BREWSTER, Mass. —Lately, Brewster’s toughest opponent hasn’t been a rival on the field—it’s been the Cape Cod skies.

Fog, rain, thunder, and darkness have conspired to cut short four of the Whitecaps’ last nine games—each ending just as momentum was building, leaving behind a trail of “what ifs” and an unmistakable sense of unfinished business.

Two of the most frustrating examples? Both came against Chatham—and both ended in losses. The first was called for fog with Brewster trailing by just one in the fifth. The second was halted by darkness just as Brewster was clawing back from an eight-run deficit, cutting it to four with momentum on their side. Two near-comebacks, two early endings, and two missed chances to flip the script.

So when dark skies and fog rolled in again Wednesday night against the Anglers, the setup felt all too familiar. With Chatham threatening to go 3-for-3 in weather-shortened wins over Brewster, the 'Caps needed to rewrite the narrative.

And they did. In a tight, low-scoring battle, Adam Magpoc (San Diego State) singled in the sixth, then stole back-to-back bases to set the table. Cal Fisher (Florida State) followed with an RBI single to break the scoreless tie, and Ryan Martin (Dallas Baptist) added another run with a base hit. The bullpen did the rest, locking down the final frames. Called after eight due to darkness, Brewster (12-8-1) flipped the script and shut out Chatham (8-10-3), 2–0.

“Great to finally be on the other end of a shortened game that we're on the winning side of,” Shevchik said. “I don't think we've been on the winning side of it with those guys. Chatham, who’s trailing us (In the division) and pushing us to gain some separation… I don't care how the win comes. I'm just worried about the win.”

For much of the evening, this game was a slow burner—a stark contrast to Brewster’s recent run-fests on both sides. After weeks of high-scoring affairs, the pitching finally tightened up, harkening back to the early-season dominance Brewster’s been chasing. It was a classic Cape Cod duel: two teams locked in a pitcher’s battle, each waiting for the other to blink first.

Duncan Martsen (Wake Forest) set the tone in just his second start of the season, stepping up as a newly turned starter with Brewster’s rotation thinning. He tossed 3.2 scoreless innings, working around seven baserunners—four walks, a hit-by-pitch, and two singles—and consistently escaped trouble, including a strikeout to strand two in the second and a key groundout to end a jam in the third.

“The good thing about Duncan is he knows what he's doing,” Shevchik said. “He knows his mistakes, and he's trying to go out there and just be competitive with every pitch and limit the walks. He still needs to do a better job of that, but he is growing, and that's all you can ask.”

Shevchik rolled the dice in the fourth, letting Martsen face the top of the order. After back-to-back walks, Martsen bounced back with two quick outs but then issued a third walk in the inning. That was enough to end his night, as Spencer Seid (Georgetown) came in to record the final out on a lineout—preserving a gritty, scoreless outing from Martsen in a crucial spot.

Meanwhile, Brewster’s offense was searching for a breakthrough. After a hitless start through four innings, the rain began to fall and darkness crept in, turning up the pressure to make something happen—and fast. The usual approach wasn’t cutting it; it was time to shake things up and seize the moment.

That ignition came from Brewster’s Swiss Army knife and small-ball maestro, Magpoc. Leading off the sixth, Magpoc dropped a perfectly placed bunt single, beating the throw to first. Then, with a blend of speed and savvy, he swiped second and third on back-to-back pitches, setting the table perfectly to ignite the offense.

“He helped his team single-handedly, winning a game today by bunting the baseball and then stealing two bases,” Shevchik said. “If he can do more of that, he elevates his entire game to a whole another level.”

Just one pitch later, Fisher came through with a clutch RBI single to center, breaking the scoreless tie. The momentum kept rolling—Alex Sosa (Miami) worked a walk, and Martin followed with a sharp line-drive RBI single. In a matter of minutes, Brewster flipped the script—from hitless to a two-run lead—reversing the fortunes of past matchups with Chatham and suddenly shifting all the pressure onto the Anglers to respond before the weather could end their night early.

“I told (hitting coach) Scott Grimes in the sixth inning, ‘Try to play for one run,’” Shevchik said. “We ended up getting to that inning. And the reason Rizy came in in the eighth instead of waiting for the ninth was exactly for those reasons—starting to get dark.”

That lead gave Shevchik the perfect opportunity to test some of his new arms. Just a week prior, he had admitted the bullpen was stretched dangerously thin, forcing some pitchers to endure tough innings simply because there weren’t enough fresh options.

That’s no longer the case. From the moment Spencer Seid took the mound—followed by James DeCremer (Oregon State) and 2025 national champion Mavrick Rizy (LSU)—the Brewster bullpen took full control. The trio combined for 4.1 shutout innings, allowing just two walks while striking out three to seal the win.

Shevchik said he envisions all three playing flexible roles moving forward, with Seid and DeCremer potentially sliding into the rotation. But for now, gaining confidence, executing in a tight game, and slamming the door on Chatham is exactly the kind of start he was hoping for.

Almost quietly, Brewster has rattled off three straight wins—the longest active streak in the Cape—and now sits just one point out of first place. Just five days ago, the Whitecaps suffered their worst loss of the season, perhaps their lowest point. But in true Cape fashion, a gritty turnaround—capped by a shutout win over Chatham—has sparked a renewed sense of belief in this team’s fight.

“Good teams have to find a way to win the close game,” Shevchik said. “You have to have the pitching to keep you in the games, but then you have to, from an offensive side, just have a good enough offense that you know you’re gonna scratch in front for one run or two runs… Can you come back after being down? Can you win one at the end? I think that’s probably the two biggest things that make a pretty good baseball team.”

Title photo credit: Kayla McCullough.