It was another silent night for the Harwich Mariners bats Saturday against the Orleans Firebirds. The Mariners just managed three hits and struck out 13 times, losing 4-3 to the Firebirds.

In the ninth inning, the Mariners looked to stage a comeback to tie the game. With one out, Jake Koonin doubled through the fog to left-center field to give Harwich a man in scoring position.

“I want to be in that situation every game I can,” Koonin said. “He fooled me with the first pitch. I kept fighting full count. I just got the right pitch at the right time.”

On the next batter, Sam Harris, Orleans pitcher Steele Murdock threw a wild pitch that advanced Koonin.

Still with one out and the infield in, the Mariners needed just a ball in play. Harris responded with a hard grounder to third base.

Koonin broke for home on contact.

“Mostly going on contact,” he said. “The relay was three feet to my left so that’s kind of a tough read. Trying to be aggressive. Don’t want to be out there with two outs.”

After Koonin got tagged out at home, Orleans caught Sam Harris off first base to end the game.

It was an ugly end to an ugly game.

The Mariners came out flat as Orleans starter Cal Scolari struck out six across the first four innings.

Koonin provided the only big hit against Scholari.

With Dee Kennedy on first after drawing a walk, the Princeton outfielder took a 1-0 pitch over the left field fence, giving the Mariners the temporary 2-1 lead.

Scolari passed the baton to Ethan Foley to continue the dominant Orleans pitching. Foley struck out the first four Mariners he faced.

The Mariners chipped away at the lead in the seventh. With Dee Kennedy at third and Ethan Swidler at first, the Mariners' latest addition, Tanner Marsh, walked to the plate.

Marsh squeezed a ground ball to right field off pitcher Ryan Oshinskie to bring in Kennedy. The Shortstop from Liberty went 1-3 in his first game on the Cape.

Pitching staff pushes on despite errors

While it was far from a perfect outing, the Mariner pitching staff once again kept the team in the game.

Pitcher Toby Twist made his second consecutive start against the Firebirds. Last Saturday he pitched two scoreless innings at Eldridge Park.

This time around, Twist had to battle through his two innings. The Firebirds drew two walks and got three hits off the Oregon lefty before he got pulled with a runner on second base.

Olin Johnson made his Harwich debut after Twist left the game in the third inning.

With guys on the corners, Orleans tied the game on an errant pickoff attempt by Johnson. His throw to first hit Michael Crossland’s foot and rolled away, allowing Michael O’Shaughnessy to score.

The fielding woes continued later in the inning. With two outs, Dee Kennedy bobbled a ball at third. Trying to beat the Elijah Ickes running to first, Kennedy rushed the throw, and first baseman Sam Harris could not corral the low ball.

The wild throw allowed Crossland to score and give Orleans the 3-2 lead.

Christian Rodriguez and Thomas Shurtleff combined to pitch the final six innings of the game. The duo combined for eight strikeouts and allowed just one hit.

Moving forward

Harwich closes out June with a trip to Bourne tomorrow. The Mariners beat the Braves back on opening night 7-5. First pitch is 6:00 p.m.