Whitecaps catcher Jacob Lee was forced to sit and watch his 400-foot blast fall into the center fielder’s glove Monday night, a moonshot worthy of the title without the reward to match.

In a 3-3 ballgame one night later, hunting a .500 record and the lead, the Virginia Commonwealth catcher replicated the swing and drive, ensuring this barreled ball was out of the park; no doubt about it.

Lee’s second home run of the season gave Brewster (2-2) the lead it rode to the finish line, besting Wareham 5-3 in a game that had flashes of greatness throughout. With efficient pitching, hard-hit balls galore and show-stopping defensive plays, it is hard not to wonder how far this Whitecaps team can go once the stranger parts of Cape League baseball start becoming more familiar.

“I come out here every day to win,” Lee said. “You want to perform well for yourself, but at the end of the day, if you’re winning, it takes care of a lot of things.

While Lee made his largest impact in the batter’s box, he also held together a menagerie of pitchers. Through the first six innings, Santiago Garcia (LSU) and Finbar O’Brien (Gonzaga) took control, allowing just one run while punching out seven. Both arms gave Brewster exactly what it needed: hard-fought battles, strikes galore and an off-balance Wareham (1-3) offense.

Garcia continued Brewster’s first-inning strikeout streak, striking out two Gatemen in the top of the first, a trend through the Whitecaps’ first four games. While Brewster starters have collected early-game strikeouts, they also seldom reach the fifth inning and beyond, limited by collegiate pitch counts enforced by the college coaches who sent them to the Cape.

That creates a thin line for the summer staff. Starters have to be sharp early, avoiding mistake pitches and long, back-and-forth at-bats. When efficiency is paramount, O’Brien settles into his element and delivers.

“The main thing for me isn't trying not to walk hitters,” O’Brien said. “It’s trying to get ahead. Trying to get to two strikes as fast as I can, especially in a close game like it was today.”

Throughout the ever-changing summer that is a Cape Cod Baseball League season, pitching is at a premium. While players like O’Brien may come and go, the impact of his 5 2/3 innings of competitive and electric play speaks volumes.

O’Brien did more than just conserve outs. He potentially saved the bullpen from a long night. Manager Jamie Shevchik highlighted the difficulties of the CCBL season because the team’s players are not truly theirs. Garcia could have gone further than 3 1/3 innings, but with pitch counts and player development at the forefront, complications arise.

“This is where teams struggle,” Shevchik said. “The job of a starter is to shorten the game… these guys are going to have to little by little, extend their routine so we can put less pressure on the bullpen.”

The Whitecaps are growing through the middle-school awkward stage of summer baseball, where players arrive from different programs, carry different pitch limits, play different styles and still have to find one winning identity. The first week has been full of bumps in the road, but with plenty of bright spots too.

Michael Torres (Miami) had a 2-for-2 day with two key RBIs out of the nine-spot in the order. Dane Harvey (Ohio State) collected another day of hard-hit baseball, with two hits against the Gatemen. With plenty of talent still to arrive, including Florida’s Brendan Lawson and Florida State’s Brody DeLamielleure, the blowout games and high-scoring thrillers are yet to come.

The Whitecaps have already shown signs of that growth. Four games in, it is clear to Brewster fans just how invigorated the players are to be here on the sand dune. With an off day on Wednesday, the Whitecaps will come back to another four-game stretch, one that has the opportunity to take Brewster all the way to the top of the standings.

In a long season, currently with no end in sight, Lee reinforced the team’s internal credo, one that has shiny implications.

“It’s everything you want to do, because if you’re here for that long during the summer, you might as well win the whole thing.”

The Whitecaps play Hyannis at Stony Brook on June 18 at 5 p.m. Watch the Whitecaps broadcast or follow the game via Instagram (@brewsterwhitecaps) or X (@BrewsterCaps).

Matt Ford-Wellman can be reached at mfordwellman.media@gmail.com or on X @MattFW_4.