BOURNE, Mass. — Frustrating is the only way to describe Game 1 of the Cape Cod Baseball League Championship for the Bourne Braves.
A little over 24 hours before the first pitch, the Braves experienced the highest of highs of their season. They had just won two straight games over the second-seeded Cotuit Kettleers to battle back from a 1-0 deficit in the West Championship Series, becoming the first team to reach four consecutive title series since the 1980s.
Fast-forward to Saturday night, and that same group was left licking its wounds after a lethargic effort against the East Division Champion Harwich Mariners.
First baseman Garrett Michel (Virginia Tech), third baseman Braden Holcomb (Vanderbilt) and catcher John Schroeder (Florida Atlantic) each had multi-hit performances, contributing eight of the Braves’ 13 total knocks on the night. And yet, they only managed three runs in their 7-3 loss to the Harwich Mariners, making several mistakes on the basepaths, leaving 11 on base and going 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
“We made some blunders on the bases and we didn’t execute,” field manager Scott Landers said. “I’ll tip my hat to Harwich, they played gritty and tough and beat us.”
While Bourne righty Jonathan Stevens (Alabama) navigated his first inning of work relatively seamlessly, he ran into trouble in the second. Inducing the first two outs in nine pitches, he walked shortstop Daniel Dickinson (LSU), who stole second and third and was scored by a shallow single from designated hitter Macon Winslow (Duke), and the Mariners found themselves up 1-0 early.
Harwich’s pitching has been its strong suit for the entire postseason, most notably holding Yarmouth-Dennis’ high-powered lineup to three runs in the East Championship Series. That trend remained true on Saturday, with starter Olin Johnson (North Carolina) building off his last start at Doran Park on July 15 — when he dealt four scoreless innings in an eventual 4-1 victory for the Mainers.
Through two frames, Johnson was on his way to duplicating that performance, as he was only responsible for two baserunners and had struck out three. Bourne finally got to him in the third, with outfielder Ethan Conrad (Wake Forest) singling and shortstop Marek Houston (Wake Forest) walking with one out before both advanced on a wild pitch. However, Holcomb and Michel were both retired, nullifying the Braves’ opportunity.
Bourne gave itself multiple chances the next time its lineup came to bat, but it was more of the same. Outfielder Davis Gillespie (Southern Mississippi) led off the frame with a single but was promptly caught stealing second. After second baseman Camden Kozeal (Vanderbilt) doubled, Schroeder nearly drove him home. The backstop chopped a grounder to Dickinson, who overthrew third baseman Jake Ogden (Miami) with Kozeal headed toward third. Ogden recovered, though, making a quick throw home that allowed catcher Wilson Weber (Oregon State) to tag Kozeal at the plate.
“We didn’t get hits in a timely manner,” Michel said. “And we came up on the wrong side of [the game], we’re in the loss column."
To make matters worse for the Braves, the Mariners took advantage of right-handed reliever Cameron Padgett (North Carolina), who took the reins from Stevens after four innings of one-run ball, in the fifth.
Harwich placed itself in a position to increase its lead and converted. The Mariners tagged Padgett for five runs on five hits to blow the game wide open, taking a 6-0 advantage. Three of those runs came on a grounder that took a wild hop over Kozeal’s head and into the outfield, an unfortunate bounce for a squad already faltering. What could’ve developed into a much-needed double play turned into a disaster.
“It definitely sucks,” Michel said. “You can’t really do anything about it, it hit the lip and they get two, end up getting three runs out of it. So it’s unfortunate, but it’s one of those things you have to have short-term memory on.”
At long last, however, the Braves began to convert with runners in scoring position during the bottom of the inning. Outfielder Chris Stanfield (LSU) was plucked to begin the frame and advanced to third thanks to a walk and groundout. Down to their final out, Holcomb and Michel each recorded RBI base knocks, bringing in two runs for Bourne.
The teams traded runs in the seventh, but for the most part, the Braves largely failed to cash in through 4 1/3 innings against right-hander Blake Morningstar (Wake Forest) despite picking up six hits off him.
“We’ll be fine,” Michel said. “The guys are pretty upset about this and how the game turned out, so I think it’ll be very motivating. I think we’ll play with a chip on our shoulder, nothing to lose and just come out and ball.”
A look ahead
Bourne will look to keep its hopes of a three-peat alive at Whitehouse Field, where the Mariners are 9-13 this summer. With a win, Harwich can earn its first league title since 2011, and a Braves’ victory would set up a winner-take-all Game 3 at Doran Park on Monday.
Both starters for Sunday’s game are to be determined. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Harwich.
Notes
Matt McCarthy, a Bourne Braves broadcaster in 2012 and on-air personality for 98.5 The Sports Hub, threw out the first pitch before Game 1… The families of Stevens and Michel were at Doran Park on Saturday… 2,897 fans attended Game 1 of the Cape Cod Baseball League Championship Series… Bourne is now 2-3 all-time in Game 1 of the Championship Series… Going 1-for-4, Conrad extended his hitting streak to 18 games… Houston drew a walk to make it 18 straight games getting on base.
