ORLEANS, Mass. – Falmouth Commodore Jack Bell (TCU) had a breakout game at Eldredge Park going 2-for-4 with three RBI and a run, but Orleans Firebird Daniel Bucciero (Fordham) also had a strong night leading the Firebirds to win, 10-8, on Friday.
“It was a good battle,” Bell said. “Balls flying tonight. A lot of the players on both teams had some home runs and it was good throughout the game and we fought hard.”
The Firebirds dropped the first hit of the matchup with a single from Ian Daugherty (Oklahoma State). Daughtery punched in a run with an RBI from Bennett Markinson (Northwestern) to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Donovan LaSalle (Oklahoma State) brought Gavin Turley (Oregon State) and himself home with a two-run homer into left field to grant Falmouth a 2-1 lead in the top of the second. Bell put up another two-run homer for the Commodores to extend to a 4-1 lead.
“I've been struggling a bit this summer, so I made some adjustments,” Bell said. “I got a pitch to hit and I hit it pretty good. It felt really good. I’ve been working really hard and when stuff like that comes in the game, you take it.”
The left field stayed popular with the third two-run home run of the night, but this time from Buccierio. Markinson stayed hot at the dish with an RBI double to grant Orleans the lead back, 5-4.
Another home run was put up into right field for a solo home run from Landon Moran (Stetson) to sit at 6-4 after the bottom of the third. Some momentum picked up on offense for Falmouth in the top of the fourth with a sac fly from Zion Rose (Louisville) to punch in a run from Luke Gaffney (Clemson) to close in on Orleans' lead, 6-5.
Karson Bowen (TCU) slung an RBI double to tie the game at 6-6 in the top of the sixth. The tie was short-lived with Hudson Shupe (Gonzaga) putting up a run off a sac fly to give the Firebirds their lead back at 7-6 in the bottom of the sixth.
Riley Stanford (Georgia Tech) checked in on the mound in the bottom of the seventh. His first pitch thrown was to Bucciero and he took advantage to snag a three-run homer.
Commodore Scott Mudler (Oklahoma) responded with an RBI triple. The rally continued with a run from Mudler to have the game sit at 10-8 after the top of the eighth.
Tucker Biven (Louisville) and his defense quickly put two Falmouth batters away in the top of the ninth. A double play and long at-bat from Turley that ended in a strikeout led the Commodores to fall, 10-8, to the Firebirds.
Saturday is the 2024 Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game at Guv Fuller Field. The Home Run Contest will take place at 4 p.m. and the All-Star Game will begin at 6 p.m.
Commodores Bowen and Jayson Jones (Oklahoma State) will be starters for the West Division. Jaxon Willits (Oklahoma), Trent Caraway (Oregon State), Parker Coil (Arkansas) and Edward Hart (Duke) will be joining Bowen and Jones as All-Stars and Caraway will be participating in the Home Run Contest.
The Commodores (13-19) will return to play on Monday at the Guv to take on the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (21-9) with the first pitch set for 6 p.m.
You can get live game updates on Instagram and X @FalCommodores or tune in to the live television broadcast featuring Aiden Blanc, MJ Newsom and Braden Schenck on YouTube @FalmouthCommodores.
Photo credit: Nate Gardner
