The Birds made the trek back to Red Wilson Field to play a Red Sox team looking to clinch a playoff appearance with a win. Y-D’s nine All-Stars numbered more than Firebirds total wins at eight.
The wildfire smoke that had followed the Birds for two days seemed to lift as Orleans occupied the Red Sox visiting dugout. It was another rough day for the Firebirds. Red Sox hitters torched Orleans’ pitching, as Y-D scored eight runs on 13 hits. Each team committed three errors. The Birds had lost 8-5 on consecutive nights where they mounted late but incomplete rallies.
Manager Kelly Nicholson reflected on trying to piece together a rotation and lineup with key starters departing and players dealing with injuries.
“We think the guys we’ve got going are our best options, they’re strike-throwers and they can give us some length,” Nicholson said. “We’re thin. We had our bullpen catcher Charlie Lapp on the bench. We didn’t have any options today.”
Nicholson also commented on the Birds’ efforts to make late comebacks, even if they don’t result in wins.
“We showed some fight, and [the players] compete every day,” he said. “You can’t give a team like Y-D six free runs. We’re just trying to stay healthy and go 1-0 every day.”
Two-way player Brock Ketelsen made his second appearance against the Birds — this time getting the starting nod. Bub Terrell (Auburn) stayed hot, lacing a double over the left fielder's head. Nothing would come of another hard hit ball from the home run contest participant who had peppered the center field tree line with balls during batting practice.
Harrison Thayer (UTRGV) made his first Orleans start on Thursday. He ran his fastball up to 89 miles an hour, mixing in changeups and sliders. He was effective in sitting the Sox down without a fight in the first.
Ketelsen K’d two Birds in the second. Thayer allowed a leadoff single, but got some help from his defense, as Rowan Kelly (UCSB) and Terrell took away some line drive hits from the Sox.
The Sox got to Thayer in the third. Lucas Franco doubled from the leadoff spot, and Phoenix Call ripped his second single. Franco would have stopped at third, but a poor throw from Adam Magpoc (SDSU) in left scooted away from Ryan MacDougall (Dayton) behind the plate — leading to an unearned run.
Thayer got through the fourth unscathed, but not before Rowan Kelly made another highlight reel play in center. He scaled the wall, reaching up and making a catch right up against the 360 sign — taking away a homer. He had his redemption after falling victim to a robbery last night against Harwich.
“A lot of guys value offense. I value hitting a ton, but there’s also a lot of value to playing good defense,” Kelly said. “I want to show my teammates, scouts, and coaches that I can play an elite center field. I’m scared of getting moved to the corners — I want to stay in center field my whole career. I’m always trying to play fearlessly.”
Tag Andrews replaced Ketelsen in the fifth. Casey Cumiskey (SNHU) rolled a double down the line. Productive outs from AJ Beltré (USD) and MacDougall moved Cumiskey across home. The low scoring affair was tied at one.
Marcello Mastroianni (Duke) made a second appearance for the Birds in relief of Thayer. The funky lefty could not repeat his scoreless feat versus Chatham. Mastroianni was one out away from escaping the jam unscathed, but a throw from Beltré to Cadiz at first was just wide of the bag. Instead of out number three, it was an RBI infield single.
From there, Y-D opened the floodgates. Back-to-back doubles from Jake Souders and Tommy Goodin scored four. The Red Sox posted a crooked number, scoring five in the fifth.
The Birds began to mount a comeback in the sixth. Kelly singled and swiped second. Terrell grounded one to the left side, but the Sox’ second baseman couldn’t come up with the ball, bringing Kelly in to score. Tyler Myatt (Tennessee) ripped a foul ball 414 feet just foul. He straightened the next one out for a 109 mile an hour RBI single. Several fielding errors would load the bases, but all the Birds would get was two runs. Still, they had cut the deficit in half.
Grant Garman (Hawaii) replaced Mastroianni in the sixth. He allowed two singles to the speedy Sox top of the order. He also sailed two separate throws to first to give free bases away. Six errors were made before the sixth was over, and the two runs the Birds had fought back with were immediately equalized. 8-3 Sox.
Dark clouds moved in for the seventh. The air quality in South Yarmouth was quite poor, despite there not being as much smoke visible in the air. Kelly walked and moved to second on a fielder’s choice. Terrell knocked him in for a second time with another single through the right side. The Birds had halved the Sox lead again.
Garman remained in the bottom of the inning. He worked around two more hits from Souders and Goodin to post a zero.
Before the top of the eighth, the umpires converged to discuss the weather threats of darkness and rain. Quite conveniently for Y-D, only one more half inning would be played. Sox Manager Scott Pickler made his best effort to run out nature’s clock by arguing calls and taking generously long mound visits. The top of the eighth would be Orleans' final opportunity.
Myatt led off and continued to punish the baseball. He hit one 105 miles an hour up the middle for a single. Cumiskey beat one out with his legs. MacDougall notched his second RBI of the day with a single, but Magpoc grounded into a double play to end the game.
Deep in the grind of a tough season, Rowan Kelly knows the importance of staying focused on the mental side of the game.
“It’s something that we talk about at [UCSB] a lot — finding ways to control what you can control,” he said. “It’s something I myself need to be better at. That’s why I really value the 'Mind-Up' sessions. It gives you a different perspective. I’m playing baseball on the Cape in the best league in the country. It’s a good opportunity, and you can’t beat yourself up too much on bad days.”
Now at 8-19, the Birds will return to Eldredge to play Hyannis one more time before the two-day All-Star break.
