Falmouth (9-11-1) went into its Thursday night matchup against Hyannis (9-12) as losers of six of its last eight contests. The pitching hadn’t performed to the standard it set for itself at season’s beginning, runners were left in scoring position time and time again, and any momentum that it gained seemed to be halted immediately, returning the ‘Dores back to square one.

Thursday was different. A flip of the script in a crushing 9-1 win.

“We needed that,” said head coach Jack Dahm on the crucial response from his team, led by six strong innings from Kenyon Collins (Marshall), fanning seven and earning the decision after blanking the Harbor Hawks in his third start. “

“It wasn't an easy matchup today,” said Dahm, referring to a heavy left-handed Hyannis batting order. “Kenny did a great job throwing his fastball in and changeup away, and was in control of the game at all times. It was good to see.”

Casen Murphy (Louisville) and Fisher Cantrell (Jacksonville State) carried the ‘Dores the rest of the way and were equally as impressive. Murphy came out the gates hot, punching out four straight batters to begin his two innings of relief. Cantrell recorded the final three outs of the contest by way of the K as well, surrendering the game’s lone run with a wild pitch.

Dahm gave pitching coach Paul Evans all the credit in the world after the game, especially for his plan to navigate the middle innings. “I really liked the plan that [Evans] had today,” said the coach. “He knew that we were going to see a bunch of left handers, so we had Murphy ready to go as soon as possible.”

As for the bats, all it took was one hit – Fabio Peralta’s (Miami) one-out single in the bottom of the third – to start the downpour from the bats of the Commodores. Peralta provided the first of a quintet of base hits, three of which from Brayden Jefferis (Michigan), Carter White (Mississippi State) and Ryder Woodson (Mississippi State) yielded scores for the ‘Dores in a four-run frame.

According to coach, the offense reaped the benefits of a change in preparation, saying “ the biggest thing [was] just having a little more focus when [we were] taking batting practice. Really, our approach started when we took ground balls. I felt like we needed to pick up the intensity and the effort a little bit.”

White and Woodson, who capped the run-scoring inning, were the engines to a nine-run Commodore showing at the dish. White ripped an RBI double in his next at-bat in the sixth, while Woodson reached base safely in his first four plate appearances on Thursday. Dahm was impressed by what both guys brought in the win.

Woodson did the job in recording the ‘R’ in the box score: runs or RBI, as Dahm eloquently put it and although he didn’t find any of the first variety, he’d finish with a pair of the second, which was exactly what Falmouth needed. As for White, he’s been wrestling with the mental game of baseball, but in the first few rounds of the summer, he’s been battling just fine.

“He's got a real simple approach,” said coach Dahm. “He wants to win, and he's going to do anything he can.”

The aforementioned sluggers came away with two hits apiece at night’s end.

The critical win put the Commodores’ rough stretch in perspective for Dahm, saying “when you're not swinging the bat or getting the timely hits, the game doesn't look as good,” he said. “The biggest thing is just to keep working. These guys aren't afraid to work.”

The resilience shown by a team who couldn’t get themselves out of a rut just hours previous allows the first-year coach of the ‘Dores to stay calm and hopeful during the most treacherous periods of baseball for his squad. He’s only got one thing on his agenda – something that he’s done 90% of the work for in his recruiting and coaching style: commitment to their identity.

“Try not to be the hero when there's guys in scoring position,” is a phrase he preaches in the locker room. “Just hit a ground ball to the second baseman with the guy at third and less than two outs, and that's how you end up scoring runs...we can simplify that and everyone can buy into [going] into your B hack and with guys in scoring positions instead [of] trying to be the hero and trying to hit a home run.”

The Commodores seem to look like a brand-new team at the start of the second half. They’re back in second place of the West with the win, two games back of Bourne, who rounds out their homestand on Saturday. They’ll host Wareham before then at 6:00 p.m. on Friday evening.