong day on the bump.
“He attacked the zone,” Landers said. “He trusted his fastball and his secondary stuff has gotten much, much better throughout the summer. It was good that he went two innings tonight, I didn’t want to push it.”
A look ahead
Bourne’s win over Chatham was big for its standing in the West Division, as it increased its lead over last-place Falmouth, whose game against the Cotuit Kettleers was suspended in the third inning, to two games. The Braves will head to Lowell Park on Friday to visit the Kettleers for the second time this summer.
Landers will likely go with lefty Ethan McElvain (Vanderbilt) as his starter against Cotuit. Exclusively a starter for the Braves, he has tallied a 1.17 ERA and nine punchouts across two appearances during the 2024 campaign. McElvain looked strong in his last start on July 19, when he fanned six and only allowed two hits in 4 2/3 frames.
Cotuit’s starter is to be determined. First pitch is slated for 5 p.m.
Notes
The families of lefty Justin West (Louisville), right-handed pitcher Griffin Hugus (Miami) and Houston attended Bourne’s game on Thursday… 1,090 fans were at Doran Park for the Braves' matchup against Chatham… Recording a hit and walk on Thursday, Houston’s on-base streak is now at 10 games. He also has the highest on-base percentage (.489) in the Cape Cod Baseball League among active qualified hitters… Conrad owns the second-highest average on the Cape (.370) among qualified hitters… Bourne’s pitching staff now owns the second-lowest ERA (4.12), second-most innings pitched (281.2) and most strikeouts (330) in the CCBL.
