Not self-infliction, but this time it was simply just good baseball being played Thursday night at Spillane Field.

No matter what record a team has in the CCBL, each squad still features collegiate baseball’s cream of the crop at the plate and on the mound.

Outside of another clutch hit from Yohann Dessureault (Stetson) in the ninth in consecutive nights, Wareham (14-7-1) got a hefty taste of it against the Falmouth Commodores (8-14) with arguably the league’s top arm so far this summer in a 5-3 loss at home.

Gage Wood (Arkansas) led Falmouth to its first road win of the season in his second start, finishing off with a career day. Wood entered the game with a 1.38 ERA and tied for first in the CCBL with 23 strikeouts in 13 ⅓ innings.

The Gatemen game plan at the plate was getting into the Commodore bullpen early, which held a league-worst 6.19 ERA in relief, but Wood spoiled that plan for the league’s best hitting lineup. The Arkansas Razorback tossed a career-high six innings of work, giving up just three hits and one run via RBI double early in the first inning off the Gatemen’s hottest hitter in Murf Gray (Fresno State) while striking out six more batters.

“You got to give him credit; he shoved it,” manager Ryan Smyth said. “Murf had a poke down the line, but he settled in and kept us off balance.”

Off balance was indeed the label, leaving 11 runners on base and 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position. However, Dessureault was a bright spot getting his first start in the leadoff spot this summer. He started with a six-pitch walk, eventually scoring and later bringing the team to life in the ninth inning with a one-out, 377-foot blast over the right field wall at 104 mph to pull within two runs.

Hitting coach Mike Mobbs sends his manager the hitting lineup every morning, and was proved right when throwing the Stetson Hatter in the top spot as Dessureault either scored or hit in all three runs himself.

“I think he’s earned it,” Mobbs said. “Every time we’ve given him an opportunity [Desi] finds ways to get barrels on balls, and he’s quick.”

On the mound, Yoel Tejeda Jr. (Stetson) didn’t have the outing he anticipated but overcame feeling physically run down and in a funk to toss four innings, striking out six batters. Tejeda kept the ballgame within reach at 4-1 before turning the ball over to the bullpen.

Right-hander Tony Pluta (Arizona), the Gatemen’s most reliable bullpen arm this summer, took over in relief to hold the line. Pluta, who hadn’t given up a single earned run through 10 innings this season, finally surrendered a run in the sixth. He responded by escaping a bases-loaded, no-out jam with a big strikeout to get back into the dugout, pushing his ERA to 0.75 in 12 innings of work.

Another righty, Patrick Galle (Ole Miss) found himself in a similar sticky situation in the eighth with the bases juiced and one out, but emerged unscathed by using his own glove. He sprinted off the mound scooping up a dribbler down the first base line to beat a speedy Jaxon Willits (Oklahoma) to the bag.

Smyth knew both situations were crucial in setting up a late chance in the ninth.

“That gave the bats a little bit of confidence there,” he said. “I'll say we're never out of it and that's a good sign. We just got to make sure we do it a little bit earlier this next game.”

The Gatemen haven’t lost three consecutive games all summer, and don’t plan on doing so with a rare opportunity to face Falmouth again for revenge, this time on the road at Guv Fuller Field on Friday.

Top photo caption: Right-handed pitcher Tony Pluta vaults off the mound to throw in Wareham's 5-3 loss to the Falmouth Commodores at Spillane Field on July 11, 2024. Photo by Keegan Maloney.