BOURNE, Mass. — If there’s anything the Bourne Braves have become accustomed to through nine games this season, it’s playing with an early lead.
Bourne had drawn first blood in six contests despite posting a 3-5-1 record heading into Tuesday. What’s more is that the Braves have scored first in their three victories to date, riding the early momentum to close out victories.
On Tuesday, however, Bourne needed to do something it hadn’t done all summer: win a game playing from behind. And it nearly did just that, scoring three unanswered runs to tie the score in the sixth. But late-game heroics from the Brewster Whitecaps (4-6) propelled them to a 6-3 victory over the Braves (3-6-1), who missed an opportunity to win back-to-back contests for the first time this season.
“We lost a baseball game,” field manager Scott Landers said. “We didn’t do anything to really lose it ourselves, but we didn’t really do anything to win.”
Bourne first faced a deficit in the second, as a two-out, two-run single from outfielder DeAmez Ross (Florida State) broke the ice. The Braves escaped the inning without any further damage, though, with catcher Adonys Guzman (Arizona) and infielder Clay Grady (Virginia Tech) combining to catch Ross stealing second.
An inning later, starter Matt McShane (St. Joseph’s) issued two walks to outfielder Nick Dumesnil and designated hitter J.D. Rogers (Vanderbilt). Dumesnil swiped second before the duo stole two more bags, positioning the runners on second and third. A groundout by catcher Ryder Helfrick (Arkansas) was enough to put Dumesnil across to make the score 3-0 Brewster.
McShane’s performance against Brewster was an improvement from his first start of the season a week ago at Harwich — which saw him concede six hits, two walks and four earned runs in 2 2/3 innings — but still left something to be desired. The righty was only responsible for six base runners and struck out five in four frames, though three early runs allowed left a damper on his outing.
“McShane battled,” Landers said. “But he let up that two-run single in the second inning after he walked that leadoff guy. That hurt us, but we battled back.”
But the Braves logged two hits with no outs in the third inning and were rewarded, as a sacrifice fly from Grady put a run on the board. And Bourne continued to chip away as the contest rolled on.
Outfielder Ethan Conrad led off the fourth with a single into the center field gap before being moved to third thanks to consecutive groundouts. Infielder Camden Kozeal (Vanderbilt) then drove him in with a deep double off the left field wall, narrowing Brewster’s lead to 3-2.
“Baseball is a wild game,” Kozeal said. “You just have to give yourself a chance as a team to make those situations happen and come back… Things got kind of out of hand at the end of the game, but we were still right there [in the ninth] at first and second, no outs. But it’s baseball, it’s a long season. You’ve just got to learn every day, find the silver lining every day and move on.”
In the three frames after McShane exited, left-hander Justin West (Louisville) kept the Whitecaps’ lead at one, buying Bourne’s offense more time to battle back. The Braves took full advantage in the sixth.
With one out and runners on first and third, designated hitter Nick Roselli (Binghamton) smashed what appeared to be a home run into center field. His fly ball was caught on the warning track but was enough — Conrad easily scored from third to tie the game.
However, two solo shots hit by Dumesnil and Helfrick in the eighth and ninth, respectively, proved the Braves’ undoing. Outfielder Cooper Vest (BYU) also logged an RBI single in the final frame, sealing a 6-3 win for the 'Caps.
Pivotal sequence
Trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the third without a knock on the night, the Braves finally strung hits together. Outfielder Davis Gillespie (Southern Mississippi) and Guzman doubled and singled, respectively, giving Grady a prime opportunity to cut into the Whitecaps’ lead with no outs.
The rising junior didn’t let this chance slip away, knocking a sacrifice fly into center to break the shutout. Although no more runs came across in the half-inning, the small rally gave Bourne life for the remainder of the game, as it eventually tied the game at three in the sixth.
“We went down 2-0 [and] then 3-0 at the top of the third,” Landers said. “Anytime you can get the momentum back and at least tie the inning, it puts some momentum back in our favor. So it was a big inning. We scored one, we just didn’t put up any crooked numbers tonight.”
Hitter of the Game — Ethan Conrad
Conrad has only been in the Cape Cod Baseball League for two days, but he’s already made a large impact at the plate.
The New York native has excelled at every level this season, starting at Marist, where he slashed .389/.467/.704 with 13 triples, 40 extra-base hits and 19 stolen bases. In 13 games with the Saugerties Stallions of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, he went 16-for-49 and contributed five home runs, 19 RBI and eight stolen bases.
While the CCBL is certainly a step up in competition, Conrad has looked extremely comfortable thus far, as he’s gone 4-for-8 with a double and three RBI. On Tuesday, he was dominant at the plate again, logging two hits and a pair of flyouts, both of which he made good contact on.
It’s still a minuscule sample size, but Conrad is shaping up to be a solid offensive piece for the Bravos down the stretch.
“Quality at-bats,” Landers said of what he’s seen from Conrad. “Every time he’s up, it’s been a quality at-bat. He doesn’t stray away from the strike zone, and when the balls are in the strike zone, he’s swinging. He’s a good player… He’s got a really good approach, and hopefully he’s a spark plug for us.”
Pitcher of the Game — Justin West
Tuesday’s pitcher of the game is undoubtedly West. Despite allowing the go-ahead solo shot to Dumesnil in the eighth, his performance was otherwise dominant, as he fanned a staggering seven batters in four innings.
West started off his outing with a bang, striking out the side in the fifth inning and catching all three hitters swinging. The lefty worked another 1-2-3 frame in the sixth with another K and did much of the same in the seventh.
Even after he conceded the Dumesnil homer with two outs, West settled back in immediately, picking up his seventh strikeout of the game to prevent any further damage.
“He’s got a mix,” Landers said. “And when he’s throwing his fastball and his curveball for strikes, there’s a big differential between the two. He threw some changeups to the right-handers later on, but the key to him was just getting ahead of hitters and keeping them off balance.”
A look ahead
Bourne falls to 3-6-1 on the season following its loss to Brewster, positioning it in the fourth spot in the CCBL’s West Division. With a Falmouth loss, the Bravos are two games clear of last place in the division and will visit the 'Dores on Thursday after an off day Wednesday.
The Whitecaps snapped their three-game losing streak Tuesday and stay in fourth in the East Division with a 4-6 record.
Landers is likely to give the ball to righty Ben Bybee (Arkansas) on Thursday in Falmouth. Aside from a two-run shot allowed in the first inning, Bybee had a strong start — his first of the summer — against the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, going five innings and striking out four. He now has a 6.00 ERA and six punchouts in two appearances this season.
Falmouth’s probable starter is right-hander Tate McKee (Georgia Tech), who has pitched to a 7.71 ERA and 1.50 WHIP along with six strikeouts through 4 2/3 innings. As a true freshman with the Yellow Jackets in 2024, McKee logged 47 frames on the mound and posted a 7.28 ERA and 61 strikeouts.
First pitch on Thursday is set for 6 p.m.
Notes
Infielder Garrett Michel’s (Virginia Tech) family was at Doran Park on Tuesday… 1,215 fans attended the Bravos’ loss to Brewster… With two hits against Brewster, Conrad has back-to-back multi-hit games to start his CCBL season… Infielder Marek Houston (Wake Forest) leads the Cape in on-base percentage at a .556 clip and also leads the league in walks drawn… Grady has the second-most stolen bags in the CCBL with five… In only two games, Conrad has the second-most RBI on the Braves with three… As a team, Bourne has struck out the most hitters this season (105)... The Braves have the fourth-lowest WHIP (1.38) on the Cape.
