FALMOUTH, Mass. — Falmouth hadn’t had a losing streak in three weeks. From June 21-24, the Commodores lost three in a row to push them to 3-6 on the year.

But since then, every time the ‘Dores fell, they rebounded, allowing them to climb out of their early hole and move above .500 on the season.

That was until Sunday. After losing to Yarmouth-Dennis 4-1, Falmouth was demolished by Wareham 12-3. For the first time since early in the summer, the Commodores were in danger of slipping into freefall.

It kept sliding downward on Tuesday. Falmouth (11-13-1) dropped its third straight game to Bourne (10-13-1) 6-3 The ‘Dores produced just six hits and scored three or fewer runs for the third consecutive night, allowing the Braves to pull away in the late innings. The loss moved the Commodores two games under .500 on the year after they hopped over the mark on July 5.

The last time the Commodores played Bourne, they exploded for eight runs in the first four innings. Though Easton Barrett and Conner Linn also gave up six runs, Falmouth still won 8-6.

Though on Tuesday, Bourne took the driver’s seat.

Falmouth entered with the worst ERA (4.86) in the Cape Cod Baseball League after allowing 12 runs to Wareham. Linn (Northern Kentucky) made his first start against Bourne, trying to improve that mark. He did, allowing just one run through four innings.

Still, he ran into trouble immediately. Braden Holcomb doubled, then Kuhio Aloy worked an 11-pitch walk. Kade Lewis bailed him out with a first-pitch comebacker.

Linn used Lewis’ gift as a springboard. After a Logan Hughes leadoff single in the second, he retired six straight batters to work through the second and third innings using 27 pitches.

But the Commodores remained lifeless at the plate. After scoring just four runs across its two-game losing streak, Falmouth kept struggling versus Bourne. Jonathan Stevens (UAB), who came in with a scintillating 0.82 ERA in six bullpen outings, shut the ‘Dores down.

That’s not to say Falmouth didn’t have chances. Kent Schmidt reached second with two outs in the first. Justin Osterhouse and Reece Moroney moved into scoring position an inning later. In the third, Schmidt again headed to second on a Camden Kozeal error. But none of them scored, keeping the game at 0-0 through three.

The Commodores’ offense had again reverted back to their early-season struggles.

That put pressure on Linn to keep the Braves off balance. Even one or two runs looked like it’d be hard to overcome.

Linn couldn’t do that. Falmouth was bitten by former Commodore Mark Quatrani (Notre Dame). Quatrani slashed .250/.400/.406 in 10 games with the Commodores but was released on Friday before joining Bourne. In his first game back at Guv Fuller Field, he lofted a sac fly to the center-field wall, scoring Aloy from third to make it 1-0.

The ‘Dores needed to prevent their deficit from ballooning. Briefly, they did that. Ryan Zuckerman and Osterhouse reached second and third to open the fourth. Then, Falmouth’s newest addition, Reece Morony (Rhode Island), lifted a sac fly to right, tying the score at one.

Each team’s fresh faces had come through. But it was a long-time Commodore that was put on the hot seat next.

Barrett (Arizona State) replaced Linn in the fifth for his sixth appearance of the summer. He coughed up all of Falmouth’s momentum. Ryan Cooney and Jon LeGrande reached on a double and walk, respectively, then Aloy laced a two-run single to center to instantly re-establish Bourne’s advantage, 3-1.

Meanwhile,Bourne reliever Joe Colucci (Virginia) kept up Stevens’ work. Still, his lone blemish came in the sixth. After the Commodores wasted another scoring chance with Carl Schmidt on third in the fifth, Georgia Tech transfer Ryan Zuckerman struck. He led Pitt with 13 long balls in 2025 and launched his first with the ‘Dores, making it 3-2 with a solo homer to right.

But Barrett and Falmouth’s defense allowed Bourne to respond instantly. Again, Aloy was the culprit. The Arkansas product notched his third RBI of the game with an opposite-field single to right.

Then, Falmouth got sloppy. Three errors, two by Moroney at shortstop, doomed the Commodores, as the Braves put the game out of reach. After all the dust had settled, they led 6-2.

With its advantage secure, Bourne just needed three strong innings on the mound. Though Carl Schmidt knocked an RBI single in the seventh, Dominic Mauro finished the job with a five-out save.

He retired two straight to clean up Colucci’s mess in the eighth, then worked past his own throwing error in the ninth to notch the win.

Before Tuesday, Falmouth had handled business to prevent extended losing streaks. But its defeat to Bourne changed that. The Commodores dropped their third in a row, putting them in a precarious position as they trudge through the back half of the season.

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