Coming off an impressive 8-5 win over the Bourne Braves, the Hyannis Harbor Hawks couldn’t string together another win as they fell to the Wareham Gatemen by a 12-6 score Friday night.
It was a case of Deja vu at McKeon Park in this game, as not only did the Hawks and Gatemen face off on opening day, but the starting pitching matchup was the same, as Wil Libbert took the mound for the Harbor Hawks against Wareham’s Daniel Powell.
Despite the similarities, the Hawks couldn’t get the same result as they did the first time around. This loss puts Hyannis at 1-2 at home to start the season and 3-2-1 overall, hanging on to first place in the West Division by one point over the Falmouth Commodores.
Errors plagued the Hawks throughout the night, as four errors by Hyannis in the field allowed five Wareham runs to score in what turned out to be a six-run loss for the Hawks.
“We played sloppy tonight,” said manager Mitch Karraker. “We got a lot of hits, but I think we left 10 guys on base and just could not finish an inning. Defensively, we had some miscues, and from the mound we gave up some hits and free bases that really cost us.”
A game full of momentum swings started in the first inning as Chris Rembert gave the Hawks a 3-0 lead with a three-run home run to right-center field. In four games with the Hawks, Rembert is hitting .412, slugging at a .706 clip, and has a 1.180 OPS.
Karraker has loved what he’s seen from the Auburn product so far this summer.
“The guy can really hit,” said Karraker. “Did not matter what the count was, [I] felt like he put a hard swing on everything. His last at-bat, he did not get a hit, but the plate discipline’s really good. We knew he was a special player when we got him. Glad he’s showing everybody else how good he is.”
Momentum swung right to the Gatemen in the top of the second inning, as a throwing error by third baseman Jaxon Willits with the bases loaded allowed all 3 Wareham runners to score and tied the game 3-3.
To Willits’ credit, he made up for it in the third inning by scoring on a wild pitch and driving in Brody Briggs with an RBI single in the fourth as part of a 2-for-3 day at the plate with two walks.
Hyannis ran into trouble in the fifth inning. Brayden Randle drove in two runs with a double to center field, tying the game 5-5. Caden McDonald then hit a ground ball to Bates that he couldn’t quite handle, with his throwing error allowing two more Gatemen runs to score and put them ahead for good.
“At any level of baseball, the team that gives up the least freebies — walks, hit by pitches, errors, passed balls, typically has the best chance to win,” said Karraker. “We lost that battle big time tonight.”
Libbert toed the mound for the Harbor Hawks for his second start against the Gatemen. After pitching four innings on opening day, he tossed 4.2 innings this time around, allowing seven hits and striking out five hitters. He didn’t issue any walks and gave up five runs, though only two were earned runs.
Libbert mentioned after his first start that he wanted to improve on his command, and he felt he did so in his second outing.
“No walks is always huge,” said Libbert. “Slider was more in the zone, and I could get it down when I needed. That’s what I was looking for the most. Fastball being a little more consistent, I felt it was a little bit. Happy with the progress that I made in the last week.”
After Libbert departed, Tyler August gave up two runs while finishing the fifth inning and working the sixth inning in relief. Isaac Williams was charged with five runs in 1.2 innings, and Chandler Dorsey got the final four outs.
The floodgates opened in the eighth inning with Williams on the mound, as two Gatemen runs scored on wild pitches and three scored on singles, making it a 12-5 advantage for Wareham. Hyannis picked up one run when Jason Walk scored on a sac fly from Willits to make it a 12-6 game.
Up next for the Harbor Hawks is a tilt with the 1-5 Cotuit Kettleers on the road Saturday evening. Karraker emphasized the need to play error-free baseball for the Hawks to get the win.
“We just need to play clean baseball,” said Karraker. “4 errors, clean that up, clean up some of the walks, execute pitches a little bit better. Offensively, we need to do the same thing we’ve been doing. Our approach is good, we’re doing a really good job with that, just did not get the hits when we needed to tonight.”
