The Hyannis Harbor Hawks celebrated two occasions with a postgame drone show on Independence Day: America’s 250th birthday and a rout of the league-leading Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, to whom Hyannis handed only the second loss of their season.
Yarmouth-Dennis, which had already gotten the best of the Harbor Hawks twice this season – including the previous day by a score of 17-1 – failed to win for only the third time this year, falling 9-2 at McKeon Park.
Hyannis manager Mitch Karraker said the team “didn’t talk much” about that 17-1 drubbing at Red Wilson Field.
“I walked out there after the game yesterday, and you could see the look in their eyes, the disappointment, the frustration,” Karraker said of his players. “I really didn’t need to say much. So we showed up today, ready to roll.”
The Harbor Hawks scored a season-high nine runs – and against a team that has only given up 48 all year, 26 short of the next-lowest mark by any team, no less. Yarmouth-Dennis showed up looking like a shell of the team that has now played to a 15-2-1 record. Hyannis torched the Red Sox’ pitching for 13 hits and punished each of Yarmouth-Dennis’ defense’s four errors.
Three Harbor Hawks pitchers allowed the Red Sox only two hits – Karraker praised his staff for throwing in the zone and recording efficient outs on few pitches – while Hyannis’ defense sparkled at every position. Shortstop Jordan Lodise made athletic big-league-caliber plays all night, narrowly gunning men down at first throughout the night and scrambling into the shallow outfield to get a tough pop-up in the fifth.
“Just do whatever it takes to make the play,” Lodise said.
First baseman Caden Miller made all his picks, Hyannis’ outfield impressed with multiple tough catches and catcher Will Fosberg threw a runner out at third on a double steal.
Harbor Hawks pitcher Raymond Olivas, who got the win and pitched four innings of two-hit, one-run ball, said the defensive effort made the game “a whole lot easier.”
Olivas took 50 pitches to throw his four innings, making it a longer outing than any he had tossed in his two years at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
“He was getting early outs, so we felt really comfortable leaving him out there,” Karraker said.
Olivas said “everything was moving great, where I wanted it, other than that one changeup home run” – his lone blemish of the night came on a pinch-hit home run by Yarmouth-Dennis’ Caleb Daniel – but “solos don’t kill you.” Olivas struck out two.
Ryan Bosch got the start for Hyannis, pitching three innings of one-hit, one run ball while walking four and striking out three. Easton Barrett closed the game with two hitless and scoreless innings.
The story of the night was a surprisingly sloppy effort by Yarmouth-Dennis’ defense. Before the Red Sox even recorded an out in the first, they committed a throwing error on a single from Hyannis designated hitter Jax Gimenez that plated a run. Miller doubled with two outs, adding another run Yarmouth-Dennis could have prevented.
Hyannis blew the game open in the fifth with a giant two-out rally. Right fielder Henry Zenor singled to bring the score to 3-1, and left fielder JP Head hit a grounder to third. Two runners scored on yet another throwing error. Fosberg followed that up with his second double of the year, making it 6-1, Hyannis.
“That’s the biggest thing in this league, whoever makes the fewest mistakes usually has the best chance to win,” Karraker said. “We put some pressure on them offensively tonight, and they didn’t handle it very well. Put the ball in play, see what happens, and it worked out well for us.”
The Harbor Hawks sealed the deal by plating a man in each of the final three frames.
Zenor, who had three hits in the game, collected his second RBI of the night in the sixth, driving in Lodise, who had reached on yet another infield throwing error. Fosberg doubled again in the seventh, and Gimenez scored him with a forceout. Lodise, Miller, Zenor and Head each reached in succession to plate the game’s final run, bringing the score to 9-2 after eight.
“It’s a good win,” Karraker said. “It doesn’t matter what the other team’s record is. We’ve just got to stack up wins as much as we can.”
The Harbor Hawks will look to ride the momentum from their big win into an away game against the Brewster Whitecaps, with first pitch set for 4:30 p.m.
