The Cape League Championship Series was a familiar scene for many of the Cape League faithful, with two of the league’s most recent champions meeting once again for the title. Bourne manager Scott Landers has yet again guided the Braves to the championship stage, where they are looking to add another trophy to a run that has seen them win three of the last four Cape League titles. The only team to interrupt that stretch was Steve Englert’s Harwich Mariners, who dethroned Bourne in 2024. Two years later, the Mariners are back in the title picture, once again standing between the Braves and another championship.
Game One of the 2026 Championship Series drew over 4,000 spectators to a packed Whitehouse Field, with the hometown Mariners looking to take the opening game on their home turf. Harwich kept the game close early, but ultimately fell 7-3 to the defending champion Braves.
In the second inning, the Mariners attacked first as catcher Brayden Jaksa singled home Sean O’Leary for the game’s opening run. Moments later, with runners on, JP Peltier came home on a wild pitch from Bourne’s Camron Seagraves to give Harwich a 2-0 lead. Jaksa then scored the Mariners’ third run of the inning on a Micah Rienstra-Kiracofe sacrifice fly, sending the Whitehouse Field crowd to its feet.
The Braves, however, wouldn’t stay quiet for long. A Ryker Waite double and a successive Rustan Rigdon seeing-eye single put the Braves on the board in the third, cutting the Mariners lead to 3-2.
After the initial spurts of offense, Bourne’s bullpen stole the show. In just the second inning, the Braves relief arms joined the fight. Joshua Surigao, Colton Starling and Connor Lehman each pitched multiple innings, and the trio kept Harwich scoreless for the remainder of the game.
In contrast, Harwich’s pitching unraveled in the sixth. TJ Ziermann struggled to command the zone, issuing six walks in just 1.2 innings and allowing Bourne to load the bases. The Braves took full advantage, scoring three runs in the inning to erase the Mariners’ 3-2 advantage and take a 5-3 lead. Ziermann did not allow a single hit, but Bourne’s relentless pressure on the bases turned his command struggles into the turning point of the game.
Harwich’s dynamic offense was subdued for the remainder of the game as Bourne’s pitching kept the Mariners in check and the Braves steadily pulled away.
Bourne cemented its victory in the ninth when pinch-hitter Eliot Medlock stepped up with runners on base and delivered a two-run double, extending the Braves’ lead to 7-3 and putting the game out of reach.
Three quick outs from the Mariners in the ninth sealed the Braves’ comeback and sent the Championship Series back to Bourne for Game Two. After erasing an early three-run deficit, Bourne now sits just one win away from another Cape League championship. If Landers’ Braves can finish the job at home, they will close out the season with their fourth title in the last five seasons, while Harwich will have to find a way to force the series back to Whitehouse Field for a decisive Game Three.
The remaining Cape League Championship Series schedule is listed below:
Monday, August 10, 2026
- Harwich at Bourne, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 (if necessary)
- Bourne at Harwich, 6:30 p.m.
