After winning a pair of crucial games to regain second place of the West Division, Falmouth (10-11-2) had its first interdivisional contest in July against Brewster (15-7-2).
Last time the ‘Dores went to Stony Brook Field, pitching told the story of the game, as they found themselves on the brink of a combined no-hitter after eight innings. This time, the battery played the biggest role in the outcome, but things looked a bit different on Sunday, starting with the man that Jack Dahm placed behind the dish.
The pitch calling duties were handed to Riley Jackson (Kentucky) for the first time since the start of the season.
The arrival of A.J. Putty (Illinois) gives Falmouth an everyday first baseman for the foreseeable future, meaning that Jackson can hone in on his primary position behind the plate in the coming games.
“I haven't been back there in a while, and it just felt great to put on the gear and do what I love,” said Jackson after the game.
As one would anticipate, it took some time for Jackson to get his wits about himself, but once he did, he led Wilson Magers (Creighton) to a quality five-inning start.
“Our plan was just to attack hitters and throw strikes,” said Jackson. “The main thing was just get ahead and stay ahead.”
Magers allowed three runs on four hits, but struck out five of the 21 batters he saw on Sunday – nearly doubling his previous total in his longest outing of the summer.
But before Magers even toed the slab, he had himself a two-run lead to work with, thanks to the top five in the Commodore batting order. Fabio Peralta (Miami) and Ryder Woodson (Mississippi State) led off with walks and moved over a base each on a Brayden Jefferis (Michigan) groundout. Peralta scored on a single from Carter White (Mississippi State) and Woodson came across the plate on an error from Brewster first baseman Owen Jenkins (Texas Tech).
Batting behind Jefferis has been a big plus for White – both are left-handed hitters, both spray the ball to all fields and both are attacked by opposing pitching staffs in similar ways “I see what the pitcher is going to attack him with [and it’s] probably going to be similar to me,” he said. “It's a good sign to see him getting hits in front of me. He's also helping me out with the RBIs, so I appreciate it.”
The ‘Dores and Whitecaps entered the sixth tied at three as James DeCremer (Arkansas) cruised out of the Brewster dugout for his fourth inning of work, having held Falmouth scoreless across his first three. However, a one-out single from Carl Schmidt (Cal) was the icebreaker to another Commodore rally that eventually ended DeCremer’s outing.
Schmidt swiped two bases and came home on another Brewster error, this time Jacob Lee’s (VCU) wrongdoing, to put Falmouth ahead 4-3. A hit batsman and a pair of singles from Jefferis and White made it 5-3 soon after.
“He kind of tries to take after me. I think it's cool you know,” Jefferis said of his left-handed counterpart. “He's been on fire lately, so I'm trying to get on base for him, and I trust him to get me in. He takes every at-bat very smoothly and tries to simplify everything and knows what he does well.”
In the bottom half of the sixth, it was time for Brady Chambers (Michigan State) to make his debut for the Commodores. He received a rude welcome to the Cape from Cash Strayer (Florida) and Jenkins, who doubled and singled, respectively, to put runners on the corners at the start of the inning with Blaine Brown (Tennessee) at the dish. He’d get an outside heater that he hit right on the screws, only for it to be snatched out the air by second baseman Austin Mallee (transfer portal). A flip to first to catch Jenkins, who bolted towards second on contact, completed a game-changing 4-3 double play.
“It's tough,” said Jackson, who was tasked with figuring out how to work with a new wing in real time. “You don't know how his ball moves or anything like that, so you just got to learn it on the fly, and that's basically what [we] had to do…that was a turning point. It definitely helps getting two outs right there.”
Falmouth’s only fielding mistake of the game allowed Strayer to score, but that’s all the Whitecaps would get in the inning.
The ‘Dores padded on another pair in the seventh, thanks again to Mallee and his two RBI single. “It's good that [we] give [our] pitching staff a little comfort to attack hitters,” White said, as the ‘Dores went up 7-4.
Brewster continued to put barrel to baseball, despite their luck, and it paid off in the end. A Terrance Kiel II (Texas A&M) sacrifice fly cut its deficit to two in the eighth before Jenkins came up clutch in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run double to draw the Whitecaps level. Nonetheless, Ben Reimers (Missouri State) weathered the storm in his only full inning of relief and stranded the winning run on second to preserve the tie. No extra innings, due to darkness.
The biggest positive for the ‘Dores is their nine hits – their third straight game notching seven or more in the hit category. It’s been fun for Beau McMillan's lineup as of late, and that’s been their driver of success.
“I think we're just loose,” said Jefferis. “Guys are having fun, taking BP good. We got a few new guys, and the guys that have been here have been forming relationships. I think that's the biggest thing…we’re relaxed.”
White, as one of those new guys, shares the same sentiment, saying “ever since I got here, that's kind of been the vibe: play ball and everyone's having a good time. And that helps with your confidence and helps you as a whole team. Good group of guys.”
The offense will need to show up later today, as the ‘Dores ready themselves for the continuation of game 22 against Wareham. After two first inning homers, the Gatemen find themselves up 3-0 in the bottom of the third. The game will continue with Pearson Riebock (Baylor) up to the plate in a 1-1 count.
