After being walked off by the Harbor Hawks (21-18) and losing control against the Gatemen (14-24), the Commodores (17-20-2) have locked themselves into third place of the West and draw Bourne in the first round of the Cape League postseason.
Games one and two of Saturday’s doubleheader couldn’t be any more different.
In a shortened seven inning game in Hyannis, the ‘Dores took an early advantage with extra-base hits from A.J. Putty (Illinois) and Dallas Brooks (UCF). Putty’s RBI double in the second and Brooks’ solo shot in the third made it 2-0 Falmouth after the first three frames.
Putty later homered in game two of the day – his third extra-base hit in as many games and second bomb in as many days. “When he's on time, he's got a chance to hit the fastball and the breaking ball,” said head coach Jack Dahm. “He's been swinging it good the last couple days, and I wanted to make sure we kept him going as we head into the playoffs…he's going to be a big key for us.”
On the flip side, Wyatt Dion (UCF) gave the ‘Dore yet another clean start on the mound, keeping Hyannis off the board in his 4.2 innings of work. The closest the Harbor Hawks came to breaking it open was in the fifth, placing runners on first and second before Casen Murphy (Louisville) entered the game. He’d do Dion a favor by inducing a flyout to end the inning and preserve the two-run lead.
For the rising sophomore starter, the mindset he went out with on Saturday was a far cry from his debut in Bourne.
“This outing I just knew [to] attack the zone,” he said. “They were obviously under the fastball, so I just kept repeating and made sure I got quick outs.”
A pair of run-scoring singles in the bottom of the sixth gave the Harbor Hawks a one-run lead, but Fabio Peralta (Miami) was able to bring home the game-tying score in the top of the seventh with a sacrifice fly. Murphy sent Hyannis down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame to send the game to extras.
With a runner on second to start the inning, Gavin Greger (Rutgers) did his part in moving him over with a groundout, setting up Matthew Farner (Georgia) with the opportunity to put the ‘Dores ahead.
This is where bad luck takes over.
Farner sent a high chopper over Brayden Jefferis’ (Michigan) head and into the glove of J.C. Davis (Rice), forcing Jefferis to dash home. Davis nailed him with a perfect throw to the plate, effectively halting the Commodores’ momentum. They’d come away empty handed and Jax Gimenez (Oregon) ended things in the bottom of the eighth with a game-winning double.
“That was a tough loss. Probably beat ourselves a little bit in that first ball game,” Dahm said.
Even after the game one loss, there’s a glaring positive for the Commodores. In Dion’s words, “it was a good, hard fight.”
They couldn’t say the same later that day in game two.
The Gatemen’s 1-0 harmless lead through two innings ballooned into a resounding 12-1 victory at Guv Fuller Field, the turning point being Coen Niclai’s (Arizona State) three-run homer in the top of the third. Wareham found another trio of runs in the fourth and a quintet of runs in the eighth to put the game away, while Falmouth went hitless with runners in scoring position.
“We were flat the second game,” Dahm said. “The pace of the game didn't help after playing a game earlier, so that’s part of it. I'm not going to worry…it's baseball, it's summer ball.”
Not the stretch that the ‘Dores envisioned themselves to be on at the tail end of the regular season, but they’ll have the opportunity to clean things up against Orleans on Sunday night.
The goal for the squad? “I'd like to see us work with some pace,” said Coach Dahm. “I compare it to going into the dentist's office when it's [a] slow pace and a lot of balls, it's just it's hard, it lulls your team to sleep.”
First pitch at Eldridge Park is set for 6:30 p.m.
