A season removed from their first playoff miss since 2019, the Brewster Whitecaps have kicked off 2025 with their best start in a decade.

Through the first two games, they’ve quickly earned the nickname ‘Comeback Caps’—pulling off back-to-back late-inning rallies. On Saturday, it was Josiah Ragsdale (Boston College) delivering a go-ahead two-RBI single in the sixth. A day later, Blake Cyr (Florida) played hero with a dramatic go-ahead home run in the ninth to beat Falmouth. Falling behind early has become a surprising recipe for success—but the question remained: could they do it again?

It would certainly ease the nerves of players, coaches, and fans if Brewster built an early lead and held it—but where’s the fun in that?

Once again, the Whitecaps fell into an early 2-0 hole, this time against the only other unbeaten team, the Hyannis Hawks. Head coach Jamie Shevchik noted Sunday that last year, being “down a run or two felt like ten.” That’s not the case with this year’s squad. Brewster (3-0, 1-0 Eastern Division) rallied behind an RBI single from Charlie Meglio (Rutgers) in the fourth, a go-ahead two-RBI double from Dalton Wentz (Wake Forest) in the fifth, and 3.1 hitless innings from Camden Wimbish (NC State) to complete yet another comeback—this one sealing a 3-2 win against Hyannis (2-1, 1-0 Western Division) and making them the Cape’s lone undefeated team.

“They're starting to play loose, they're having fun, and now they feel like they're never out of the game,” Shevchik observed. “So I'm happy for them. There's a really good group of guys that are having some success.”

While the offense has grabbed the spotlight in Brewster’s early comebacks, it’s been the pitching staff quietly keeping the team in games. Through three contests, Whitecaps pitching has allowed just five earned runs and a Cape League-low 15 hits—a testament to their ability to hold opponents and give the offense time to heat up.

Today, it was Wimbish’s turn to shine on the mound. Though not the scheduled starter, Wimbish was thrust into action early after Carson Bailey (Baylor) exited with an injury. He entered in a tough spot—bases loaded, one run already in, two outs, and a 3-0 count. Not exactly an ideal debut for a pitcher who logged just nine innings this past season at NC State.

“I knew I was gonna be the first out today, which was awesome,” Wimbish recalled. “Getting the heads-up that I was gonna be the first one out allowed me to kind of get my mind right before the game started. And then from there, it sucks to see Carson Bailey go down, but I just had to be prepared, be ready to have my boys’ backs, and go to war for him.”

Wimbish battled back to a full count and ultimately walked Hyannis’s Andrew Williamson (Central Florida), forcing in a run to make it 2-0. With the bases still loaded, the Hawks had a prime chance to break the game open, a difficult deficit to overcome early in the Cape, where early-season top-tier pitching and wood bats often limit offense.

Wimbish, however, stayed composed. He struck out the next batter swinging on a fresh count, firing up the Brewster dugout and setting the tone for what was to come—the first of his four strikeouts on the day.

“I kind of fell in love with (Wimbish) as soon as he got here,” Shevchik admitted. “Because you can just see it in him—that he wanted to be better this summer. Only threw eight or ten innings at school… So for him to come in here, and you can just see it in his face, right? Confidence is just radiating out of him by having an outing like that. And I think it's just going to build off that and be better from there.”

The momentum shift wasn’t immediate, but it began to build. Wimbish followed with a one-two-three inning, adding two more strikeouts, and soon after, the Brewster offense broke through against a Hyannis team that had allowed just three runs over its first two games.

Daniel Cuvet (Miami), as he’s done throughout his Brewster career—including last year when he hit .314 for the Whitecaps—was the spark once again. He doubled to start the inning, then stole third, making a “revving the engines” gesture toward the dugout that fired up the entire team.

Evan Blanco (Virginia) managed to work around Suvec’s hit, recording a strikeout after the double and another following the steal. But Charlie Meglio came through with a determined swing, ripping an RBI single to bring Cuvet home and cut the deficit to one.

That swing sparked the rally Brewster needed. In the next inning, Colton Coates (Louisiana Tech) led off with a single to left, followed by Adam Magpoc (Boston College) reaching on a fielder’s choice. Then, in a bizarre sequence, Josiah Ragsdale got on base due to catcher’s interference—a costly mistake by Hyannis.

Wentz capitalized, lacing a double down the right field line that brought Magpoc and Ragsdale home. Just like that, Brewster flipped the game and took the lead.

“I knew I had two good runners on base, and the Boston College boys (Ragsdale and Magpoc) can really run,” Wentz added . “I think they were actually in motion on the swing. But the guy had been throwing a lot of sliders, so I saw a slider and felt like I put a good swing on him—and it worked out for us.”

Three runs were all the Whitecaps needed. After Wimbish’s 3.1 strong innings, Alex Philpot (South Carolina) took over, striking out the first two batters he faced and throwing three sharp innings. He allowed just two hits, struck out three, and handed the game to the ninth with Brewster in control.

Kyle Kipp (Boston College) closed out the game with a clean final inning, sealing the win and completing Brewster’s shutout of Hyannis over the final seven innings.

Every inning, every strikeout, and every base hit came with a roar from the dugout, the kind of energy you get from a group already locked in and having fun. Just three games in, the ride’s already starting to feel like something worth watching.

“This is a really good group of kids. You can obviously see it,” Shevchik noted “You get loose anytime you're winning games. I think I said it yesterday—the culture kind of creates itself. It drives me nuts when I hear coaches get new jobs and go up there and say, ‘It's my job to change the culture.’ They don't. Coaches don't change cultures. The players in the dugout do.”

Title photo credit: Kayla McCullough.