BOURNE, Mass. — For the first time since 2021, there is a new Cape Cod Baseball League Champion.
In a winner-take-all Game 3 of the CCBL Championship Series, the Harwich Mariners took an early lead that they didn’t relinquish, holding off Bourne in the late stages to claim their first title since 2011, dashing the Bourne Braves’ hopes of a three-peat.
“I would think most people don’t want us here, but expect us to be here,” field manager Scott Landers said. “We did what we were supposed to do. We just fell a game short.”
Starting his second game of the postseason, lefty Ethan McElvain was the center of attention for the first two outs of the night, as he made a pair of impressive fielding plays.
Taking a comebacker off the midsection from outfielder Cam Maldonado (Northeastern), he quickly found his bearings, scooped up the ball and made the throw to first in time. He then rushed to a bunt laid by shortstop Daniel Dickinson (LSU), fired to first baseman David Lewis (Virginia Tech) for out No. 2.
While he walked outfielder Aden Hill (Maryland), the next batter he faced, he struck out designated hitter Wilson Weber (Oregon State), the eventual playoff MVP, in three pitches to get out of his first inning of work, pumping up the 5,912 fans at Doran Park as he walked back to the dugout.
“He was okay, he grinded for us,” Landers said of McElvain.
However, the southpaw plucking first baseman Matt Scannell (Wake Forest) with two outs in the second frame came back to bite him. Scannell stole second, and a single from Macon Winslow (Duke) into deep right field gave Harwich the game’s first run.
The Mariners struck again with one out in the third frame, as Aden Hill quickly found himself on second after singling and capitalizing on a wild pitch from McElvain. A double from Weber drove him in, and the designated hitter was then scored by second baseman Cade Kurland’s (Florida) RBI single down the left-field line.
Bourne’s offense had its first real opportunity to chip away at Harwich’s lead during the bottom of the fourth, with shortstop Marek Houston (Wake Forest) and third baseman Braden Holcomb (Vanderbilt) both drawing walks to start the frame. Things looked bleak after catcher Chase Meggers (Oregon) grounded into a double play, but outfielder Chris Stanfield (LSU) kept the rally alive by walking and stealing second.
Like he’s done all postseason long, first baseman David Lewis (Virginia Tech) delivered in the batter’s box, this time piecing a line drive into center field and legging out a two-RBI triple that narrowed Harwich’s lead to just one.
“He’s going to be a great player at Virginia Tech,” Landers said. “He can really hit, and he’s a great kid and he’ll work hard. I’m proud of what he did here, and I’m excited to see what he’s going to do this spring.”
The main reason that Bourne remained within a run of the Mariners down the stretch, though, was the job that righty Tyler Fay (Alabama) did on the bump through three frames of relief. While he only dealt two strikeouts, he went nine up, and nine down — getting ahead of counts often and throwing six first-pitch strikes.
But once Fay left the game to start the seventh, Harwich took advantage of right-hander John Abraham (Florida State) early. Winslow, the first batter Abraham faced, worked a six-pitch walk and moved to second on a passed ball. Maldonado then doubled into deep center field to drive in Winslow and put the Mariners up 4-2.
Abraham only lasted 0.2 innings before being taken out for righty Chase Meyer (West Virginia). He didn’t concede a run through 2.1 frames of work, allowing his team to attempt a comeback, which it did in the eighth.
With two outs on the board and Meggers on second thanks to a double, Lewis slammed a grounder towards left field that got by Dickinson at shortstop, and Meggers flew across the dish and made it a 4-3 game.
However, that’s all the Braves could manage, going down in order during the ninth to conclude their season.
“I’m excited to watch them as they move forward, because they came in as good players, and they left even better,” Landers said. “I thank them for putting in the work but ultimately, it’s the relationships and really just learning the game of baseball with different guys.”
Notes
5,912 fans attended Game 3 of the CCBL Championship Series… Houston ended the season riding a 22-game on-base streak while Conrad ended his summer on a 20-game hitting streak, going 1-for-4 on Monday… Lewis finished the postseason going 7-for-16 (.438)... Hugus ended the playoffs with the most strikeouts (11) in the league.
