Hawks bats shine against the Firebirds, securing a much-needed victory

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The Hyannis Harbor Hawks took another victory against the Orleans Firebirds, this time 7-5. In an offensively tight game against the Firebirds (11-21), both teams recorded 12 hits apiece. With clutch hitting from the Hawks (18-13), they brought home the victory.

As the innings played out, the fans at McKeon Park saw a close game through each frame. Both teams battled back and forth almost replicating what they each did the inning before. With a double in the second, the Firebirds quickly came into scoring position. The runner scored on an infield single to Michael Dattalo.

Orleans’ lead was short-lived at the beginning of the game. Jaxson West and Dattalo singled in the bottom of the first. Kane Kepley loaded the bases, reaching base via a four-pitch walk. Eddy Pelc, still a newbie to Hyannis, scored West on a fielder’s choice. Mason White manufactured the last run of the inning, evening the score with a deep sacrifice fly to center field.

“Offensively, we just kept having good at-bats,” head coach Mitch Karraker said. “[West] had a huge night tonight.”

In the bottom of the second, three runs scored for the Harbor Hawks. Eddie Saldivar doubled on a fly ball between the second baseman and right fielder. Josh Tate then successfully bunted for a single and advanced Saldivar to third. Dalton Bargo slammed a double of his own to score Saldivar and advance Tate. On a wild pitch, Tate scored. West singled once more, scoring Bargo.

“[I’ve been] just learning from my mistakes and growing, you know, coming up here facing good players, I’ve just been working on things,” West said. “I’ve failed at times, but those failures have helped me.”

Ciaran Caughey started the game on the mound for the Hawks on Thursday night. The Firebirds scored in the top of the first, with a two-run home run given up by Caughey. The Kent State product pitched a total of two innings, giving up three earned runs and tallying two K's.

In relief was Braxton Pearson, and during his 1 2/3 innings on the mound, he gave up two earned runs and registered one strikeout. After his outing in the top of the fourth, the score was tied once again.

After that, the game was tied for almost two innings. In the sixth, Saldivar led off with a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. He then advanced to third on a ground ball by Bargo. West scored Saldivar on a base hit up the middle, allowing the Hawks to lead by one.

In the seventh, Hyannis scored and added another run. Pelc and White both walked, and with runners at first and second, Cannon Peebles singled on a line drive to center field scoring Pelc. Unfortunately, White and Peebles were both stranded and only one crossed home.

Along with Caughey and Pearson, Reed Morning and Josh Och also got time on the bump. Morning pitched for a total of 3 1/3 innings and didn’t allow a single run. Och pitched in the eighth and ninth innings, giving up one hit and recording five strikeouts.

“[Och] doesn’t get too high or too low, he’s very confident in his stuff and you can see when it’s right, it’s really, really good,” Karraker said. “He was a no-brainer for us in the back half.”

With key players like West, Saldivar and Och and defensive plays that altered the game, the Harbor Hawks took the win Thursday. The final score was 7-5.

“We’re just going to take it one game at a time … [Thursday night] they were having a little bit more fun with each other, which is good. We talked about before the last game that we need to start gelling,” Karraker said of his team. “I thought we played a little bit looser than we have the last two games, I think that was a big part of it.”

Hyannis will play again, on Friday night in Brewster at Stony Brook Field at 5 p.m.

“Baseball should be fun,” hitting coach Sean Reily said. “It’s not life or death, it’s just a sport.”