FALMOUTH, Mass. – Mountains and valleys painted the landscape of the 2024 season for the Falmouth Commodores.
Win drought troubles plagued the Commodores for much of the season. The season opened at McKeon Park on June 15 unfavorably. The Hyannis Harbor Hawks mercied the Commodores 10-0 per the new Cape League 10-runs after seven innings mercy rule that was added this summer.
“Games like that happen, we just got to flush it out early,” Christian Martin (Virginia Tech) said on June 15.
Three days later Falmouth clenched its first win at Guv Fuller Filed over the Brewster Whitecaps to sit at 1-3. They didn’t see another win for another eight days over the Orleans Firebirds, again at home to be 2-8.
“It was sticking to our game plan,” Luke Gaffney (Purdue) said on June 18. “We’ve been in those close situations, we just needed to execute the past few days and today we hit some balls.”
The Commodores didn’t see an away win for 27 days until a rain-makeup game at Spillane Field against the Wareham Gateman to become 8-14. 24 days later the season closed in Wareham for the 40th game with the Gateman taking it 9-5 on August 4 to give Falmouth a 16-23-1 finish.
The Commodores defended their home diamond through and through. They went 12-8 when at the Guv and home win streaks went as long as four games. Wins always felt sweeter for this team after all the struggling and clawing at proving themselves.
Falmouth pulled a handful of upsets. Two extra sweet ones were versus the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox at the Guv and versus the Chatham Anglers at Veterans Field.
Riley Stanford (Georgia Tech) pulled the save for Falmouth when Y-D was in town on July 29. The Commodores pulled to a 4-2 lead with an RBI single from Gavin Turley (Oregon State) and a balk from Dylan Delvecchio (St. Mary’s) to hand the reigns off to Stanford to close it out with a 1-2-3 inning.
Veterans Field wasn’t forgiving to Falmouth the first time it visited, but the second time was a more favorable story. The Commodores won 9-2 on July 23 after accumulating nine hits, two home runs and nine runs.
“Not trying to put too much pressure on each other is the biggest thing for us,” Dylan Carey (Nebraska) said on July 23. “Having that trust in each other and the will to win is what has helped us hop on this little bit of a winning streak.”
Regardless of the outcomes, this Falmouth team had each other's backs and never had a dull moment. Comradery and charisma were a big part of the 2024 Commodores.
“We battle, we love each other, that’s for sure,” Isaiah Barkett (Stetson) said on July 19. “That’s what’s the most fun about this group is how tight we are.”
Eye-catching Commodore pitchers:
Righty Gage Wood - Arkansas
Wood put up a strong summer ball campaign with a 2-0 record. He put up the second-best ERA for Falmouth this summer (1.42) over six games and 10 innings. Additionally, he led the Commodores in strikeouts with 29 strikeouts.
Over his 336 pitches, the Razorback allowed eight walks and hit three batters.
Lefty Francis Ferguson - Eastern Connecticut State
Ferguson was a reliable bullpen option. He made 14 game appearances with one start putting up a 5.64 ERA on the summer.
He pitched for the most innings for Falmouth with 30.1 innings on the summer. In those innings, he allowed 12 walks and hit one batter. Ferguson also secured 20 strikeouts.
Righty Jack Seppings - Brown
Seppings was one of the true starters a part of Falmouth’s pitching lineup. He put up a 2.51 ERA in 14.1 innings over five games.
He was another high-strikeout pitcher with 20 strikeouts in the summer. Seppings allowed six walks, hit one batter and put up a 1-2 record.
Lefty Matthew Dallas - Wake Forest
Dallas was another trustworthy starter for the Commodores. He finished with a 5.76 ERA over 25 innings across six games that he started each.
The soon-to-be Deamon Deacon racked up the second-most strikeouts for Falmouth with 25. Dallas allowed 18 walks and finished with a 1-2 record.
Falmouth’s ‘Fantastic Four’ hitters:
Trent Caraway - Oregon State
Caraway was a power hitter for Falmouth. He went to the dish 98 times over the summer putting up 27 hits, five doubles, four home runs and led in RBIs for the Commodores (21).
The Beaver finished the summer with a .276 batting average and a .362 on-base percentage. Additionally, Caraway was selected as a Cape League All-Star for the West Division and a contestant for the Home Run Contest.
Dylan Carey - Nebraska
Carey had a strong summer. He finished fourth for the Commodores in batting average (.304) and had a .383 on-base percentage.
From behind the dish, Carey put up 28 hits, five doubles and one homerun. He also was able to draw nine walks over his 26-game appearances.
Jayson Jones - Oklahoma State
The new Cowboy made his mark on the Cape with a strong-hitting performance. Jones finished with a .269 batting average, a .317 on-base percentage and recorded the second-most RBIs in Falmouth (17).
He got a total of 29 hits with eight doubles, most of any Commodore, three homers and drew seven walks over his 32-game appearances. Additionally, Jones was selected as the starting rightfield for the West Division for the Cape League All-Star game.
Jaxon Willits - Oklahoma
Willits was the reliable lead-off hitter for the Commodores. He made 25 appearances and racked up 91 at-bats. Willits was selected as a Cape League All-Star for the West Division.
The Sooner recorded 27 hits, one double, two homeruns and drew the most walks for Falmouth with 18. Additionally, he put up 15 RBIs and finished with a .297 batting average and a .407 on-base percentage.
Photo Credits: Nate Gardner and Meghan Murphy
