BOURNE, Mass. — After Falmouth’s losing streak extended to a season-high six games on Tuesday with its 10-3 loss to Yarmouth-Dennis, it would’ve been easy to throw in the towel.
Its playoff chances looked slim. Nothing suggested the ‘Dores could rebound. Instead, the team stayed relaxed, infielder Reece Moroney said, helping it thrive under the most pressure it’s faced all season.
Falmouth caught fire at the perfect time. It rattled off two straight wins — a 13-1 blowout over Hyannis and 4-run 8th-inning comeback versus Chatham. The victories were exact opposites but signaled Falmouth could win in multiple ways.
With three games left and a playoff spot on the line, it just needed to keep the parade going against Bourne on Friday.
Instead, the whole unit was stalled. Falmouth (15-22-1) was demolished by Bourne (18-18-2) 14-4 in a pivotal division matchup. The Commodores turned a high into a major low, as Bourne boat raced them with 14 runs and 13 hits in eight innings, while they produced only two hits themselves. Combined with Cotuit’s win over Wareham, the blowout ensures that Falmouth must win its final two games and hope for Hyannis losses to make the playoffs.
The Commodores’ comeback on Thursday was truly miraculous. They hadn’t scored a run and had just one runner reach third through seven innings. But that all changed in the eighth, as Falmouth poked and prodded to a win.
But that momentum didn’t roll over into Friday.
Bourne starter Rhys Bowie, making his Cape Cod debut, twirled a gem. Maika Niu led off the game with a five-pitch walk, but Bowie retired the next 14 hitters in order. He fanned five across the first and second, including striking out the side in the second.
Falmouth’s pitchers couldn’t do the same. After arguably its biggest win of the season, its hopes of winning a third straight game were dashed instantly.
Stanford’s Toran O’Harran made his second start of the season after allowing three runs in 2.1 innings against Wareham on Saturday. He wasn’t any better Friday.
Bourne loaded the bases with no outs in the first on Gavin Kelly and Braden Holcomb singles and a Kade Lewis walk. O’Harran walked in a run before Cal Sefcik smashed a sac fly into right center.
He didn’t fare any better in the second. Mark Quatrani and Ryan Cooney reached to open the inning. Then, O’Harran hurt himself. Jon LeGrande laid down a bunt, and O’Harran chucked the ball into right field, plating both runners. Kelly then flared an RBI single into right to make it 5-0.
Falmouth manager Jarrod Saltalamacchia had seen enough. He replaced O’Harran with Northeastern’s Max Marchetti, making his debut after coming over from the New England Collegiate Baseball League.
Nothing changed with the fresh arm. Ryker Waite and Sebastian Mexico both lofted deep sac flies, putting the Braves ahead 7-0 after just two innings.
Just like that, Falmouth’s energy had been sapped. The next six innings were simply a matter of not being embarrassed.
And it continued to struggle at the plate, failing to even get a hit until a Kent Schmidt infield single in the sixth. The ‘Dores couldn’t hit anything Bowie threw at them. He worked another 1-2-3 third, highlighted by Antonio Morales being called out for batter’s interference, then did the same in the fourth with his seventh and eighth strikeouts of the game.
He ended his day in the fifth by striking out the side for the second time, this time sitting down Adrian Lopez, Mason Eckelman and Justin Osterhouse. Bowie finished with zero hits allowed and 11 strikeouts, the most an opposing pitcher has racked up against Falmouth this season.
Bourne, on the other hand, couldn’t be stopped. No matter what the Commodores tried, the Braves kept tacking on.
After a Cooney single and LeGrande double in the third, Kelly cracked an RBI groundout to second to make it 8-0. In the fifth, the Braves upped their advantage to 12-0 after they pushed across four more runs in the frame.
That was all Bourne needed. Despite Falmouth scoring four runs across the final three innings, the Braves closed out their mercy-rule win with two runs in the eighth to put the ‘Dores out of their misery.
Falmouth entered the game with new life — life it hadn’t had in weeks. But it completely tossed it in the trash with Friday’s decimation against Bourne, putting it back to square one with little time to recover.
Noah Nussbaum is the beat reporter for the Falmouth Commodores. You can read all of his articles on the Commodores here.
