A sluggish start and missed opportunities at the plate doomed Hyannis again Monday night, as the Harbor Hawks dropped an 11-0 eight inning mercy rule to the Cotuit Kettleers at Lowell Park. It marked the latest in a string of tough losses for Hyannis (12-16-3), who have now lost six of their last eight.
Right-handed starter Carson Jasa returned to the mound looking to build on a string of quality outings but couldn’t find the zone early. Despite escaping multiple jams, Jasa’s five walks in 3.1 innings caught up to him. Manager Mitch Karraker didn’t sugarcoat it.
“It wasn’t very good.” Karraker said. “Too many walks. He knew he was bad. He wiggled out of some innings, made some pitches when he had to. But we need him to be better.”
The Hawks found themselves one pitch away from a clean first inning, putting shortstop Ryne Farber in a 1-2 hole. 3 balls and one stolen base later, Farber stood just 180 feet away from the first run of the game. Three hard pitches later and Jasa gave up the game's first run on a line drive single.
Jasa’s struggles weren’t helped by Hyannis’ inconsistent defense, though Karraker didn’t place the blame there.
“We had one error behind him. We worked around it,” he said. “[Ryan] McKay playing third, had one throw get away from him and that’s not a position he’s normally in. I thought overall, our defense was pretty good.”
Offensively, Hyannis showed flashes but couldn’t put it together for any of the eight innings played. The Hawks had runners on late in the game but came up empty, failing to score with a runner on third and no outs. Karraker called this the biggest backbreaker of the game.
“I felt like we put some good swings on the ball. Sometimes our approach is good, and then it kind of wavers a little bit in the middle innings… Just frustrating all the way around.”
After the game, Karraker kept his postgame speech simple: dig deep and play with pride.
“I just want them to play better. I want them to have a little more pride in what we’re doing,” he said. “We’ve got nine games left, and whatever you guys want to get out of that; let’s make the most of it.”
The Harbor Hawks look to reset Tuesday night at home against the Bourne Braves, a team they beat earlier this summer. Their most recent performance against the Braves ended in a 6-7 loss.
Despite the skid and fall to last place in the Western Division, the Hawks are five points out of first and right behind the 4th seed Kettleers to make the playoffs. Hyannis is right in the hunt for a playoff run if given the right spark and opportunity.
Hyannis hosts Orleans at McKeon Park on July 25th at 6:00 p.m. EST.
Reach Matt Ford-Wellman
X: @MattFW_4
Gmail: mfordwellman.media@gmail.com
