With a split Harwich-Queen rendition of “We Are the Champions” echoing over Whitehouse Field, the Mariners formed a dogpile on the mound as newly crowned champions with their sixth-ever championship. Moments later, Steve Englert disappeared beneath a Gatorade shower as Harwich defeated the Bourne Braves 4-2 in decisive Game Three of the 2026 Cape League Championship Series, winning the title in three games and ending Bourne's bid to repeat as champions.
The result was nothing like the pitcher’s duel in Game Two.
With both teams' pitching staffs nearly fully expended, it was a last-resort effort by both squads to get through the final nine innings of the season.
Bourne’s Tyler Baird answered the call. The Vanderbilt pitcher had just three starts this summer but the Mariners caught him in a perfect storm of offense. Harwich collected five hits and scored twice against Baird in his three innings of work, forcing Bourne to turn to its bullpen early.
Colin Lebel was Harwich’s response on the mound. Only one of Lebel’s three outings this summer was a start, but he made this one count. Lebel went five innings, holding the talented Bourne lineup to just one run.
Harwich scored first with Niko Brini crossing home on a Cade Kurland’s RBI single to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead after one inning. Bourne quickly fired back in the second inning when Justin Osterhouse singled home Max Farrell to tie the game at 1-1. Harwich, however, wasted little time regaining the lead. Tyler Smolinski came through with an RBI single in the bottom of the third, scoring Colin Larson and putting the Mariners back ahead 2-1.
The one-run lead held through the fourth and fifth innings as both teams struggled to find consistent offense. Austin Hawke’s double in the fifth gave Bourne a chance to threaten, but Lebel escaped without allowing the tying run to score.
Harwich finally created some breathing room in the sixth. Tucker Stockman singled home JP Peltier before Paul Jones II followed with a flare single that brought Brayden Jaksa home. The two-run inning pushed the Mariners’ lead to 4-1 and gave the home crowd its first look at a championship within reach.
With the game slowly leaning in the Mariners’ favor, Bourne answered once more in the seventh. A bases-loaded walk sent Ryker Waite strolling home, cutting the deficit to 4-2, but Harwich’s pitching staff closed the door from there. The Braves were held scoreless in the eighth before entering the ninth with their season down to its final three outs.
Harwich reliever Luke Morgan jogged out from the bullpen with the shouts from his fellow relievers escorting him onto the field. His first batter, Austin Hawke, sent a single into left field. Nine-hole hitter Brice Estep then flew out.
With the season on the line, 2025 champion Ryker Waite stepped to the plate representing the tying run. The tension was palpable as the Harwich chants competed with Bourne’s cowbells, as their players fought out the final frame.
Waite and Morgan had a battle at the plate as the leadoff hitter Waite fought into a 2-1 count. Waite fouled off the next two, desperately trying to stay alive for the Braves. Waite won the battle and poked a single to right field as Hawke sprinted to third before being stopped in his tracks by a Harwich relay, leaving a first and third situation for the Braves with one out.
Morgan got his second out by striking out Rustan Rigdon, leaving the Mariners an out away from glory. Luke Costello stepped up to the plate. Costello had already recorded five RBIs this postseason and was no stranger to clutch at-bats.
As the chanting at Whitehouse Field grew louder and all eyes focused on the plate, Waite took off for second base and just barely slid under the tag. The Braves now had both runners in scoring position and the winning run at the plate. Costello battled into a full count with runners on and two outs in the ninth. This is what Cape Cod Baseball is all about.
One pitch left for an entire summer’s worth of hard work. Morgan began his windup. He fired a high-and-inside fastball. Costello swung as hard as he could as the ball soared into the Lower Cape night sky. For a few brief seconds, the crowd fell silent. The ball began dropping as Harwich third basemen and Cape League Postseason MVP, JP Peltier, positioned himself directly underneath it. The ball dropped into Peltier’s glove, and the result was confirmed. The Mariners were champions.
The roar of the crowd swallowed the ballpark as the victorious Mariners celebrated their second championship in three seasons, beating the defending champions in three games.
For Steve Englert, this is simply months of hard work paying off. Englert’s Mariners are once again the only team to break Bourne’s championship dominance as they repeat their 2024 feat, defeating the Braves in the Championship Series and bringing another title back to Harwich.
In front of over 7,000 fans at Whitehouse Field, Harwich closed out the season with a championship celebration. The Mariners had survived Bourne’s Game One victory, answered with a win in Game Two and then finished the job at home in the winner-take-all finale.
After another summer of Cape League baseball, Harwich stood alone at the end of it all.
