Hyannis took a long-winded loss to the Brewster Whitecaps on Sunday, capping a week the Harbor Hawks will want to put behind them. Since last Sunday, Hyannis has posted just one win, with two ties and four losses. Brewster bounced back from a blowout loss to Cotuit the night before, grabbing a 10-4 comeback win with steady pitching and timely hits.
The Hawks (9-7-3) faced a challenge at the plate, squaring off against right-hander Tegan Kuhns, an ace in his own right. The Tennessee Volunteer struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings, a pace that would translate to nearly 16 strikeouts in a full nine-inning start. While Hyannis wasn’t at its sharpest, credit goes to the arms it was up against.
Hyannis manager Mitch Karraker, who has led the team through both hot stretches and recent struggles, commented on what he saw from the lineup.
“A lot of positives we can take away. It was good to see Charlie get a big hit there, and take a good walk there at the end… I think way too many strikeouts today. (Brewster) was really good. I thought (Kuhns) was electric.”
Karraker went on to describe where the offense needs to adjust.
“You know, we just got to find a way to put the ball in play with two strikes and make them play defense a little bit more. I think we're trying to grab some positives and keep these guys on their own side.”
Defensively, the Hawks had an off day as well, committing four errors, uncharacteristic for one of the Cape’s more reliable teams on the field. The misfires came across multiple innings, extending frames and leading to Brewster (10-8-1) runs.
“Any time you give guys extra outs, especially an offense like theirs that's really physical and can hit mistakes, the game's just gonna punish you for that,” Karraker said. “So, unfortunately, we came out on the wrong side of that. But I still believe we have a really good defense. We have a good team, and we've just got to clean some of those things up.”
Baserunning mistakes also continued to haunt the Hawks, with mental lapses and overly aggressive moves cutting off rallies. Still, Karraker supports his team’s attacking mindset.
“I think it's just, like I told the guys, like, I want you to be aggressive. Now, aggressive with intelligence is where we need to, you know, make those adjustments.”
Despite the miscues, he emphasized the value of high-energy baseball and said he never wants his team to become “passive.”
With a much-needed off-day coming Monday, the team has a chance to reset mentally and physically. Karraker, as always, addressed the group postgame, reflecting on the past week while setting the tone for what’s ahead.
“Yeah, I told them to go get ice cream, go to the beach and clear their heads a little bit,” he said. “I just told them, ‘Hey, we still believe in you guys.’ The fact that we're playing as poorly as we are and we're still in first place is a good sign. I think sometimes it's good to just take a break. Put the bat down, put the glove down. We've had a long stretch, and six days in a row on the Cape is a long time — usually, you have an off-day in between. These guys have been going for a while now, so I think it's a good off-day to have.”
Thomas Crabtree will get the ball next for Hyannis as the team travels west to face the Bourne Braves on Tuesday. Brewster will return to action the same day against Wareham.
Reach Matt Ford-Wellman
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