For the first time in three years, the ‘Dores will go dancing into mid-August.
With a victory over Bourne and a Cotuit loss on Tuesday night, Falmouth (16-18-2) has secured one of the final two spots in the Cape League playoffs. The town was ecstatic. Their beloved team has a chance to climb back to the mountaintop of the CCBL – a feat it hadn’t achieved since 1980.
The magnitude of the moment was so strong that it brought about a scene at Guv Fuller Field that hadn’t been seen in a long time: young Commodore fans flooding the warning track in front of the first base dugout, baseballs and hats in hand, asking their favorite players for signatures.
“The town of Falmouth has supported us and they bring the energy,” said Gavin Greger (Rutgers), who had a big hand in another dominant day at the plate by Falmouth. “When they bring that kind of energy, it's easy to come out here and play the way we did tonight.”
Fabio Peralta (Miami) felt that energy tenfold. Amidst signing autographs, he told the media “we were able to bring the emotion back to Falmouth and make the town happy, which is awesome. I love this town and all these people here have been nothing but great.”
Greger’s three hits and pair of RBIs were just the tip of the iceberg to an uproar from the lineup – a lineup that piled on 19 hits and went 9-for-18 with runners in scoring position.
It started with Peralta in the leadoff spot. The center fielder finished 4-for-5 with a walk and a stolen base, living up to his “spark plug” persona that hitting coach Beau McMillan bestowed upon him just a few weeks prior.
“[I’m] just trying to stick to my approach to get things going and today I was able to get things going with a simple bunt.” he said. “That started off everything, and the guys behind me could hit. They could swing it, I trust them, and I just want to get on base for them. And that's exactly what happened.”
While every batter in the order reached base last night, Colby Putnam (Gardner-Webb) quieted the Bravos with 5.1 stellar innings, pitching to contact in classic Colby Putnam fashion. The right-hander started his outing by securing the first two outs with three pitches, setting the tone early.
“Everybody did their job. Everybody did what they were supposed to do,” said Greger.
And that includes J.R. Struk, who ran into unwanted trouble in the bottom of the ninth, allowing four runs (three unearned) on three hits. Bourne eventually loaded the bases and brought the tying run to the dish, but their late-game bid fell short after a deep flyout to center.
The 13-9 victory was a reflection of Falmouth’s ability to use its last two losses as a wake-up call to reset, find itself and play its style of baseball. “We locked in today. Everybody got their work in, attention to detail, and it showed in the game today,” Greger said.
Gavin’s eight-game hitting streak is the prime example of the payoff of detailed preparation – specifically for him, his preparation to return to his high level of production before his brief hiatus from the team. “I had a couple conversations with Coach Beau. When I stick to the opposite field approach and I see the ball deep, I see all the pitches well and it works,” he said.
Greger and company ended the night by laying out their mindset heading into playoff baseball, a carbon copy of what Oregon football preaches in their locker room. “You play your best baseball late,” he said. “I think that's super important for us right now. [Winning] five of [our] last seven is pretty cool and if we could continue doing that, going towards the playoffs, this is a team, I think, that can make a pretty good run and has a shot at winning it all.”
The ‘Dores continue their playoff push on Friday, July 31, in their final matchup of the regular season against Cotuit, who is in a battle with Wareham for the final playoff spot in the West. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m.
