BOURNE, Mass. — The Bourne Braves picked up right where they left off.
In dominant fashion, the Bravos kicked off their 2026 campaign with a well-rounded 5-1 victory at home against the Chatham Anglers. The win was in large part thanks to a commanding night from the Braves pitching staff, including starter Rhys Bowie (Wake Forest).
“He’s got good stuff. He just has to be in the zone, and he was tonight,” said Field Manager Scott Landers on his starter’s performance. “It was a great performance by him.”
Bowie threw four innings on the night, including going nine up nine down in the first three frames.
“Being able to get those first outs of the inning brings me a lot of confidence,” said Bowie. “I wasn’t really focused on the fact it was nine up nine down until I faced Rett (Johnson) in the fourth inning.”
Once Bowie exited after four innings, the Bourne bullpen took over. RHP Jaden Alba (Arizona State) and LHP Madden Clement (Virginia Tech) each threw two scoreless innings in relief, and RHP Ben Dean (Duke) tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to seal the win. Overall, the pitching staff allowed just two hits on the night.
On the other side of the ball, the Braves offense came out hot. Scoring a run in each of the first five innings to open the game, Bourne took an early lead and never looked back.
The Braves struck in the bottom of the first inning. SS Ryker Waite (Vanderbilt) was the game’s first baserunner, reaching third on a dropped fly ball in right field. With two outs later in the inning, 3B Trent Caraway (LSU) muscled a broken-bat infield single to shortstop to make it a 1-0 advantage for Bourne.
The Bravos followed with another run in the second. Singles from C Andrew Costello (Wake Forest) and 2B Blake Schaaf (Wake Forest) opened the inning, and an RBI groundout from John Stuetzer (Florida State) brought in their second run in as many innings.
In the third, DH Mark Quatrani (Notre Dame) launched the Braves’ first home run of the season. After hitting 15 home runs with the Fighting Irish this spring, Quatrani put his power on display with a line shot over the left field fence for a 3-0 lead.
The Anglers picked up their first run of the game in the top of the fourth. Following a leadoff walk from Rett Johnson (NC State), Chatham played small ball to move him to third. A line drive that bounced off Bowie and landed for an infield single would bring Johnson home to cut the Braves lead to 3-1.
The Braves made it 5-1 after the fifth inning with a pair of baserunning plays. In the fourth with runners on the corners, the Braves executed a double steal that allowed RF Cal Sefcik (Cincinnati) to cross the plate. An inning later, CF Rustan Rigdon (Vanderbilt) stole home after a snap throw to first base for Bourne’s fifth straight frame with a run.
WHAT IT MEANS
This win marks a strong start to the 2026 season for the reigning champions. While it’s still very early in the summer, it’s a good sign that Bourne is picking up where they left off last season.
KEY PLAY
Mark Quatrani’s solo home run in the third inning set the tone of the game early on. The ball flew over the left field fence in a hurry, giving Bourne a 3-0 lead that they never looked back from. In his first game back, Quatrani has already matched his home run total as a Brave last season.
“His body is in great shape compared to last year,” said Landers about the improvements his catcher made over the offseason. “He’s done a really good job of transforming his body and his game, and I’m proud of him cause he’s an elite catcher and an elite player.”
BOURNEBRAVES.ORG PLAYER OF THE GAME
Tonight’s Player of the Game is Rhys Bowie. The southpaw produced three perfect innings to start the game and allowed only one hit in the contest. Bowie finished with a statline of 4.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, and 6 Ks.
“Knowing I have the stuff, I just have to mix in the strikes. That was my big thing, knowing that I have to get ahead and just attack,” said Bowie.
NEXT UP
The Braves will play at home again tomorrow evening as they take on the Harwich Mariners. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. EDT.
