When Hyannis Harbor Hawks outfielder Parker Brosius dug into the right-handed batter’s box at McKeon Park, he was full of excitement. He saw a full count pitch from Harwich Mariners pitcher Gianni Gambardella miss the strike zone, and he took his walk.
Brosius, who briefly played for Hyannis in 2024 before getting injured, is happy to be back in Hyannis and contributing to the team again.
“I was just training and working on my swing the first part of the summer,” said Brosius. “It was good to get back in there and see the ball.”
Although Brosius’ first game back ended in a 6-3 loss to Harwich, he went 1-for-3 at the plate with one walk and one hit by pitch in the seventh inning with the bases loaded, driving in Charlie Bates as a result.
Hyannis manager Mitch Karraker was happy to have Brosius back after seeing flashes of what he can bring to a team last summer.
“We knew how good of a player [Parker] was, we had him last year for a little bit before he hurt himself running into a fence,” said Karraker. “He looked good tonight. Obviously, [he] did not get a bunch of hits, but he looks really comfortable in the box, seeing it well.”
While Brosius mainly wants to get at-bats under his belt in the Cape League, he also wants to flash some of the speed that helped him steal 14 bases in the spring for Georgia Tech and four last summer for the Hawks before his injury.
“I would love to start stealing some bases up here,” said Brosius. “I did that a little bit last year in my little stint here. I just want to keep getting more comfortable in the box for the most part.”
Brosius wasn’t the only new face taking the field for the Hawks in their loss to Harwich. Pitchers Brandon Olivera and Henry Chabot also made their Hyannis debuts.
Olivera, coming to Hyannis from Miami-Dade College, pitched 1.2 innings out of the bullpen for the Hawks, allowing zero hits and striking out three hitters. The one baserunner he did allow, a walk in the sixth inning, eventually scored.
Chabot, transferring to the University of Southern California from Division III Chapman University, allowed Olivera’s inherited runner to score but pitched 1.1 scoreless innings of his own before passing the baton to Hunter Dietz, who pitched shutout frames in the eighth and ninth innings.
Karraker liked what he saw from his two newest pitchers in their first taste of Cape League action.
“Brandon and Henry did a nice job coming in and getting their feet wet a little,” said Karraker. “They looked really comfortable, threw strikes, and did what we asked them to do.”
Chabot felt good about how his slider complimented his fastball and how he was able to get outs on both pitches.
“Slider was great off the bat, fastball too,” said Chabot. “Was able to work those hand-in-hand and get some weak contact, so success there.”
Chabot posted a 2.53 ERA for Chapman this spring, striking out 105 hitters in 78.1 innings and racking up two complete game shutouts, holding opposing hitters to a .190 average against. He relies on a five-pitch arsenal to get hitters out, mixing in a four-seam and two-seam fastball to go with his offspeed pitches, a slider, curveball, and changeup.
Before making the jump from Division III to Division I in 2026, Chabot wants to pitch against the best hitters in the country, which he can do on the Cape.
“That is the goal coming up here, throw against the best guys in summer ball,” said Chabot.
With the regular season entering the final stretch, every inning at the plate and on the mound has added meaning for the Hawks as they try to secure a playoff spot in an insanely close West Division race. Brosius, Olivera, and Chabot figure to be key figures for the Hawks down the stretch, and performances like they had against Harwich will go a long way for the team.
Michael Najarian can be reached at mikenajarian379@gmail.com and on X @MichaelNaj3.
