“The saddest day of the year is the day baseball season ends”
–Tommy Lasorda
The Commodores (21-23) began the season well above .500 with a 9-5 run back in June, yet managed to drop well below .500 midseason after an eight game losing streak. The mid-year slump didn’t stop the Commodores. They fought back to a .500 record with a hot five game win streak to prove they weren’t about to give up a playoff spot.
And they didn’t. The Commodores clinched the number three spot for playoffs to face the number two seed, the Wareham Gatemen. Unfortunately, the Gatemen swept the series in two games, and eventually went on to win the Cape Cod League Championship against the Y-D Red Sox.
Despite the short playoff run, the Commodores battled hard and definitely made a lot of noise throughout out the summer.
The Commodores line up by the first base line for the National Anthem.
After the All-Star break, the team went 5-4 with a couple of memorable outings.
On July 29th against the Brewster Whitecaps, Sean Hagan (St. Johns) pitched an unbelievable game, almost a no hitter, but nonetheless a complete game shutout. Hagan kept the Whitecaps off the bases all the way until the eighth when he hit a batter. He let up the only hit of the night in the ninth. Hagan recorded nine strikeouts and walked one during this incredible 6-0 outing.
Hagan ended the season with 4-0 record with a 0-1 playoff run. Hagan’s undefeated regular season record earned him the Most Valuable Pitcher Award for the 2012 Falmouth Commodores.
“That’s probably the best I’ve ever thrown, that I can remember at least. I mean definitely since I’ve been in college. I’ve never had a performance like that,” said Hagan about his allstar outing back in the end of July. “It didn’t really hit me, I guess, until the third time through the line up in the seventh inning. You know, to get through the line up twice safely without getting a base runner is an incredible feat in itself, so that’s when the nerves kicked in.”
The Commodores’ offense the night of Hagan’s shutout was lead by Austin Anderson (Ole Miss). Anderson had a big night going three for four, charting three RBIs and one run. Anderson continued to make noise in the number two spot of the line up. He went on to have seven RBIs and two home runs after that exciting game in Brewster.
Sean Hagan out of the wind up. John Simms (Rice), in the following game against the Harwich Mariners, charted his first win on the season. He tossed six killer innings striking out eleven and giving up zero runs.
In that same game, Drew Dosch (Youngstown State) blasted his seventh home run of the season over the right center field wall to contribute to the 6-1 win over the Mariners. Back on July 26th, Dosch had one of his best games of the season, battling out of a hitting slump. That night he went three for four with a walk and a two run homer in his last at bat.
“I would say it [that game] is up there,” said Dosch about this memorable outing. “I [was] feeling pretty good. Went through a little rough stretch there for a few games in a row- wasn’t seeing it [the ball] good. Then I came in and worked with the coaches- just got back to seeing it [the ball]. Everything else fell into place.”
On August 4th against the Gatemen, Dosch hit a two run homer to tie the game at two a piece. Dosch ended the season leading the team with eight home runs on the season. He was awarded the Outstanding Hitter Award by the Falmouth Commodores organization.
Trey Masek (Texas Tech) had a solid end of the season. Despite the rough loss in post-season play against the Gatemen, Masek had an excellent season. Against Orleans, on August 2nd, he tossed six and two-thirds innings to get his third win on the season. He had six strikeouts while allowing only five hits and one earned run. Masek went 3-3 this season and was crowned, alongside Hagan, with the Most Valuable Pitcher for Falmouth this summer.
Johnny Magliozzi, Drew Dosch, and Austin Anderson hang out by the dugout after warm-ups. Ka’iana Eldredge (University of Kansas) that night had an impressive game as well. He proved to be the big offensive player of the game creating great offensive opportunities for Falmouth. Eldredge went three for three on the night with three runs, three RBIs, and a walk.
“I just wasn’t thinking a lot,” said Eldredge about his all-star performance at the dish that night. “Coach Trundy does a good job with us. Day in and day out- you have bad days at the plate- he tells us it’s about being out there and having fun. [That night], I just went with the flow and had fun.”
Eldredge continued to be a major offensive threat for the Commodores throughout the remainder of the season. After the impressive game against the Firebirds on August 2nd, Eldredge went on to chart five RBIs, a home run, and even made an appearance on the mound pitching two innings in the final game of the regular season.
Other notable offensive players throughout the second half of the season were Coty Blanchard (Jacksonville State), Casey Turgeon (University of Florida), and Alex Maldonado (Holy Cross).
These three players brought their bats in the closing weeks of the season, making timely hits, and bringing in key runs to turn games around, and into the Commodores favor.
Since the Commodores broke their eight game losing streak back on July 26th when they destroyed the Harbor Hawks 8-2, Blanchard had five RBIs, three doubles, and scored nine runs. He even made a pitching appearance on the mound, following Eldredge on the rubber in that Casey Turgeon gets dabs from teammates after scoring. final game. Turgeon managed seven RBIs, two doubles, and scored six runs. He didn’t get a chance to play in the post season, due to school commitments back in Florida. Lastly, Maldonado finished the summer season with a bang. He went four for seven in the two games of the Commodores playoff run, earning him a grand .571 playoff batting average.
Michael O’Neill (University of Michigan) and Jake Rodriguez (Oregon State) also ended their summer seasons on a high note. O’Neill hit his fifth homer of the season in the first game of the playoff series, while Rodriguez hit his fourth home run of the season back on August 5th against the Gatemen. O’Neill and Anderson tied for second with five homers behind Dosch who had eight with Rodriguez in third with four.
Jonathan McGibbon (Clemson), Commodores golden glove first baseman, had a fantastic season. He was award with the Tenth Man Award, which goes to the leader and hardest working player on the team. McGibbon ended the regular season in Falmouth with a .280 batting average, twenty RBIs, two home runs, thirteen doubles, and one triple. As for his time on first base, he wrapped up the season with a nearly perfect fielding percentage with .994- the best percentage on the Commodores from the field.
As for the relief pitching on the season, the Commodores had several key pitchers that saved the team from tough jams. Sam Paterson (Montana State Billings) was Jake Rodriguez gets a hit against the Gatemen. Jonathan McGibbon prevents a hit at first base. one of the Commodores star relievers. He ended the regular season with thirty-four strikeouts, the most K’s by a reliever on the squad, and a 1.48 ERA in twenty-four innings. Kyle Ruchim (Northwestern) led the relievers with a 1.47 ERA and thirty three strikeouts in eighteen innings on the mound. John Colella (Holy Cross) followed Paterson and Ruchim with thirty strikeouts and a 2.16 ERA, pitching twenty-five innings. And finally, Johnny Magliozzi (University of Florida) fell right behind Colella with a 2.60 ERA and twenty-five strikeouts in seventeen innings. Magliozzi left with teammate Casey Turgeon before the post-season due to the start of the school year.
The season ended with such a sharp turn round. One day the team was battling hard on the field, and the next, the locker room was swept clean with nothing but their jerseys hanging from the lockers.
A great Coach, Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers, once said, “The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.” And although the Commodores season playoff run was abruptly cut short, the team certainly played with heart and great passion for the game of baseball.
