After blowing a ninth-inning lead at home to Cotuit on Sunday, the Harbor Hawks had one thing on their mind at McKeon Park on Thursday night: revenge.
Head coach Mitch Karraker and company got what they wanted, the Harbor Hawks (13-8-1) thrashed the Kettleers (13-9) by a score of 14-4, and the contest was never very close from the get-go.
"This was a weird game," Karraker said. "Strange weather with some wind, rain and dark skies, the wind was really blowing out. Then facing position players. We hadn't done that this year so we're just happy to come out with the win."
The Hawks worked tough at-bats from the jump on Cotuit starter Colton Hartman. Kane Kepley (Liberty) led off the bottom of the first frame with a double to the fence. Then with two outs, Hartman issued three walks in a row to Mason White (Arizona), Eric Snow (Auburn) and Jaxson West (Florida State).
With a run already through, Anthony Silva (TCU) showcased the season's best two-strike approach. The infielder fouled off a few, worked the count full, and smacked an opposite-field grand slam to send the Hyannis crowd into a frenzy. His first CCBL home run went 347 feet and cracked 91 mph off the twig. It was quickly 5-0 Hawks after one.
"I've just continued to grind my early work," Silva said. "That's pretty much it. I just have to keep trusting the process. There's a great team behind me, a very positive team cheering me on every single at-bat."
Silva has enjoyed strong showings in back-to-back games, the Horned Frog pulled off the two hardest legs of the cycle (home run and triple) on Thursday. He's 4-for-7 with five RBI and four runs scored over his last two games.
"I think [Silva] is just getting more comfortable," Karraker said. "He made some adjustments super early in the summer before he even got here. Those adjustments have taken time to kind of feel right for him. Before everybody was here, he was hitting on his own [Thursday] at about 1 o'clock. It's good to finally see all the hard work that he's putting in turn into good results."
Thanks to Nick Groves (Illinois) ripping a two-RBI single up the middle in the third inning, the Habor Hawks controlled the game early with stormy weather helping their odds of grabbing a win.
Bizarrely, Kettleers head coach Mike Roberts opted to save his arms after the third inning. The longtime skipper shocked many when he used two position players to finish off the road loss.
"Honestly, we just stuck to our approach," Groves said when asked about facing the position players. "It just kind of showed that [Cotuit] kind of gave up. We wanted to put them in the ground, and that's what we did. It feels good."
The newly minted Fighting Illini outfielder was stellar for Hyannis on Thursday. Groves went 3-for-3 with three RBI and a season-high three stolen bases. He finds himself tied for sixth in the league with 10 swiped bags this summer.
Max Belyeu, the reigning Big 12 hitter of the year, was actually somewhat efficient on the bump for Cotuit when called upon. Sitting just 64 mph with a knuckleball, the usual outfield patrolman let up just one run across a trio of frames.
From Hyannis' pitching side of things, three arms combined to hold the Ketts to just four runs. Aaron Savary (Iowa) got the ball and chucked 3 1/3 shutout innings despite walking five batters. Casey Hintz (Arizona) picked up the win on the rubber, while Sean Fitzpatrick (Arizona State) contributed a frame himself.
After his efforts on Thursday, Savary is now first in Hyannis and seventh among qualified CCBL pitchers in ERA, he posts an impressive 2.20 mark over 16 1/3 innings.
To secure the Hawks' third consecutive win, West clubbed a ball into the air with two outs in the seventh inning for a sure out. A Cotuit infield error allowed the 14th run of the game to plate for Hyannis, resulting in a wild walk-off run rule.
"We're hitting really well," Karraker noted about his squad's three-game win streak. "Scattering a lot of hits, scoring some runs. Our pitching staff has done a nice job as well. Our defense has been really good all year long. I feel like when those three things are working, we can beat anybody."
In a contest filled with questionable weather, position players hurling and lots of balls scorched to the wall, it seemed only fitting that Thursday's game ended on an error. Baseball is weird.
"When we're having fun, I feel like we're the best team here without really even trying," Silva said. "Right now we have all the confidence in the world, our dugout and coaches are great and we're just happy to keep winning games."
The Harbor Hawks will head on the bus for a quick two-game road trip. Doran Park will host the club's next contest, as the team looks to make it four in a row against the Bourne Braves on Friday at 6 p.m.
Sam Fosberg can be reached at samfozsports@gmail.com and followed on Twitter/X @discussbaseball
