The Harwich Mariners dropped their seventh straight game Thursday night, falling 7-6 to the Chatham Anglers. Thursday was the second time this week Harwich has fallen by one run at Veterans Field in Chatham to the Anglers.
Trailing 7-1 going into the seventh inning, things were once again looking bleak for the Mariners, who, despite the losing streak, had still been hitting the ball well.
As the night sky fully overtook the field, the Harwich bats woke up after Chatham pitcher Tyler Kozera had held them at bay for six innings, only allowing one run on three hits.
Finally, the Mariners seemed to figure out Kozera in the seventh. After a sharply hit flyout from Matt Scannell (Wake Forest) to start the inning, Jake Ogden (Miami) tapped in for Harwich and clobbered a solo shot over the fence in left-center field, his third of the season.
Tommy Barth struck out next, but Macon Winslow was hit by a pitch with two outs to extend the inning. His counterpart behind the plate, Luke Heyman, made sure that Kozera's misstep didn't go unpunished.
Heyman jumped all over the first pitch from Kozera, crushing his first home run of the season 387 feet to the opposite field, showing off a taste of the power he possesses.
That was all Chatham skipper Jeremy Sheetinger needed to see. He turned to the bullpen for the first time on the evening, bringing in Devin Pressley, who punched out Cam Maldonado to end the inning.
But now with the lead cut in half, the Mariners were within striking distance for the first time since the second inning, when Chatham scored four of its seven runs.
Andrew Evans posted a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh, giving Harwich an opportunity to cut into the now 7-4 deficit even more in the eighth.
The home run train continued in the eighth for the Mariners, as Scannell crushed a two-run shot halfway up the hill in right field. Now, it was a one run game for the first time since Harwich led 1-0 in the second inning.
Unfortunately for the Mariners, the comeback was too little, too late. Hayden Murphy came in to shut the game down for the Anglers, putting Harwich down in order to save his team from suffering a catastrophic loss.
The Mariners are back home Friday night to take on Cotuit on First Responders Night at Whitehouse Field. First pitch is at 6:30 p.m.
