BOURNE, Mass. — Going into Thursday, the Bourne Braves had their eyes set on a fourth straight victory to put them one step closer to clinching their division. Things didn’t go their way though.

The Braves were unable to secure a win Thursday night, falling to the Hyannis Harbor Hawks 3-1 in the first of three matchups between the teams over the next week.

The game started fairly smoothly for the Bravos. Righty Ben Dean (Duke) made his first start on the bump this season and proved why he was an All-Star. The Braves’ starter cruised through the first four innings without allowing a hit, surrendering only two walks and striking out four.

“He pitched really well,” said Field Manager Scott Landers. “He got a little tired at the end, which was to be expected, but he pitched great. He had command of all his pitches and kept them off balance."

“I got the heads up 3-4 days ago that I was going to open this game,” said Dean about his first start of the summer. “Getting that opportunity to come out here and start for these guys behind me was a big thing. I just tried to throw my best stuff,”

On the offensive side, Bourne had momentum. Coming off a nine-run performance on Wednesday, the Braves’ bats recorded five hits through the first four innings. In three of those frames, they advanced a runner into scoring position. They weren’t able to string the hits together for a rally, however, and the game was scoreless heading into the fifth.

In the top of the fifth, Hyannis found themselves a run. With runners on the corners and one out, the Harbor Hawks executed a double steal. In his first outing with the Braves, RHP Maddox Webb (Mississippi State) struck out his first batter of the season. The runner from first took off on the pitch, sliding safely into second. As soon as the ball was thrown across the diamond by catcher Brice Estep (South Carolina), Hyannis’ runner on third took off and made it home safely to score the game’s first run.

In the bottom of the sixth, Bourne responded. DH Burke-Lee Maebus (Mississippi State) kicked off the inning with a walk, and 1B Josiah Overbeek (Mississippi State) put runners on the corners with his second base-hit of the night. The next Bravo up, CF Matt Bolton (Binghamton), drove a fly ball to center that would go down as the Braves’ only run of the night.

From there on out, Hyannis controlled the game. The Harbor Hawks took the lead in the eighth after a throwing error by RHP Jackson Kircher (Arkansas) on a sacrifice bunt attempt. In the ninth, they added a third and final run on a pair of singles and another sacrifice bunt.

“They beat us with small ball,” said Landers after the loss. “It happens.”

The Braves offense went down quietly in their last at-bats in the ninth, losing 3-1.

WHAT IT MEANS

Even though the Braves were defeated, a loss by the Wareham Gatemen on Thursday put Bourne one step closer to the playoffs. With both a Braves win and Gatemen loss on Friday, Bourne would secure a playoff berth. The Braves also sit strong atop the West division even with the loss, holding a controlling six-point lead over the Harbor Hawks for the top spot in the West.

BOURNEBRAVES.ORG PLAYER OF THE GAME

Josiah Overbeek is tonight’s Player of the Game. The Braves’ first baseman recorded two hits in the loss, his fourth multi-hit game of the season. Overbeek has been a strong addition to the Braves’ lineup halfway through this summer, batting .278 with an on-base percentage of .422 through 11 games.

NEXT UP

The Braves will take to the road Friday, heading to Harwich for the second time this summer. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. ET.