BOURNE, Mass. — The bats were active early on Thursday night.
Bourne faced off against the Falmouth Commodores, holding a one-point advantage over the fellow west division opponent.
The matchup between the second and third place team in the conference featured early offense, and it was the Braves that emerged victorious with a 6-5 win.
Bourne got the party started in the first with Ryker Waite (Vanderbilt) leading off with a four-pitch walk. He reached second via a fielder's choice hit in play by Gavin Kelly (West Virginia), then took third on a steal. Waite made it a 1-0 ballgame, scoring on a wild pitch from pitcher Jeremy Urena (Rhode Island).
Falmouth then netted a trio of runs, starting with a pair of runners getting on with an Adrian Lopez (USC) double and Bear Harrison (Texas A&M) getting hit by a pitch. Lopez cashed in on an RBI single from Justin Osterhouse (Alabama), who then stole second. After Cayden Brumbaugh (Nebraska) reached on a free pass, it was Harrison that scored on a passed ball given up behind the plate from Kelly.
The inning ended with the Commodores in front 3-1, as an RBI groundout hit by Antonio Morales (Wake Forest) scored Osterhouse.
Bourne then retook its lead, as Drew Wyers (Mississippi State) and Cal Sefcik (Cincinnati) got in scoring position by a single and a throwing error by Lopez at shortstop. The pair would be on second and third, and another throwing error from Lopez resulted in Wyers and Sefcik scoring.
An RBI single from Waite scored Cooney from second, and after Kade Lewis (Wake Forest) reached on a force out, Waite scored on an RBI single from Braden Holcomb (Vanderbilt) to give the Braves a 5-3 advantage.
Bourne tacked on another in the third, as Sefcik once again found himself on base after a single. Jason Torres (Alabama) advanced him to second after a free pass, then he stole third. The lead extended to 6-3 for Bourne, as Sefcik touched home plate following a balk from Jackson Vanesko (Bryant).
The Commodores cut the lead in the fourth, getting some momentum after a triple from Ryan Zuckerman (Pitt). He scored on an RBI double from Carl Schmidt (California), who would follow suit shortly after on a one-base knock from Maika Niu (Arkansas). Falmouth looked like it would take the lead off a blast from Morales, but John LeGrande (St. John’s) made a grab in left field where he flipped over the fence, saving a two-run home run.
Jack Brown (Louisville) and Will Whelan (Minnesota) provided a fresh of breath air for Bourne, as after recent struggles from the bullpen, the duo was flawless in relief work, pitching the rest of the game and giving up zero runs en route to a 6-5 victory.
Bourne Braves Player of the Game
Ryker Waite reached base in four of his five at-bats going 2-for-2 with two runs, an RBI a walk and got hit by a pitch.
Key moment
After Nate Whysong (Wake Forest) gave up five runs, Jack Brown and Will Whelan were lights out in relief, shutting the door after Whysong tossed 3 2/3 innings.
It's a positive for the Braves, as the past three contests the pitching has struggled, especially out of the bullpen.
A look ahead
Bourne (14-15-2, 30 points) will hit the road on Friday to play the Hyannis Harbor Hawks (12-16-3, 27 points). The last time the two teams met the Braves won in a close one, 7-6.
First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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