HARWICH, Mass. — For the entire summer, infielder Camden Kozeal’s approach at the plate has remained consistent.

Like so many other Bourne hitters, the Arkansas commit looks to unload on the first favorable pitch he sees. It’s what has helped him hit nine doubles, the most in the Cape Cod Baseball League, and post a respectable .250 average through 82 at-bats this season.

However, with his team trailing 2-1 in the fifth inning of Tuesday’s game at Harwich, he deviated from that approach — at least for one plate appearance.

After taking two strikes that landed high and inside, he saw a 0-2 fastball that was well above the zone. The location didn’t matter, though, with Kozeal unleashing a three-run blast into right field. That wasn’t the last piece of damage Bourne dealt in the fifth. Not even close.

The Braves (14-15-2) posted seven runs in the frame and virtually put the game out of reach in the process, cruising through the rest of a 10-2 victory over the Mariners (10-21).

“When you’re having fun and playing baseball, sometimes your body and eyes just react,” Kozeal said. “They just react and you’re a baseball player … The first pitch, I had a bunt sign, and then I didn’t have the bunt sign, I tried to bunt and I said, ‘Screw this, we’re just going to hit the ball hard and let the results take care of themselves.’”

After Kozeal powered a two-run lead, 4-2, Bourne took advantage of multiple Mariner miscues in the fifth.

Outfielder Ethan Conrad (Wake Forest) and catcher Chase Meggers (Oregon) singled and doubled, respectively, before outfielder Chris Stanfield (LSU) drew the first walk of the inning. That walk was the first of five issued in the frame — along with two wild pitches — that helped Bourne run up the score on Tuesday.

Bourne tacked on two more runs in the seventh, rounding out a 10-run day. While they took advantage of several mistakes, the Braves also generated more than enough offense on their own, logging 12 hits. While they went 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position, field manager Scott Landers feels his team’s approach at the plate is trending in the right direction.

“I think we’re getting better,” Landers said. “We’re getting back to what we did a couple weeks ago, so that’s a good thing. We’ve got three more games left before the All-Star Game and we’ve got to kick it in gear.”

Kozeal wasn’t the first Brave to hit one out of Whitehouse Field. First baseman Garrett Michel (Virginia Tech) went yard in the top of the second.

Working a 3-2 count with two outs, Michel saw a pitch almost exactly in the middle of the zone and clobbered a 399-foot solo shot that easily cleared the wall in right-center field.

But Bourne barely had any time to enjoy its newfound 1-0 lead, with Harwich responding in the bottom half of the inning.

The Mariners tied things up with a pair of doubles from second baseman Daniel Dickinson (LSU) and first baseman Michael Anderson (Arkansas). On an ensuing ground ball hit by catcher Luke Heyman (Florida), Braves shortstop Marek Houston (Wake Forest) botched the throw to first for a throwing error that allowed Anderson to score.

After that two-run frame, however, the Braves’ pitching shut Harwich down. Starter Cameron Padgett (North Carolina) went 3 1/3 innings before passing the torch to righty Will McCausland (Mississippi), who was lights-out in 3 2/3 frames of work.

Lefty Bradley Stewart (Georgia) made his debut, pitching the final two innings of the game, picking up four punchouts. He found himself in a bases-loaded jam with two outs in both the eighth and ninth, but escaped each frame to seal the victory.

Stewart’s short outing was a microcosm of the collective performance put forth by Bourne’s staff. They were responsible for 17 base runners and afforded Harwich several chances to score, but prevented them from crossing the dish most times.

“They grinded,” Landers said. “We gave them too many opportunities with walks and stuff. [Padgett] grinded through his start, McCausland did well. That was the first time I saw [Stewart] come in and pitch, he just got here, but he’s got a lot of ability and he just has to load the zone a little more, but he’s got good stuff and he proved it.”

Hitter of the Game — Camden Kozeal

Kozeal entered Tuesday amid a cold spell, going 0-for-13 dating back to July 15. In the two-hole in Bourne’s lineup against Harwich, he quickly put an end to that slump.

After Houston lined a single into left, Kozeal did the same, putting runners on first and second. However, three straight hitters — Conrad, Meggers and Stanfield — were retired by Mariners starter Olin Johnson (North Carolina) to leave both on base.

When he returned to the batter’s box in the fifth, Kozeal’s team was down 2-1 with two Braves on. Those runners weren’t stranded, with the Omaha native clubbing a three-run shot that carried over the right field fence.

The final knock of the evening for Kozeal was in the seventh frame. He had another opportunity to cause damage, as Bourne had the bases juiced. He did just that, chopping a single to second base and beating out the throw to first.

“In baseball, it’s all about how you handle failure,” Kozeal said. “It’s not the end of the world when you’re not playing well. As long as you’re hitting the ball hard, you’re getting success. So just learn how to weather the storm when you’re not having things go your way.”

Pitcher of the Game — Will McCausland

Throughout the season, McCausland has cemented himself as the Braves’ long reliever, using his experience starting in 15 games for St. Joseph’s this season to go multiple innings out of the bullpen.

He was only responsible for three base runners in his 3 2/3-inning appearance and struck out a staggering eight batters. He had three of his four pitches — a fastball, curveball, cutter — working, keeping the Mariners off-balance all night long. On Tuesday, however, it was the high fastball that McCausland found success with, oftentimes throwing it for strikes.

“He commands four pitches,” Landers said of McCausland’s season so far. “He sets each one of them up. He pounds the zone, gets ahead of hitters and keeps them off-balance, and makes them hit or strikes them out with what he wants to throw, which is good.”

A look ahead

Bourne remains 2 1/2 games clear of the last-place Falmouth Commodores for the final playoff spot in the West Division. Falmouth upset the Chatham Anglers on the road, bringing home a 9-2 win. Next up on the Braves’ schedule is the East Division-leading Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (18-9-4), who battled to a 3-3 tie with the Brewster Whitecaps.

Right-hander Chase Meyer (West Virginia) is likely to start his second game of the summer on Wednesday a week removed from tossing four innings of one-run ball at Chatham. This season, he has a 2.53 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings on the bump.

The Red Sox will give the nod to righty Sean Youngerman (Oklahoma State), who has started in all five contests he’s appeared in during the 2024 campaign. In 19 2/3 frames, he’s fanned 28 batters, holding them to a .200 average. The Cowboys commit also has a 2.75 ERA this summer.

First pitch will be at 6 p.m. from Doran Park.

Notes

With his solo shot on Tuesday, Michel now owns the Braves team lead for home runs this season (three)... Meggers has recorded a knock in all five games he’s played in. He has a total of eight in 20 at-bats, good for a .400 average… Houston has reached base in eight straight games. He also boasts the second-highest on-base percentage (.500) on the Cape among qualified hitters… Every starter for the Braves reached base on Tuesday night… Bourne has struck out the second-most batters in the league (306), 18 more than third-place Hyannis and only one shy of first-place Yarmouth-Dennis… The Braves are also tied for the second-highest on-base percentage (.363) in July.