FALMOUTH, Mass. — Falmouth had new life. It couldn’t hit a lick against Yarmouth-Dennis’ pitchers through the second and seventh innings. But David McCann changed that with one swing. The 'Dores’ catcher absolutely demolished a solo homer to right to knot the game at three.
The Commodores had all the momentum on their side. But before they could even attempt to walk the game off, their pitching let them down.
Joe Sabbath (Rhode Island) took the mound in the ninth, trying to post his third scoreless frame on the Cape. But after a bloop double from Nolan Traeger, Cody Miller lofted a sac fly into center, scoring Cider Canon from third to give Y-D a one-run lead.
And that was all the Red Sox needed. Derek Schaefer slammed the door in the bottom half, handing Falmouth its second straight loss, 4-3, Sunday. Other than McCann’s long ball, the Commodores’ offense couldn’t get much going, despite managing eight hits, as they failed to do much with runners in scoring position.
“The first few games, you're just trying to feel guys out,” manager Jarrod Saltalamacchia said postgame. “We're trying to figure out the lineup, where they fit best. But it's still early. There's so many different ways you can start and you still finish strong.”
That offense wasn’t present Saturday either. In their loss to Wareham, the Commodores mustered just three hits, with their only run coming on an RBI groundout. While Falmouth’s pitchers didn’t allow a run after the second, the struggles all but guaranteed a loss.
Still, Falmouth (3-5) started hot Sunday. Y-D (5-2-1) entered with the second-best ERA (2.14) in the Cape Cod Baseball League, but the 'Dores instantly pounced on Red Sox starter Dylan Tate, who made just two appearances for Oklahoma in 2025.
Their surge was powered by the Schmidts. After Maika Niu was hit by a pitch and stole second against Tate, Kent Schmidt (Georgia Tech) laced a single up the middle to score Niu. Two batters later, Carl Schmidt (California) did the same, scoring Kent to make it 2-0 instantly.
But the Commodores’ pitching let them down for the second straight day. After TJ Coats allowed four runs to Wareham in two innings, Central Florida’s Matt Sauser also struggled in his second start this summer.
Despite Sauser fanning Brayden Dowd and Will Baker in the first, the Red Sox struck back. AJ Soldra, who hit just three homers for Seton Hall this season, drilled his second for Y-D to left-center field to knot the game at two.
The blast sucked all the air from Falmouth’s lungs. It had an opportunity soon after, loading the bases with two outs in the third via two walks and a Justin Osterhouse bunt single. But Kent popped out to third to waste the chance. Then, Tate finished his day with his first 1-2-3 inning of the game by forcing the Commodores to get under the ball in the third.
It looked like Sauser had settled in. He expertly worked through the Red Sox’s top of the order to begin the third and fourth. But he couldn’t finish the job again. The Red Sox loaded the bases with two outs on two singles and a fielder’s choice. Then, Nolan Traeger scored from third after Sauser fumbled a dribbler down the line.
It was up to Falmouth’s offense to punch back. But it couldn’t immediately. It did create traffic again; that wasn’t the problem. The 'Dores simply couldn’t come through when it mattered most.
They loaded the bases in the fourth off reliever Ricky Ojeda, but Kent struck out looking to keep the Commodores down by one. Ojeda took that in stride, using his looping curveball to punch out Kyle Morrison, McCann and John Smith in the fifth.
Meanwhile, Falmouth swapped Sauser for Wake Forest’s Matthew Dallas — his first appearance of the season after making six starts for the Commodores last year. And he was flawless Sunday, retiring all 12 batters he faced. Dallas quickly worked through the fifth, sixth and seventh by inducing weak contact, including making four putouts on comebackers.
Dallas trotted back out for the eighth and kept dealing. He sat down Dean Carpentier and Baker looking on his nasty curveball to keep Falmouth in the game.
But the 'Dores still didn’t take advantage.
The Red Sox went to their bullpen again in the sixth, subbing in Schaefer. The arm change couldn’t ignite Falmouth’s bats, besides McCann’s homer. Schaefer quelled another Falmouth scoring opportunity in the seventh, getting Morrison and Carl to fly out to strand Niu on third.
With Schaefer closing out the game in the ninth, Falmouth is left in a weird spot entering its first true off day of the season. Its hitters haven’t produced consistently. Its starting pitching is starting to slip. Saltalamacchia knows something needs to change to turn the tide.
“We have to evolve. But these kids are smart. They're not dumb. They know what they're doing, so kind of let the athlete play,” Saltalamacchia said.
Noah Nussbaum is the beat reporter for the Falmouth Commodores. You can read all of his articles on the Commodores here.
