WAREHAM, Mass. — It was a big sixth inning that propelled Bourne on the Fourth of July.
After escaping with a 4-3 win against Wareham on Thursday after the game ended early due to rain, the Braves headed to Clem Spillane Field to clash with the Gatemen once again.
With the bats coming alive in the sixth, paired with efficient pitching across the board, Bourne extended their win streak to three in a row after a 5-2 victory.
Wareham got the scoring started in the first, thanks to a pair of walks from Levi Clark (Tennessee) and Andrew Cain (Arizona).The pair advanced on a groundout from Chris McHugh (NC State), but only Clark scored following the wild pitch from Folger Boaz (North Carolina) to make the score 1-0.
Despite the early run given up by Boaz, he was a different pitcher in his second start for Bourne. In his first start against Cotuit he didn’t record a single out and gave up four runs — against Wareham he tossed 4 ⅔ innings with four strikeouts and just the early run.
After several scoreless innings with both teams having their bats go quiet, the Braves erupted in the sixth. It started with a pair of infield singles by Gavin Kelly (West Virginia) and Logan Hughes (Texas Tech). Kelly scored on an RBI single from Kuhio Aloy and Hughes cashed in a wild pitch by Shea Wendt (Creighton) after he advanced to third from Kade Lewis (Wake Forest) getting hit by a pitch.
The momentum continued, as Aloy scored on an RBI single from Jon LeGrande (St. John’s) while Lewis touched home plate after a throwing error to first by Wednt. The inning ended with Bourne in front 5-1, after LeGrande advanced on a balk to third and scored on a wild pitch.
Wareham tacked on another a half inning later, as Colby Turner (Michigan) sent a solo blast to the left field bleachers to make the score 5-2.
The bats went cold on both sides once again, so it was Derrick Smith (undecided) and Josh Gunther (South Carolina) who finished the game strong for Bourne in relief, shutting the door en route to a 5-2 win.
Bourne Braves Player of the Game
Derrick Smith was lights out coming out of the bullpen, tossing two shutout innings in relief with four strikeouts and zero hits.
He had struggled entering the contest with a few blow up innings, so it was a positive sign for Bourne to see him get back on track.
Key moment
The Braves have lacked big innings with offensive production throughout the season, but they got one in the victory, erupting for five runs in the sixth inning to take the lead.
A look ahead
Bourne (7-9-1, 15 points) will host the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (11-4-1, 23 points) at home on Saturday. The last time the squads met the contest ended in a 4-4 tie after eight innings of play, ending early due to darkness.
First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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