ORLEANS, Mass. — Just past a quarter of the way into the campaign usually marks a pivotal transition period for most teams in the Cape League. Brewster has been no exception.

In the last couple weeks, it has already seen a handful of vital pieces leave. As starting arms Jacob Dudan (NC State) and Tyler Schmitt (Illinois) departed, so too did some of the pitching staff’s star power. The loss of closer Justin Shadek’s (Rutgers) blistering fastballs have also made closing out games more of a chore recently. The same can be said of bats like Daniel Cuvet (Miami) and Blake Cyr (Florida), who served as catalysts early on whenever the ‘Caps needed a timely hit.

With so much talent coming and going, Brewster’s dugout has turned into something of a revolving door as of late. Still, Whitecaps manager Jamie Shevchik’s top priority has remained the same — fill up the win column. He reinforced that idea Tuesday afternoon on the team’s GroupMe, where he reminded his players what exactly was at stake that night.

“Just an FYI we are 0-7 in our last 7 vs Orleans. Haven’t won since 2023. Maybe try and change that today?,” Shevchik texted.

The message was received. With the help of various recent additions, the Whitecaps (9-5, 2-3 Eastern Division) trounced the Firebirds (6-8, 3-3 Eastern Division) 8-2 Tuesday night. Headlined by Brendan Lawson’s (Florida) three hits, three runs and one RBI in his Brewster debut, eight different ‘Caps logged at least a hit en route to the one-sided victory.

In the two sides’ last matchup, Brewster’s lowly four hits and ugly throwing errors allowed the Firebirds to march into Stony Brook Field and handily take care of the Whitecaps, 6-2. At the same time, a strong four-strikeout debut start from Owen Proksch (Duke) was wasted.

Although Brewster’s bats didn’t register a hit until after he was replaced on the mound Tuesday, Proksch turned in yet another solid outing as its starter. Through 3.1 innings of work, he allowed just two hits, no runs and notched a trio of strikeouts. But just as Proksch's night ended, the offensive support finally arrived. Though this time, an unfamiliar face led the charge.

Lawson, who’s 71 hits this past spring as a freshman ranked second on the Gators, looked comfortable as could be in his first Cape League at bat. His single placed two runners on base for the Whitecaps, which brought up Carson Tinney (Texas) with a chance to break the ice with a hit in any fashion. Though lately, putting the ball in play has been easier said than done for the new Longhorn.

Since his home run against Falmouth in Brewster’s second game of the campaign, Tinney has yet to record a single hit. 16 days later, he finally escaped the drought with an RBI double that proved to be the spark Brewster’s offense needed to get going against the Firebirds.

Most batters would’ve been relieved to get rid of such a persistent drought, but not Tinney. For him, fighting through the slump was just another part of being a baseball player.

“I was definitely happy, but I can’t say that anything changes in my mind,” Tinney said. “In order to love the game, you gotta love the good and the bad.”

With a pair of runners still aboard, Josiah Ragsdale (Boston College) — who’s .400 average heading into Tuesday led all Cape League batters — grew the lead to three with a crack of the bat Whitecaps fans have become all too familiar with.

Although called Brewster’s “one-man show” in the past by Shevchik, Ragsdale didn’t need to take on that persona against the Firebirds thanks to the offensive depth that came out of the woodwork around him. Still, his game-high two RBIs Tuesday set the pace for Brewster’s order and helped grow its lead to 4-0 midway through the fourth inning. The contest also marked Ragsdale’s fourth multi-RBI game of the season.

But unlike past games where Ragsdale has shined, the Whitecaps wasted no time providing an encore for their star leadoff man.

On the ensuing at bat, Cal Fisher (Florida State) continued his strong start with the Whitecaps. After impressing in his first two outings with a combined three hits — including an RBI single against Chatham — Fisher’s bat remained just as hot in Orleans. On the fourth pitch that came his way, he boosted the ‘Caps edge to five with another clutch base hit that skipped into shallow left field.

Shevchik mentioned postgame that while Fisher’s string of success with the Whitecaps isn’t shocking, he never thought the Wisconsin native would find his groove this quickly.

“He’s another guy that I’m not surprised, but I didn’t think we were going to get the production that we’re getting this early from him,” Shevchik said of Fisher. “I think between him and (Carson) Kerce, we don’t need to go find a shortstop.”

But Fisher wasn’t the only new arrival who went beyond Shevchik’s expectations that night. After contributing two singles already earlier in the contest, Lawson stepped up to the plate in the top of the seventh. Although the game was already all but decided at 7-2, Lawson refused to take his foot off the gas. Crushing the first pitch he faced over the left field fence, the 2024 MLB draft pick put an exclamation point on his first appearance of the summer with a no-doubter.

“I didn’t expect him to go three-for-four today. I thought there was going to be a little bit of a honeymoon period, “ Shevchik said. “I’m just happy that he’s on this side with us.”

While Lawson’s blast would prove to be the last bit of offense the Whitecaps could muster, its eight runs still turned out to be more than enough to get the job done. As Brewster’s bats went cold again down the stretch, Kyle Kipp (Boston College) slammed the door by holding Orleans to just a single hit and racking up a game-high five strikeouts across the final three innings.

Brewster’s lineup will continue to undergo noticeable change in the coming weeks, that much is certain. But based on Tuesday’s sound victory, maybe that isn’t such a bad thing.

“It’s great to see guys barreling up baseballs,” Shevchik said. “It felt like even when the game almost got tight, you had the feeling that you were going to continue to hit for the rest of the day.”

Title photo credit: Casey Bayne.