BOURNE, Mass. — The bottom of the third inning got off to a promising start for Bourne, as a single by Cal Sefcik (Cincinnati), followed by another one-base knock by Jon LeGrande (St. John’s) put pressure on Chatham Anglers’ starting pitcher Ryan Borberg (Dallas Baptist).
Borberg locked eyes with his catcher, Duncan Matthews (South Alabama), settled into his windup and delivered — the ball bounced in the dirt and looked like it was going to be an easy advance of the bases for Bourne, but Matthews snagged the ball and fired to third for what looked like a sure out at third base.
Despite the flash of the leather, Sefcik was safe at third due to a throwing error by Matthews. Sefcik ended up scoring, and one at-bat later, Justin Lebron (Alabama) drove in LeGrande on an RBI single — it was the two-run sequence that ended up being the difference in Bourne’s 4-2 win over the Anglers in the home opener Sunday at Doran Park.
“We played a lot better tonight than we did last (night),” field manager Scott Landers said.
It was the second straight game that Bourne fell behind, as the top of the third resulted in a Lebron error, two singles and a bases-loaded walk that had Chatham get out to a 1–0 lead, but the ensuing half inning had the Braves take the lead right back, 2-1.
Bourne starter Zane Petty (Texas Tech) was efficient as the opener, going 4 ⅔ innings with six strikeouts and giving up two runs (one earned). He did have some control issues, recording four walks, including a free pass with the bases loaded in the third. Petty bounced right back after giving up the score, dialing up a bases-loaded strikeout with two outs to hold Chatham’s run count to one in the frame.
“We talked yesterday about eliminating the crooked number, and he had bases loaded, one out, and he walked in one, but he minimized it to one run,” Landers said. “And I thought that was the key, and then we came back and scored two.”
The Braves tacked on insurance in a methodical way over the next few innings, similar to the production from the batter's box in the Opening Day loss to the Harwich Mariners.
The bottom of the fourth had Braden Holcomb (Vanderbilt) rip a single. He advanced to third base following a single from Weber Neels (Minnesota) and a walk from Campbell Smithwick (undecided), and then scored on a sacrifice fly from Noah Franco (TCU), giving Bourne the 3-1 lead.
“A little bit of improvement,” Landers said about hitting with runners in scoring position. “We stranded a lot yesterday, but we got to keep getting better and better and eliminate some strikeouts.”
Chatham came roaring right back in the top of the fifth inning. Henry Ford (Virginia) knocked a single, which had him scoring after a triple by Jake Hanley (Indiana), cutting Bourne’s lead to 3-2.
The Braves tacked on another run following the seventh-inning stretch. Lebron reached first on a dropped third strike, but Matthews caught LeGrande wandering off second base to nab the lead runner. One batter later, with two outs, Kade Lewis (Wake Forest) ripped a double deep to left, scoring Lebron from first.
After solid work from Petty to open, the Bourne relievers continued to deal to close the game. Matthew Shorey (Vanderbilt) and Max Bayles (Santa Clara) were flawless in relief, shutting the door en route to the Braves' first win of the season.
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It was a sweet way to cap off Father’s Day for Landers, whose entire day was planned around leaving Doran Park with a win, making the postgame cleanup on the Sand Pro infield groomer much more enjoyable.
“It's good to get on the board with a win,” Landers said. “Hopefully there's plenty more to come, but the first one each summer always feels good — get them going in the right direction.”
Bourne Braves Player of the Game
Matthew Shorey and Max Bayles came in strong out of the bullpen in place of Zane Petty, combining for 4 ⅓ innings, four strikeouts and zero runs.
Key moment
Justin Lebron scoring off an RBI double from Kade Lewis ended up being a pivotal moment, as the score increased the Braves' lead to 4-2.
Chatham threatened in the top of the ninth with Travis Sanders (Baylor) advancing to second following a walk and a force out hit by Ethan Mendoza (Texas). The Anglers easily could’ve cashed in, so the two-run advantage gave the Braves room to breathe.
A look ahead
The Braves (1-1-0, 2 points) will get back on the road to clash with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (1-1-0, 2 points) on Monday. Y-D is coming off a 4-0 victory at home over the Orleans Firebirds.
First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Yarmouth-Dennis Regional High School in South Yarmouth.
Follow Lyle on X, @lalenstein. Feature photo by Shannen Hardy.
