FALMOUTH, Mass. — The game looked like it was over. Falmouth led Brewster, 3-2, entering the top of the ninth Sunday — just three outs away from its second straight victory. Its pitchers were dealing, and Brewster couldn’t hit a lick.

That was until Blake Cyr struck. After pinch-hitter Erik Paulson was hit by a pitch, 10-year Whitecaps manager Jamie Shevchik inserted the speedy Adam Magpoc in to pinch-run. He did his job, successfully swiping second and third.

But it was Cyr who completed the comeback. The rising senior launched nine homers with Florida this season, and he deposited another over the wall on a Michael Gillen breaking ball. Brewster’s bench erupted in pure jubilation as Cyr celebrated rounding the bases.

Cyr’s blast proved to be enough to down the Commodores. After adding two more runs in the ninth, Brewster downed Falmouth, 6-3, Sunday. Despite the Commodores pushing across more runs than Saturday’s season opener at Chatham and strong pitching performances from Grayson Saunier and Trever Baumler, Brewster handed them their first loss of the season.

With a completely new crop of players coming to Falmouth (1-1, 0-0 West) this season, it’s bound to take time for them to click. That was apparent Saturday when the Commodores produced two hits and struck out 16 times to Chatham in their season opener.

But the good news? Falmouth won, 1-0. Chatham’s hitters couldn’t handle the 'Dores’ trio of Kaden Echeman, Conner Linn and Joe Sabbath.

Brewster (2-0, 1-0 East) entered the game in a similar position to Falmouth (1-1, 0-0 West). Both teams are coming off seasons where they missed the Cape Cod Baseball League playoffs. And on Saturday, despite notching a 3-2 victory over Yarmouth-Dennis, the Whitecaps produced just three hits to Y-D’s eight. Each squad was looking to produce a more consistent effort Sunday.

It was much less of a pitchers' duel Sunday. On Saturday, Falmouth and Chatham combined for 33 strikeouts. Baserunners were more plentiful in Game 2.

Texas’ Saunier started on the bump for Falmouth and produced four solid innings. Saunier transferred to the Longhorns from Ole Miss for his junior season, where he posted a career-best 4.09 ERA. He took that success in stride onto the Cape.

Saunier set the tone in the first, forcing star Miami third baseman Daniel Cuvet to ground into a double play. Despite a few slipups, he allowed two runs in his four frames, adding to Echeman and Linn’s dominance Saturday.

It wasn’t smooth for Brewster early on. As opposed to the numerous swings and misses Chatham starter JT Quinn induced on Saturday, Falmouth forced Brewster’s Elijah Foster (South Carolina) into a tumultuous 24-pitch first inning.

One of the bright spots for Falmouth was Antonio Morales. After moving from ninth to the leadoff spot in Falmouth’s lineup, he created trouble immediately by walking, stealing second and advancing to third on an error. Landon Moran (Stetson) promptly drove him in with a sacrifice fly to deep left-center field.

Just like that, Falmouth had already tied its run total from Saturday.

But Brewster wouldn’t go quietly. Carson Tinney, who hit 17 homers for Notre Dame in 2025, drilled Saunier’s first pitch 424 feet over the left-field wall to knot the game back at one.

Both teams continued to tack on in the ensuing innings.

Falmouth’s rally was again spurred by Morales, who reached base three times Sunday. In the third, he knocked an infield single and again advanced to third due to Whitecaps mishaps. This time, Bear Harrison made it 2-1 with another sac fly down the left-field line. Brewster then executed a double steal to punch back in the fourth.

But the Whitecaps’ momentum was short-lived. Falmouth immediately regained the lead, 3-2. Brewster swapped Foster for Ohio State’s Douglas Bauer, but nothing changed immediately. Using more small ball, Maika Niu (Marshall) practically created a run on his own — he singled, stole second and scored on two wild pitches.

For the next four innings, Falmouth was in cruise control. Until Cyr’s longball, Brewster couldn’t touch the 'Dores’ pitching.

Baumler (Texas Christian) took the ball from Saunier and was stellar. He accumulated a 6.39 ERA across 13 appearances with the Horned Frogs this season, but as a former Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year, he had potential to shine on the Cape.

And he did in his first appearance Sunday. As opposed to Saunier allowing light contact, Baumler attacked Brewster’s hitters, changing speeds effortlessly to tally six strikeouts across three frames. He fanned Brewster’s bottom two hitters in the fifth, then followed with two more in the sixth. Baumler finished his debut by swiftly working through the seventh.

On the other side, though, Bauer and Illinois’ Zach Bates kept the 'Dores at bay, similar to Chatham’s Charlie Foster on Saturday. Despite combining to allow four walks and two hits through five innings, the duo kept the game from slipping away from the Whitecaps.

And that was critical. Despite Jakob Schulz’s clean eighth inning, it set up Brewster’s four-run ninth, completely flipping the game on its head and handing the Commodores their first loss of the season.

Falmouth had everything going right. But just one swing of the bat proved to be the difference.

Noah Nussbaum is the beat reporter for the Falmouth Commodores. You can read all of his articles on the Commodores here.