ORLEANS, Mass. — The Commodores’ first three games weren’t pretty. Their starting pitching was strong. Everything else went awry.

Specifically, Falmouth’s offense hadn’t produced much at all — scoring just four runs in 27 innings entering Tuesday’s contest at Orleans. Hitting coach Jack O’Reilly said pregame if it got a few early hits Tuesday, the team’s confidence would rise, and things would fall in place.

“It's a tough league to hit in,” O’Reilly said. “It's not a very offensive league to begin with, but I just think these guys need to believe in themselves and understand what they're here for.”

That’s exactly what happened. And it was an avalanche. The Commodores, destroyed Orleans, 14-5, Tuesday at Eldredge Park, moving back to .500 on the season. Falmouth’s offense finally reached its full potential. It scored nine runs in the sixth inning, while every starter recorded a hit in a dominant bounce-back victory.

“It felt amazing,” said Stetson’s Landon Moran, who went 2-for-5 Tuesday. “Salty preaches just getting on base and finding a way to score guys. So whatever we can do to help the team.”

Despite the lopsided score, beating Orleans (2-2) looked to be a tough task on paper. The Firebirds entered with the fourth-best average and ERA in the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL), while Falmouth ranked bottom three in both categories. Orleans was also coming off a convincing 8-2 win over Cotuit on Monday.

But that was no problem for Falmouth. It instantly began the game how it couldn’t on Tuesday — by scoring runs.

The Commodores (2-2) knocked around Firebirds starter Truman Pauley (Harvard) in the first, making him throw 34 pitches and totaling five baserunners.

Antonio Morales, who entered pacing the 'Dores with a .333 average, led off the game with a triple into deep right-center field. Justin Osterhouse promptly drove him in with a broken-bat single to left-center. He later scampered home on a wild pitch to make it 2-0 after one frame.

Just an inning later, Falmouth’s offense surged again. And it came via the power department for the first time in 2025. Bear Harrison, who mashed 10 long balls with Texas A&M this season, drilled a line-drive, two-run homer to right-center to double the 'Dores’ lead.

Harrison credited his big day to the team’s extra practice Tuesday morning. He also said he stayed focused during pregame batting practice, trying to learn something new each swing.

On the mound, Matt Sauser (Central Florida) took the ball for Falmouth, looking to continue its strong starting pitching. The 'Dores’ last three starters — Kaden Echeman, Grayson Saunier and TJ Coats — all went at least four innings and allowed two or fewer runs.

Sauser, on the other hand, was shaky Tuesday. He started hot, allowing just one baserunner in the first, then striking out Tristan Salinas and Abbrie Covarrubias in the second. But he ran into trouble soon after.

Pauley settled in following Falmouth’s early burst, producing a clean third frame and getting two quick outs after Morales reached second in the fourth. His rebound allowed the Firebirds to briefly claw back.

After Sauser allowed an unearned run on a wild pitch in the third, he gave up two straight singles to open the fourth. Covarrubias then scored on a groundout to second, making it 4-2. Sauser was ultimately pulled for Bryant’s Jackson Vanesko, who allowed a Michael O’Shaughnessy RBI single before escaping the threat.

Still, Falmouth’s lead had been trimmed to one. With five innings left, it desperately needed to respond.

And it did it in a big way. To open its nine-run sixth, Moran got a changeup from Orleans lefthander Ryan Oshinskie (Brown) and hammered it to right field for a two-run homer.

But the Commodores weren’t done. Carl Schmidt stole two bases and scored on a throwing error by Firebirds catcher Sebastian Pisacreta. Then, Harrison struck again.

With two runners on, he demolished a pitch from Orleans’ Lucas Litteral over the left-field wall, breaking the game wide open with his second long ball of the night. Just like that, Falmouth led 10-3.

“(Harrison) hits the hell out of the ball,” Moran said. “So we're proud of him.”

The Commodores added two more runs after Harrison’s blast, wrapping up the explosive frame. Their offense was finally clicking, just like O’Reilly said it could.

The rest of the game was a moot point. Both teams traded homers in the seventh and eighth — Chris Barr for Orleans and Maika Niu for Falmouth. But by that point, the Commodores had built such an insurmountable lead that it didn’t matter. Jack Berg and Zach Johnston easily closed out the victory in the final two innings.

Before Tuesday, Falmouth hadn’t displayed its true potential at the plate. But the 'Dores’ effort at Orleans proved they have the tools to hit consistently — a necessary component to the team’s long-term success.

“ It's a long season playing every day, so as long as we're focused on the plate mentally, I think our swings are good enough to play. We just gotta keep on being focused,” Harrison said.

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