HYANNIS, Mass. (August 8, 2026) - The Championship Series of the 2026 Cape Cod League Playoffs, presented by Reader’s Hardwood Supply, has been set. Defending champion, the Bourne Braves, and the Harwich Mariners will battle to win the Cape League’s most coveted crown in a rematch of the 2024 Championship Series.
This will be Bourne’s sixth straight Championship Series, and Harwich’s second in the last three years. Harwich beat Bourne to win the championship in 2024. The series schedule is as follows:
Sunday August 9, 2026.
Bourne at Harwich @ 5:30 PM
Monday August 10, 2026
Harwich at Bourne @ 6:00 PM
Tuesday August 11, 2026 (If necessary)
Bourne at Harwich @ 6:30 PM.
How They Got There:
Bourne Braves
The Bourne Braves slugged it out with West Division champion, the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, in game one of the Divisional Series, emerging victorious 12-11. Bourne initially jumped to a 6-0 lead, and at the end of three innings had an 8-2 lead. The Hawks fired back with five runs in in the sixth inning to give Hyannis a 10-9 lead. The Braves were down by one in the eighth when Austin Hawke’s RBI double gave Bourne the 12-10 lead. Hyannis threatened in the bottom of the ninth but Bourne held on to the 12-11 win.
Game two was a lower scoring affair than game one’s offensive battle but it was just as exciting. Scoring was lead by Matt Bolton’s RBI single to bring Ruston Rigdon home to take a quick 1-0 lead, and scoring halted until a Hawke RBI to put Bourne up 2-0. Luke Costello scored on a Gabriel Milano’s sacrifice fly to give Bourne a 3-0 lead. Hyannis loaded the bases with one out in the ninth but were unable to score sending the Braves to the Championship Series for the sixth straight year.
Harwich Mariners
Harwich was able to handle Yarmouth-Dennis’ offensive efforts in a high-scoring game one. Despite the Red Sox jumping to a 3-0 lead early on, reigning Most Valuable Player Tyler Smolinski got the ball rolling with an RBI double of to make it 3-1. Harwich found their groove and took a 5-3 lead, lead by Niko Brini’s three run home run. The Mariners never looked back, taking a 12-4 lead after Sean O’Leary, JP Peltier, Brayden Jaksa, Colin Larson and Cade Kurland all hitting home runs. Despite a late rally by the Red Sox, the Mariners held on to take game one 12-9. The game marks a 2026 single-game team record for home runs with six.
Harwich looked to seal the series in game two, but Yarmouth-Dennis was not giving up without a fight. The Red Sox jumped to a 4-0 lead through three innings, but Harwich began to answer by scoring a pair of runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth. Despite Tommy Goodin’s solo shot in the top of the fifth, Harwich’s Smolinski answered back with a three run home run to tie the game at 5-5. Quinton Coats hit an RBI double to give Harwich their first lead of the game at 6-5. Yarmouth-Dennis threatened in the top of the ninth, scoring one run and loading the bases with one out. With the score 7-6, Harwich turned to relief pitcher Reese Oakley who struck out Phoenix Call and Reid Howard to secure the 7-6 win sending the Mariners to the Championship series
Meetings This Season:
June 14: Harwich defeats Bourne 6-3
June 27: Harwich defeats Bourne 5-2
July 24: Bourne defeats Harwich 9-3
August 1: Harwich defeats Bourne 5-2
For more information about the Cape Cod Baseball League, visit capecodleague.com
Press Contact:
Sarah Weins
Cape Cod Baseball League
