The Hyannis Harbor Hawks suffered a 6-4 loss against the Bourne Braves on Saturday night at Doran Park.
After getting off to an early lead, the Braves had a six-run inning that the Harbor Hawks were unable to come back from, despite some last-ditch efforts in the top of the ninth.
“Unfortunate inning for us, but proud of the guys for battling back,” Hyannis manager Mitch Karraker said. “Just got to clean some stuff up.”
There were struggles for both teams defensively, as the Harbor Hawks had two errors while the Braves had five.
“We got to play a little bit cleaner, there’s a lot of errors in this game on both sides,” Karraker said. “The team that makes the fewest mistakes usually has the best chance to win.”
Despite the Braves plethora of errors defensively, the team had seven hits and four stolen bases that would prove crucial in their scoring efforts. While the Harbor Hawks did not have as many struggles in the infield, they were unable to keep up with the Braves’ offense.
The Harbor Hawks took advantage of the Braves’ errors early in the second inning, as right fielder Henry Zenor was able to reach first base on a fielding error by shortstop Blake Shaaf. With Caden Miller in scoring position, this was enough to send him home.
More errors by the Braves defense came in the top of the fifth inning, which the Harbor Hawks were able to capitalize on once again. Catcher Brody Briggs reached first on a fielding error by third baseman Austin Hawke. Then, a wild pitch and subsequent throwing error by Braves catcher Brice Estep allowed Briggs to move up to third. A sacrifice fly by second baseman JC Davis drove Briggs home to put the Harbor Hawks up 2-0. However, the lead would not last for long.
Harbor Hawks’ starting pitcher Raymond Olivas threw six strikeouts in the first four innings, including back-to-back strikeouts in the second inning with bases loaded to keep the Braves from scoring. In the bottom of the fifth inning, however, a lead off double and several mishaps in the infield allowed the Braves to score their first run of the night. Olivas was taken off the mound and replaced by Bruce Littleton, who was unable to keep the Braves at bay once they got into a rhythm.
With two runners in scoring position, one thanks to a stolen base, a throwing error by Littleton drove one home, and a sacrifice fly allowed them to score, putting the Braves in the lead. The offense would not stop there, as two more Braves runners found themselves in scoring position, another courtesy of a stolen base, and a line drive single sent both runners home. The scoring only stopped after a strikeout by Littleton to end the inning, leaving the score 6-2. Littleton was taken off the mound in the next inning and replaced by Kevin Landry Farr.
Olivas said that despite Littleton’s rough inning, he has confidence in his abilities.
“He’s a great pitcher, and we’re going to need him for the playoffs,” Olivas said. “I talked to him after, just gave him some words of encouragement, so he’s going to be fine, I’m not even worried.”
Farr and the Harbor Hawks defense pulled it together for the remainder of the game and did not allow the Braves to put any more runs on the board. On the Braves side, however, the defensive errors continued, and almost gave the Harbor Hawks a chance to come away with a win.
In the ninth inning Davis reached first on another error by Schaaf, and a wild pitch moved him into scoring position. Harbor Hawks’ first baseman Andrew Lamb was then walked to first, and a stolen second base put him in scoring position. With two outs, Miller popped one up to right field, seemingly putting the game away. However, the ball was dropped by left fielder Matt Bolton, and Davis and Lamb ran home, cutting the lead to two. Despite the desperation moves to try and take the game back, the game ended with one final strikeout by Braves pitcher Justin Dressler.
The Harbor Hawks look ahead to face the Wareham Gatemen at home on Sunday as they will try to build back momentum going into the playoffs. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
