BREWSTER, Mass. — Friday afternoon brought scorching conditions to Stony Brook Field, but the Brewster Whitecaps' bats didn’t seem to get the memo, running opposite the heat and humidity at first pitch.

The offense moved at a glacial pace, collecting just two hits through the first seven innings of action. Fortunately, the pitching staff was able to put the freeze on the opposing Harwich Mariners throughout most of the game, giving the lineup a chance to break through the ice in the ninth inning.

With two outs, the tying run on second base and the winning run on first, Brewster (10-6-1) center fielder Jay Abernathy (Oklahoma) lined a rocket shot to first base. A foot higher, and the ball would’ve landed in the outfield grass; instead, it found the mitt of Harwich first baseman Sean O’Leary (UMass Lowell), handing the Whitecaps a 2-1 loss in the process.

“It felt like a very down, boring day,” Brewster manager Jamie Shevchik said. “I know it felt like 100 degrees today; these guys were spent. … It just felt like a very off day, and it was.

“We had a little bit of magic there at the end, but we just got beat today by a better team, today, plain and simple.”

The weather in Brewster, which registered at 92 degrees with humidity hovering north of 50% at first pitch, played a significant role in the lead-up to Friday’s action. Early work was canceled for the Whitecaps, and neither team took batting practice or defensive reps in the field before game time, throwing routine out the window.

Still, Shevchik wasn’t looking for any excuse.

“It was hot,” Shevchik said. “But it doesn’t (matter), once you get out there, it doesn’t change anything. The pitching mound is still 60 feet, six inches away, and the bases are 90 feet, and our job is to put the ball in play.”

Brewster’s bats were able to make contact at a respectable level, striking out just seven times in nine innings, but the quality of contact left much to be desired.

Outside of a first-inning single off the bat of shortstop Jamie Laskofski (North Carolina) and a one-base knock courtesy of Abernathy to leadoff the sixth inning, the Whitecaps only found gloves until the eighth inning. A hit-by-pitch and three walks prior to the penultimate frame did lead to additional base runners, but the lineup couldn’t take advantage.

When the eighth finally rolled around, catcher Owen Jenkins (Texas Tech) found himself in a position to do damage with two outs and Abernathy and Laskofski in scoring position after drawing a walk and getting plunked. And while it wasn’t pretty, the backstop was able to come through.

Jenkins sent a dribbler toward the mound, which ricocheted off the glove of right-handed reliever Jason Flores (transfer portal) on an awkward dive attempt. Mariners shortstop Nate Castellon rushed in and sent a throw over to first, but it wasn’t in time.

Jenkins delivered Brewster’s third hit of the game, putting the team on the board and cutting Harwich’s two-run lead in half.

The Whitecaps had a chance to add on, but first baseman Dane Harvey (Ohio State) grounded out to second to end the frame. Harvey’s at-bat, however, wasn’t without controversy.

In an 0-1 count, Harvey was hit by a pitch on his front foot, and while he, along with his teammates and coaches, believed he had checked his swing, third base umpire Mike Griffin, who was situated behind the pitcher on the left side of second base, disagreed.

“I was just trying, especially with his fastball, trying to get my foot down early,” Harvey said. “I don’t think I swung. (I’ll) have to go back and watch the film … It’s a tough call for an umpire in a spot like that, but we’ve just got to live, and we’re going to learn from it.”

While it’s impossible to know what would’ve happened if Harvey took the jog down to first, designated hitter Jacob Lee (Virginia Commonwealth) led off the bottom of the ninth with a sharply hit single into center field off of Flores. As previously mentioned, however, the ninth inning didn’t lead to any Whitecaps runs, as the righty was able to shut the door.

“(Flores) is a good ballplayer,” Harvey said. “He executed some pitches early in the count with some of our guys. Kudos to him, but next time it’ll be a little different.”

The good pitching performances weren’t unique to Harwich, as Brewster’s southpaw starter Charlie West (UConn) went five strong in his last start with the team.

West struck out eight Mariners batters and allowed just six hits, one walk and one earned run across five innings, lowering his ERA to 2.16 on the summer. The rising senior was able to do it without his best stuff, mentioning postgame that he didn’t have great feel for his curveball and slider.

Unfortunately for the Whitecaps, while West still pitched well overall, his unspectacular offspeed offerings came back to bite them in the third and fourth innings.

An unearned run was tacked onto West’s line in the earlier frame, as a runner who singled and advanced to second on a Harvey error came around to score on a single into left field.

In the latter frame, West allowed hard contact to Mariners third baseman Quinton Coats on a double down the left field line. Coats then scored on a single into right field.

“I felt like I was attacking hitters early in the count and getting ahead,” West said. “Then just leaving a slider middle, curveball middle. They seemed ready for it and got into some trouble there.”

Even without being perfect, West gave the Whitecaps a chance to win. The bats just never seemed to fully thaw out and bring the heat that many in attendance were already feeling. The team, however, wasn’t looking to put blame on anything or anyone but themselves after their four-game win streak was extinguished.

“Anybody can always go find a little bit of an excuse,” Harvey said. “But at the end of the day, we’ve got to be able to show up to the ballpark ready to go.”