BREWSTER, Mass. — For the first time in nearly two years, the Brewster Whitecaps are playing entirely loose.

They’ve already completed their main objective of the regular season — clinching a playoff berth — so now the priority shifts. Instead of trying to stack wins while simultaneously keeping an eye on the other teams in its division, Brewster can afford to cruise to the finish line over the next few days as it prepares for a deep postseason run. Although, there’s still one tall task left on the table for the Whitecaps to pursue over the next few days: An East Division title.

Such an accomplishment would mark Brewster’s third in the last five years, and has proven to be a good omen for it in the past when it comes to finding success in the playoffs. In two of the ‘Caps’ three championship seasons (including their first in 2000 when they didn’t actually play out of Brewster yet), they entered the playoffs as the East’s top seed.

The Whitecaps (21-16-1) gained some ground in the race for that first place spot with a second-consecutive blowout victory, this time a 9-2 thumping of Yarmouth-Dennis (19-16-3). Brewster’s offense again wasted no time rounding the bases, jumping out to a four-run lead three innings into the ballgame that kickstarted yet another dominant offensive performance. Brendan Lawson (Florida) led the charge with three RBIs, his most in a single game this season. Dalton Wentz (Wake Forest), Carson Kerce (Georgia Tech) and Jacob Jarrell (Clemson) also each brought home two apiece in the one-sided outing.

“The most noticeable thing that we saw today was the feel we had in the first two innings. It felt like we were into it and it felt like they weren’t,” Whitecaps manager Jamie Shevchik said postgame. “I think you could probably go back to a lot of our losses we’ve had where we just came out down, with low energy. That’s what (Y-D) went through today.”

In the thick of the playoff hunt, the Whitecaps made a habit of stretching their starting pitchers to their limit with longer than usual outings.

Although not actually a starting arm, Zach Bates (Illinois) entered in the second inning and was left on the mound for 4 ⅓ innings on June 27 against Cotuit. In the ‘Caps’ next outing, it was Duncan Marsten’s (Wake Forest) turn to go the distance, as he finished the day with six frames of work en route to a tight win over Bourne. Following a forgettable start from Brady Louck (Arizona State) in Chatham the night after, Spencer Seid (Georgetown) nearly lasted through the opening four innings versus the Gatemen.

Usually a team known for shuffling through arms at will early on this season, Brewster’s recent willingness to keep its early hurlers in for the long haul showed itself again Friday.

Making just his second start, Edwin Alicea (South Florida) was tasked with finding a way to shut down a Red Sox offense that had put up 9 runs in its previous visit to Stony Brook Field days prior. In a mad scramble to control the chaos, Shevchik had fumbled through four different arms that night. This time, however, he only needed two to get the job done.

From the very first pitch he threw, Alicea was on another level. Striking out two of the first three batters he faced, he only continued to heat up. After sitting down Y-D in order in each of the first two frames, Alicea’s lone earned run against came in the third, but he put the misstep behind him with ease. Over the next few innings, he stranded two runners on base and capped off his highlight-reel performance with one last electric strikeout.

Alicea finished his six-frame day with only four hits, one run and a dazzling six strikeouts before Chris Knier (Florida State) took over and added on three more Ks to secure the save. The duo’s workload marked just the third time this season Brewster used only two arms in a game. Shevchik said that by doing so, his pitching staff is now better equipped to make a late push for first place in the East going forward.

“That last out that he recorded, he showed some really good emotion coming off the field,” Shevchik said. “I love to see that in any player. He’s just another kid who’s gotten better and better with each outing he’s had.”

Based on Brewster’s season-long trend of possessing one of the most hot-and-cold lineup of bats on the Cape, it seemed like its offense was due for a stinker Friday after putting up a seven-spot the night before. Instead, the unit showed right off the hop it still had plenty more left to give.

As they’ve done countless times this season, Brewster’s veteran bats kicked off the evening in style. An Adam Magpoc (San Diego State) leadoff single and Wentz’s double on the next at bat — his team-high sixth of the year — brought up Lawson in a favorable spot with nobody out. Right on cue, he broke the ice via a two-RBI base hit in the first. But that was only the beginning of the rising sophomore’s star-studded outing.

Following Jarrell’s RBI single in the second — his first as a Whitecap — Lawson once again cashed in with two runners aboard, this time bringing home just one. The knock extended his latest hit streak to six games, a span in which he’s racked up a combined 11 hits and five RBIs. Shevchik mentioned postgame that knowing Lawson will be back next season is something he can “smile all day long about.”

Comfortably ahead 5-1 midway through the contest, Brewster’s lineup could’ve easily sat back and played conservatively down the stretch. But just as it had done against the Gatemen 24 hours earlier, the group refused to let up.

A Kerce triple in the fifth ushered home the Whitecaps’ sixth run as Brody DeLamielleure (Florida State) slid home in his return to the lineup. Moments later, the Yellow Jacket double dipped with another RBI in the next frame, this time through a sacrifice groundout. Since rejoining the team after the All-Star Break, Kerce has recorded seven hits and two RBIs through 10 games played.

Pouring salt on the wound, the two-RBI base hit by Wentz that followed brought Brewster’s towering edge to eight runs. From there, all the Red Sox could do was play out the rest of the contest while their lineup was hindered by multiple injuries.

Now, the Whitecaps once again control their own destiny. If they can win out to end the season, the East division will be theirs for the seventh time in program history.

With a playoff spot already secured, there’s not as much pressure for Brewster to finish the campaign on a hot streak — even with a division crown at stake. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not going to try. The Whitecaps’ will to win is still as present as it’s ever been, and Friday’s decisive victory over Y-D proved it.

“I think the biggest thing that you take out of this is just because we have confidence going into tomorrow doesn’t mean you win the next two games, but you have confidence going in that you can beat a team like Y-D who’s kind of had our number a little bit.”

Title photo credit: Kayla McCullough.