SOUTH YARMOUTH, Mass. — Braden Holcomb watched Harwich emerge victorious in the 2024 Championship Series on Bourne's turf.

He watched the celebration unfold. He watched the Mariners embrace each other with joy. Holcomb on the other hand, fell short just like the rest of the Braves. It didn't matter that it was a summer ball loss. It was still the postseason and winning it all meant something to him.

So Holcomb came back for Round 2 with Bourne in 2025. This time the result went better for him and the Braves in the Championship Series, this time coming out as winners, bringing the hardware back to Bourne and Doran Park.

"It feels great. Coming up just one game short last summer, that really, really stung," Holcomb said. "So to be able to come out here and get another opportunity to get the championship, it's an awesome feeling. It's a blessing to get the job done."

Holcomb started off the first month of the season slow, but come July he was a completely different player, becoming one of the hottest bats in the entire league. He finished off the regular season netting a .285 batting average to go along with 39 hits, 18 walks, 17 RBIs and 15 runs.

He stayed hot into the postseason, as during the playoffs he hit a whopping .464 with 13 hits, three runs and a trio of walks. In the two-game Championship Series that had Bourne cap off its postseason run with a 19-2 beatdown of Yarmouth-Dennis, Holcomb went 8-for-10 at the plate.

"It's just about getting comfortable, getting to the box and just seeing live pitching again — getting comfortable with the wood bat," Holcomb said. "I feel like once I started to get comfortable, I started to hit a lot better, seeing the ball a lot better. And then it meant being able to perform for my team and get the job done. I mean, it feels awesome."

Field manager Scott Landers has watched Holcomb grow over the last two years. Holcomb has become a key figure, not only for the Braves, but for the Bourne community as a whole.

It's not easy to become a collegiate baseball player with the stardom flocking wherever he goes. That stardom followed Holcomb to summer ball based on the love he receives from the fans all over the Cape, but he's as grounded as they come.

"He's a superstar on the field, and I've watched him grow as a human being over two summers," Landers said. "I don't know if I've come closer to a human being on the Cape than that man, just watching him grow as a person and how he relates to other people. I think Vanderbilt is going to be proud of him, and he learns a lot from them, but he's a huge impact not only on me, but my kids and my family."

After two seasons with the Braves, Holcomb will leave as a champion. He's found a place to grow as a baseball player but also as a person, cherishing the wins, the people and everything in between.

He didn't originally plan on being in Bourne this summer for the whole season, but he stayed for all the right reasons.

"It's a really special place. Playing here is just so much fun. I wanted to come back for a second year. I was supposed to leave about three quarters through the season," Holcomb said. "I just didn't want to, because I wanted to stay here and play because of the community behind you, and all the relationships I built throughout the two years here. It's a really special place, and I've just had so much fun the last two years."