HYANNIS, Mass. — After striking out the side in the fourth inning — his first of the day — Griffin Hugus strolled back to the dugout, continually nodding his head as he high-fived his teammates.

He was dialed in and poised to keep his team’s 3-1 lead intact, no matter how long it took. He exuded confidence despite the magnitude of the circumstances. His name was called amid a win-or-go-home Divisional Game against the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, and Hugus was up to the challenge.

The right-hander went on to toss a season-high five innings, holding the Harbor Hawks to one of the two hits they mustered all night and striking out six, a performance that proved integral to the Braves’ 5-1 upset of the West Division’s regular-season champions.

“The lights went on and he produced,” field manager Scott Landers said. “He just stepped up and took the ball. We wanted somebody out there that could give us some length, he always wants the ball. But he throws strikes and that’s what we needed at that point.”

It wasn’t a picture-perfect beginning for starter Ethan McElvain (Vanderbilt), Hugus’ predecessor who walked two and struggled to command his pitches in the first. However, with two runners on and two outs, he coaxed outfielder Eddy Pelc (Grand Canyon) into a soft groundout that averted the early threat.

Bourne rode that momentum into the next frame.

After outfielder Tristan Bissetta (Clemson) and first baseman Garrett Michel (Virginia Tech) worked consecutive six-pitch walks, second baseman Blake Barthol (Coastal Carolina) advanced both runners 90 feet with a sacrifice bunt. An outside payoff pitch from righty Aaron Savary (Iowa) that catcher Cannon Peebles (Tennessee) couldn’t handle allowed Bissetta to score and give his team the first run of the evening.

“It’s always big to get the lead early in these games,” Landers said.

McElvain continued to grapple with command issues despite not conceding a hit in his appearance, walking five through only three innings of work. This came back to bite him in the third, as he handed out two free bases and moved both runners with a wild pitch. With all three outs to work with, outfielder Kane Kepley (North Carolina) only needed to make contact to drive in a run and tie the game — which he accomplished with a sacrifice fly into center field.

But outfielder Chris Stanfield (LSU) had a response the next time his team came up to hit in the fourth.

After taking a pair of outside cutters from Hyannis righty Chandler Dorsey (LSU), Stanfield attacked a fastball and was rewarded. The ensuing two-run blast traveled 349 feet into deep right field and put the Braves in the driver’s seat for good.

“It felt awesome,” Stanfield said of his homer. “Being here from the very beginning, I’ve seen everything we’ve been through as a team, and to get [into the playoffs]. The goal is just to get in, and then ultimately, it’s a new season. It felt great, and I helped the team in a big way today.”

When Hugus, one of Bourne’s most dominant relievers this summer, entered the game in the bottom of the fourth, it was a far different scenario than when the inning began. His team was ahead by two, 3-1, and the righty ensured it stayed that way.

Facing the bottom of Hyannis’ lineup in the fourth, Hugus struck out the side and required 14 pitches to do so. It was more of the same from the Florida native his next time out, as he went six up, six down in his first two frames on the hill.

He had a fastball, changeup and cutter landing inside the zone to keep the Harbor Hawks off-balance through his five frames. Hugus never found himself in a jam and was only responsible for two baserunners, a hit and walk, on the night. When he wasn’t picking up K's, he was inducing soft contact that allowed the Braves' defense to make easy plays.

“I was just trying to let my defense work a lot,” Hugus said. “It was just confidence in my team behind me, letting the guys work. [Marek Houston] made a lot of good plays. When you have a guy like [Chase Meggers] catching it just makes it really easy for you to go out there and do your job, because you those guys got you.”

The Braves, who continued to be anchored by strong pitching, built on their lead, plating two more runs in the sixth. Barthol didn’t let an opportunity with no outs and runners on first and third go to waste, lining an RBI single into right field.

Two at-bats later against new pitcher lefty Dominic Carbone (Coastal Carolina), Stanfield laid down a nice bunt that first baseman Dalton Bargo (Tennessee) couldn’t pick up cleanly. During this sequence, Michel scored from third, increasing Bourne’s advantage to 5-1.

In need of three more outs to clinch a berth in the West Division Championship Series, Landers turned to a familiar face in southpaw Trystan Levesque (Rhode Island). During the 2023 postseason, he appeared in two games and pitched to a 5.87 ERA with seven strikeouts through 7 2/3 frames. Levesque picked up right where he left off, fanning two in a scoreless inning to seal the win.

A look ahead

The Braves’ quest for a three-peat keeps them in Barnstable to face the two-seeded Cotuit Kettleers in the best-of-three West Division Final.

The Kettleers made easy work of the Wareham Gatemen in their one-game playoff, mashing two homers in a 7-4 win. Bourne went 2-3 against Cotuit during the regular season, with the Braves winning the past two meetings, most recently with an 11-5 road victory on Aug. 4.

It’ll likely be right-handed pitcher Chase Meyer (West Virginia) who gets the start for the Braves for Game 1 at Lowell Park on Wednesday. This summer, he owns a 1.77 ERA along with 26 strikeouts to 13 walks in 20 1/3 innings on the bump. Meyer’s third and most recent start of the summer came on July 31, when he allowed only one earned run and fanned six in five frames against the Gatemen.

Cotuit’s starter is to be determined. First pitch from Lowell Park will be at 4 p.m.

Notes

Ethan Conrad’s hitting streak has been stretched to 14 games thanks to a 1-for-5 performance on Tuesday… Bissetta also extended his on-base streak to 12 games... Houston’s on-base streak keeps getting crazier, as it’s now at 16 games… Hugus is tied for the most strikeouts (six) in the postseason thus far… Bourne has now defeated Hyannis in the playoffs in three consecutive years.