BOURNE, Mass. — It was the same start as Thursday for Bourne.

In the loss to the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, the game started with a routine pop-up not being caught down the first base side. In the Friday night matchup against the Brewster Whitecaps, a shallow fly ball to right field hit by Josiah Ragsdale (Boston College) looked like an easy out, but ended up being a double. Neither Noah Franco (TCU) nor Caden Dullin (Pitt) could track the ball — Brewster left the frame with a 2-0 lead.

Catching up late in the game with a comeback but falling short has been the story of the season for the Braves. The difference in the contest against the Whitecaps was that the Bourne bats never got anything going, and Brewster never let up. The Braves dropped another one at Doran Park with a 14-0 mercy-rule loss in seven innings.

It was a dominant showing from Brewster in all facets, as they remain the league's lone undefeated team through six contests. The pitching was flawless from all arms against Bourne, as Jacob Dudin (NC State), Douglas Bauer (Ohio State), and Nate Brittain (Wake Forest) combined for the five-hit shutout.

The offensive production for the Whitecaps was headlined by Ragsdale, as he finished the game going 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs and three runs, staying hot after a 2-for-4 performance on Thursday with three RBIs in a 6-4 win over the Falmouth Commodores.

The Whitecaps cashed in methodically through the first four innings, tallying at least one run in each inning. Through those frames, Brewster held a 7-0 lead with the biggest inning at the time being three runs scored in the third.

On the other end, the Braves struggled, as the squad was able to garner just four hits and three errors, with its sole scoring opportunity coming in the second. Logan Hughes (Texas Tech) was stranded on third after reaching base with a lead-off single. Noah Franco (TCU) grounded into a double play before Jimmy Keenan (Wake Forest) struck out to end the inning.

The Whitecaps then blew the game wide open in the fifth. Charlie Meglio (Campbell) singled, Manny Marin (Tennessee) walked, and Adam Magpoc (Boston College) walked to load the bases. Ragsdale cashed in Marin and Magpoc on a two-run single. Blake Cyr (Florida) and Daniel Cuvet (Miami) would then get hit by pitches, scoring Magpoc.

A sacrifice fly by Alex Sosa (NC State), a pinch-hit single by Colton Coates (Louisiana Tech), and a wild pitch by Derrick Smith (undecided) had Brewster leave the inning with a 13-0 lead.
The Braves had an opportunity to score in the bottom of the sixth, as a Dulin walk, Jon LeGrande (St. John’s) single and a Hughes walk loaded the bases for Bryce Molinaro (Penn State) and Braden Holcomb (Vanderbilt), but neither was able to erase the goose egg from Bourne’s run total.

Brewster extended its lead to 14-0 in the seventh, as Magpoc was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, scoring Coates from third.

Bourne Braves Player of the Game

Matthew Shorey (Vanderbilt) was effective in his two innings of work out of the bullpen, dialing up four strikeouts and one unearned run in relief.

Through two appearances on the Cape, he boasts a 1-0 record with 4.1 innings pitched, seven strikeouts, and the solo unearned run against Brewster.

Key moment

The double by Josiah Ragsdale in the first at-bat might not have reflected a key moment on the stat sheet, but instead symbolized the way the game played for Bourne.

Neither Noah Franco nor Caden Dullin was able to catch what looked like a routine fly ball, and instead sparked a rally for Brewster.

A look ahead

The Braves (1-4-1, 3 points) will hit the road for the first time since Tuesday against Brewster and face the Chatham Anglers (2-3-1, 5 points) at Veterans Field. The last time the two squads met was on Sunday at Doran Park, with Bourne coming out of the contest with its lone win of the year in a 4-2 victory.

First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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Follow Lyle on X, @lalenstein. Feature photo by Isabel Swindall. Follow her on Instagram, @iswindall.jpg.