HYANNIS, Mass. — Falmouth’s season has been a roller coaster. It’s had high highs. But very low lows.

On Thursday, the Commodores finally started climbing back upward. A 3-1 victory over Orleans stalled Falmouth’s four-game losing streak and prevented it from completely capsizing.

But the ‘Dores needed to ensure they didn’t go hurtling downhill again. Starting pitcher Jeremy Urena stressed postgame on Thursday that momentum is a major part of baseball and would be key to a successful end of the season.

On Friday at Hyannis, that momentum faded. Falmouth (12-15-1) fell to the Harbor Hawks (12-13-3), 6-5, after it blew a two-run lead in the eighth. The Commodores’ offense produced just six hits while relievers TJ Coats and Grant Meert allowed all six runs to send Falmouth into a downward spiral again.

Still, in the seventh inning, Falmouth looked to have given itself full control. Maika Niu (Arkansas) drilled a two-run double to left, giving the Commodores a 5-3 advantage.

But their celebration was short-lived. After Meert shut down the Harbor Hawks in the bottom half, they came back with a bang in the eighth.

Still, Falmouth was just inches away from scraping by. After Jake Schaffner made it 5-4 with a sacrifice fly, Jeff Lougee laced a line drive to left.

Falmouth left fielder Ashton Wilson had a beat on it. But he overran the ball slightly, and instead, it glanced off Wilson’s glove and rolled to the wall. By the time Niu scampered over from center to scoop up the ball, both Brody Briggs and Owen Prince had scored to stun the Commodores.

Hyannis led 6-5. And that proved to be the final blow after Connor Kelley closed the game in the ninth.

Despite the circumstances coming in, the last time the Commodores battled Hyannis, there were much bigger stakes. Just nine days ago, both teams were tied atop the West Division. The Harbor Hawks defeated Falmouth 9-5, taking sole possession of first place.

But since then, both teams plummeted into a free fall. Dueling Falmouth’s four-game skid, Hyannis lost five in a row before beating Chatham on Thursday.

The question was which team could make fewer mistakes Friday. It was the Harbor Hawks.

Despite Falmouth’s win over Orleans on Thursday, it still went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position. If the Commodores wanted to keep pace with Hyannis, which entered second in the league in OPS (.718) and average (.253), their offense needed to wake up.

They started on the right track initially. Hyannis’ Carson Jasa entered with a miniscule 1.06 ERA, but that dominance wasn’t apparent on Friday.

Falmouth jumped on him early with a Carl Schmidt walk and Niu double in the first. Then, Kent Schmidt came up clutch again, upping his RBI total to 16 with a two-run single to right.

Despite stranding two baserunners in the second, Falmouth tacked on its next time up. Justin Osterhouse grounded into a double play with two on base, but Kent stayed in the rundown long enough to let Niu score from third.

It was like a completely new team had taken the field. But that squad wilted soon after.

After Urena and Everett Garber produced seven scoreless innings versus Orleans, Falmouth searched for consistency on the mound. Laif Palmer (Cal Poly) did just that, rebounding from allowing five runs to Wareham in his last outing.

Hyannis did reach base often. But Palmer erased the baserunners. In the first, he worked around an Adrian Lopez error by inducing two quick outs. The second was where he fell apart against the Gatemen. But he quieted the Harbor Hawks’ bats, escaping a two-on, two-out pickle in the second and adding another scoreless frame in the third.

That ended his day. Miami transfer Coats took his spot. Coats hadn't pitched since the two's last matchup, when he started strong but allowed four runs in the fifth.

The Harbor Hawks got to him quicker on Friday. And that flipped the game completely. Just three batters in, Briggs catapulted them back into the game with a two-run dinger to right, making it 3-2.

Meanwhile, Falmouth’s offense evaporated. Jasa posted his best frame of the day with two fourth-inning strikeouts before reliever Mason Russell allowed just two baserunners — Wilson and Edward Yamin walks — in scoreless fifth and sixth innings.

Hyannis had seemingly grabbed the momentum. It took full control in the fifth. Despite Coats getting two quick outs, Bates knotted the game at three with an RBI double over Wilson’s head in left.

Still, Falmouth wasn’t out of it. It made that clear in the seventh. Antonio Morales and Carl Schmidt led off the inning with a single and double, respectively. Then, Niu, in his second game after missing four for the MLB Draft, took advantage.

On the first pitch of the at-bat from reliever Chandler Dorsey, Niu smoked his line-drive double down the left field line. Third baseman Myles Davis didn’t even have a chance to snag it, as both Morales and Schmidt scored easily.

The clutch knock gave Falmouth control. That was until Meert blew the game in the eighth, handing the Commodores a crushing loss.

Falmouth’s loss plummeted them downhill again. It didn’t take advantage of its momentum at all, putting itself back into a rough spot with 12 games left.

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