The Cape League playoffs have reached the Divisional Finals, and the offense arrived with them. The Friday contests featured two simultaneous high-scoring affairs as the remaining four teams hold steadfast on their march toward the Cape League Championship.
Starting in the West, the division leaders, Hyannis Harbor Hawks, fought valiantly in a 12-11 slugfest loss against the defending champions, Bourne Braves. Each team featured five pitchers, and all ten arms gave up at least one run. Seven of the nine innings featured a runner crossing home as each team quickly raced to outscore the other.
Bourne was the first to strike, getting out to a 6-0 lead after the top of the second. An Austin Hawke bunt and a Matt Bolton homer quickly put the Braves on the scoreboard. Shockingly, Matt Bolton’s second-inning blast for Bourne was the only home run of the 23-run ballgame. After three innings, Bourne had an 8-2 lead. The Hawks finally came alive with a five-run inning in the sixth to give them a 10-9 lead. With the Braves down by one in the eighth, Hawke came up with the bases loaded. He sent a ball to the center field fence for a double, clearing the bases to give the Braves a 12-10 lead. A ninth-inning Taylor Kirk run from an error was not enough for the Hawks as Bourne took Game 1. Bourne outhit Hyannis 14-13 as nine Hawks garnering hits still couldn’t top the Braves. Austin Hawke led the way for Bourne with five hits and four runs batted in for the Braves.
Hyannis heads to Bourne for Game 2 on Saturday at 6:00 p.m., where Bourne can clinch a spot in the CCBL Championship Series for the sixth consecutive season with a win.
In the East, six different batters hit home runs to lead the Harwich Mariners past the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, 12-9, in Game 1 of the Cape Cod Baseball League East Division Finals at Red Wilson Field on Friday. Harwich pounded out 14 hits to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series and set a 2026 season single-game team record with six long balls. All nine batters in the Mariners’ starting lineup recorded at least one hit.
Yarmouth-Dennis opened the scoring in the first inning when Jayce Tharnish reached on a single, advanced on an error and scored on an RBI single by Tommy Goodin. The Red Sox extended their lead to 3-0 in the second on an RBI double by Jake Souders and a sacrifice fly by Phoenix Call.
Harwich got on the board in the third inning on an RBI single by Ty Smolinski to make it 3-1. The Mariners took a 5-3 lead in the fourth, capped by Niko Brini's two-run home run off Y-D reliever Evan Hoeckele. Ryder Robinson hit a solo home run for Y-D in the bottom of the fourth to narrow the margin to 5-4.
Harwich answered with seven runs over the next three innings to build a 12-4 lead, highlighted by a solo home run from Colin Larson and another long ball from Paul Jones. The Red Sox scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to bring the final score to 12-9 before Harwich secured the final out.
The series shifts to Whitehouse Field in Harwich for Game 2 on Saturday at 5:30 p.m., where the Mariners can clinch a spot in the CCBL Championship Series with a win.
The Divisional Final schedule is listed below:
Eastern Division
Game 2 – Saturday, August 8, 2026; 5:30PM
- (1) Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox at (3) Harwich Mariners — Whitehouse Field
Game 3 (If Necessary) – Sunday, August 9, 2026; Time TBD
- (3) Harwich Mariners at (1) Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox — Red Wilson Field
Western Division
Game 2 – Saturday, August 8, 2026; 6:00PM
- (1) Hyannis Harbor Hawks at (2) Bourne Braves — Doran Park
Game 3 (If Necessary) – Sunday, August 9, 2026; Time TBD
- (2) Bourne Braves at (1) Hyannis Harbor Hawks — McKeon Park
