The Hyannis Harbor Hawks took a 5-4 loss to the Bourne Braves in heartbreaking fashion to even up the West Divisional Series at one game apiece. Hyannis (1-1) led Bourne (1-1) from the bottom of the first until the top of the ninth, where the visitors surged ahead.
“I still thought we played a really good game,” manager Mitch Karraker said. “[We’ve played] two really good games, [it’s] fun to be a part of so it’ll probably be another good one tomorrow.”
Leading off the top of the ninth, Ryan Cooney reached base on a grounder to third as Jayce Dobie came off the bag trying to stretch for a throw by Jake Schaffner. Cal Sefcik followed with a single into center, putting runners on first and second with no outs with the Harbor Hawks leading 4-3.
With the Braves knocking on the door, Connor Kelley settled Hyannis back into the inning. The UTSA closer struck out Luke Costello on three pitches, then got Sebastian Mexico to fly out to center, moving Cooney up to third while Sefcik stole second shortly after.
Kelley continued to attack, getting ahead 1-2 on Mark Quatrani as the Harbor Hawks stood one strike away from a series victory. The 6-foot-5 righty delivered a slider that hung in the upper third of the zone, a pitch Quatrani could not miss.
Bourne’s catcher barreled this pitch over the head of Parker Brosius in left field, easily scoring both runners to put the Braves ahead for the first time in the game.
Kelley struck out Jon LeGrande to go to the bottom of the ninth, giving the home offense one final chance to recapture the lead. Nate Whysong stopped any hope of a miracle comeback by setting Hyannis down in order, holding them scoreless for the fifth inning in a row.
The Harbor Hawks’ offensive production was silenced when Whysong came into the game after building momentum in the first four frames.
In the bottom of the first, Dobie, Ryan McKay and Gabe Camacho reach with a walk and two singles to load the bases quickly against Folger Boaz.
Deiten Lachance capitalized on the scoring threat, depositing a soft line drive single into left field, scoring a run as each runner moved station to station.
Jeff Lougee grounded to the hot corner on the next at-bat as Cooney tagged third then threw to first for an inning-ending double-play.
In the next inning, a Devin Mitchell double, followed by a Schaffner walk and Owen Prince infield single loaded the bases again.
Dobie cashed in this time, launching a fly ball into right field, which allowed Mitchell to tag up and score as Schaffner moved up to third.
With men on the corners and two out, Boaz made a pick-off attempt to first, putting Prince in a pickle. As Jason Torres ran toward Prince off of first, Schaffner dashed for home plate with no hesitation.
The UNC infielder beat out Torres’ throw to home, sliding in head-first for the Hyannis’’ third run of the game.
With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Prince ripped a ground ball parallel to the left field line, filing into second base quickly. Dobie knocked him in with a single into left, the final run in supporting Max Stammel’s starting effort.
The Duke southpaw set down eight straight batters to start the game, then worked around a bases-loaded jam in the fourth before encountering the same situation in the next inning.
With no outs and bases loaded in the fifth, Cooney grounded back to Stammel who shoveled to Lachance at the plate for the force, but an errant throw to first by the backstop sailed into right field, allowing Ryker Waite to score from second.
Sefcik brought another run in with a sacrifice fly to center, bringing the tying run to the plate. Costello scored Bourne’s third run of the inning with a double into left, the final straw in Stammel’s start.
Karraker called Liam Kinneen out of the Harbor Hawks’ bullpen, who ended the inning two batters later with a strikeout to preserve the home squad’s lead. The Princeton righty’s next frame of work started with an error by Schaffner, a single and a walk, loading the bases for the Braves for the third inning in a row.
Andrew Wertz inherited this situation and shut it down efficiently, getting three flyouts in seven pitches without allowing a run.
Wertz mowed down five more Bourne batsmen from there, passing the baton to Kelley with two outs in the eighth, who looked poised for a four-out save before the Braves’ final bashing.
“Kinneen, I thought, did a good job, then we gave the ball to Wertz, he did a really good job, gave the ball to Connor [Kelley], he does a good job,” Karraker said. “Again, it’s just one pitch that, if [Kelley] gets that slider down, maybe we have the swing and miss.”
Hyannis looks to avenge its untimely breakdown as it heads to Bourne to take on the Braves in a series-deciding game three on Aug. 7 at 6 p.m. in Doran Park.
Tym Brown can be reached at tymbrown12@gmaill.com and followed on X @tym_brown1.
