FALMOUTH, Mass. — On Thursday, Falmouth blew its chance to down Cotuit. It sat comfortably ahead 2-1 through seven innings. But its bullpen fell apart, and the Kettleers instead stormed back to walk it off in the ninth.

The Commodores had a unique chance to enact revenge immediately. On Friday, Falmouth squared off with Cotuit again in the second half of its only two-game series of the season.

A win would not only replace the sour taste in Falmouth’s mouth, it’d move it back to .500 on the season. A loss would just be déjà vu.

Falmouth (8-8-1) didn’t let that happen. Instead, Cotuit (5-10-1) was left reeling. The Commodores defeated the Kettleers 3-1 Friday at Guv Fuller Field. While Falmouth’s offense still struggled to score, its pitching gave it another masterclass. Matthew Dallas (Wake Forest) and Grayson Saunier (Texas) combined for seven one-run innings, helping the Commodores get back at the Kettleers after Thursday’s heartbreaker.

“We're coming on the halfway point, and we just need to continue to attack the zone, attack these guys, and I think we'll keep pitching well,” Saunier said.

Revenge is often labeled a dish best served cold. On Friday, Falmouth served it burning hot.

Dallas took the bump for Falmouth, making his first start of the year following five perfect innings in relief this season. After starting six games for the ‘Dores last year, he looked right at home Friday.

He started his day by striking out Jarren Advincula — Thursday’s walk-off hero — in a 15-pitch first inning. Dallas kept dealing, using his slider to make baserunners a rarity. In the second and third, he allowed just two baserunners, stalling any momentum Cotuit had. He picked off Andrew Wiggins in the second and induced weak contact to second baseman Chris Newstrom in the third.

Dallas ran into his only jam in the fourth. But he wasn’t fazed. After Wiggins walked and Camden Johnson singled to left center, Dallas got Luke Matthews to weakly ground out to second. That ended Dallas’ stellar day, as he allowed two hits and zero runs, keeping Falmouth in the game.

Still, his outing would only matter if Falmouth could produce offensively. The ‘Dores started the same way they did Thursday off Cotuit’s Reed Moring (Santa Barbara).

Like clockwork, Carl Schmidt, who entered slashing .314/.407/.392, singled and advanced to third with one out. Adrian Lopez promptly made it 1-0 with an RBI groundout.

The Commodores needed to keep pushing. On Thursday, they only added one more run after starting hot. Friday was similar. The second flew by with only a Justin Osterhouse bloop single, then Moring K’d both Newstrom and Schmidt in his first 1-2-3 inning of the game.

But Falmouth just needed time. To open the fourth, Lopez walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Kent Schmidt doubled the Commodores’ lead by drilling a single into center, scoring Lopez.

Falmouth had its biggest lead in three games. To keep it intact, ‘Dores manager Jarrod Saltalamacchia continued to use typical starters out of the bullpen, this time employing Saunier, who’d allowed five runs through three starts.

In the first Falmouth-Cotuit matchup, the pairing of Kaden Echeman and TJ Coats was a magic combination. Saunier, who notched 11 relief appearances with Texas, did the same with Dallas.

“I came out of the pen all year, so it was nothing new,” Saunier said. “I just had to get in there and compete, throw strikes and give our team a chance to win.”

Saunier said he mostly threw cutters, and the strategy worked. Across scoreless fifth and sixth innings, he allowed just one baserunner in each frame, winning lengthy at-bats with Ryne Farber and Johnson with swinging strikeouts.

With Saunier dealing again, Falmouth looked for some insurance runs. It didn’t get them instantly.

The Commodores loaded the bases on three walks in the fifth against reliever Ryan Scudder. However, they couldn’t score, with Maika Niu striking out to end the threat. Falmouth couldn’t do much after the jam either. Cotuit’s Kyle Remington sat down the ‘Dores 1-2-3 in the sixth.

The Kettleers finally broke through in the seventh. After a Sanderson double, Advincula drove him in by lining a ball off Saunier’s leg and beating out Lopez’ ensuing throw to first, making it 2-1.

Still, Falmouth’s lead had only been narrowed. With their offense adding just one more run on a Kent Schmidt sac fly in the eighth, the ‘Dores relied on their pitching to lock down the win for the second straight game.

After blowing the lead Thursday, Carson Estridge (West Virginia) and Joe Sabbath (Rhode Island) finished the job. Following two scoreless innings in his debut versus Chatham on Sunday, Estridge tossed a scoreless eighth, aided by a sparkling diving catch by Antonio Morales. Sabbath seamlessly matched Estridge with a 1-2-3 ninth, sealing Falmouth’s bounce-back win.

On Thursday, Falmouth’s advantage was snatched from its grasp in the waning moments. But the Commodores reversed that feeling Friday, getting back at Cotuit through its pitching dominance.

“I feel like us as a staff are giving our team a chance to win,” Saunier said. “So happy about that, and happy to hopefully notch a couple wins together.”

Noah Nussbaum is the beat reporter for the Falmouth Commodores. You can read all of his articles on the Commodores here.