FALMOUTH, Mass. – Three hours and 46 minutes from the first pitch, the Falmouth Commodores saw a comeback slip from their reach when the Chatham Anglers defense pulled a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the ninth to claim a 14-8 victory.
“We are fighting all the way down to the end,” Jayson Jones (Oklahoma State) said. “Some things just didn't go our way. Some calls didn't go our way. We just need to lock it down on the defensive end, but other than that, I feel like we're still trying to pull everything together.”
Commodores starting pitcher Sean Brennan (Keystone) and his defense dug themselves a hole quickly in the top of the first giving up five hits, four runs and one walk. The Anglers found themselves an early 4-0 lead.
Zion Rose (Louisville) made an impression on Chatham’s defense with a solo home run to get Falmouth on the board with his third homer of the season. The Commodores loaded the bases when Karson Bowen (TCU) secured the walk, but Ty Johnson (Baylor) left them hanging with a flyout.
Brennan redeemed himself in the top of the second with two groundouts and a strikeout. Jaxon Willits (Oklahoma) joined Rose in the home run party with a three-run homer to right field to tie it up, 4-4.
The home run party continued for Falmouth with a two-run homer from Trent Caraway (Oregon State) to take the lead, 6-4. The Commodores were able to retire a pitcher for the first time this summer within the first two innings having Murphy Brooks (Louisiana) replace Jacob Weaver (Austin Peay) on the mound.
Brennan’s time on the mound came to a close when Campbell Smithwick (Ole Miss) bunted to load the bases for the Anglers. Tom Chmielewski (North Carolina) relieved Brennan in the top of the fourth.
Chatham began to chip away at Falmouth’s lead with two singles and two runs to tie it back up at 6-6. The Anglers reclaimed the lead when first baseman Isaiah Barkett (Stetson) couldn’t get a handle on the ball and committed a fielding error to assist Smithwick to run home, making it 7-6.
Donovan LaSalle (Oklahoma State) got an RBI double to keep the Commodores in the game to tie it for the third time, 7-7. The lead went on to change two more times, granting the Anglers a 9-8 lead in the top of the eighth.
A run was gifted to Chatham with a walk to extend to a 10-8 lead. A quick three outs on Falmouth closed out the eighth to send the game to the long-awaited final inning.
The Anglers stayed alive in the top of the ninth with four runs and sloppy defense from the Commodores, allowing them to pull away at 14-8. Falmouth’s bats weren’t hot enough in the home half of the inning to catch up to the deficit that Chatham created.
The Commodores (8-17) will stay home to host the Hyannis Harbor Hawks (15-9) on Wednesday at Guv Guller Field with the first pitch set for 7 p.m.
Andres Galan (California) will be the starting pitcher for Hyannis. He has a 5.27 ERA and has appeared in 13 2/3 innings this summer. Galan is 1-0, and his last start was against the Harwich Mariners on July 9, when the Harbor Hawks went on to win, 8-7.
You can get live game updates on Instagram and X @FalCommodores or tune in to the live radio broadcast featuring Aiden Blanc and MJ Newsom on YouTube @FalmouthCommodores.
Photo credit: Nate Gardner
