Tourists and vacationers flooded the Cape for Fourth of July weekend. The largest crowds to date bested bridge traffic to swarm Eldredge on the hottest day of the summer.

Just a day prior, every Cape Cod team had been at Fenway Park for a day of workouts and batting practice. Tyler Myatt (Tennessee) hit four homers into or over the bullpen. Casey Cumiskey (SNHU) sent a ball into the Green Monster seats as scouts judged from around the field.

Orleans position players took on the Boston Red Sox scout team after batting practice, playing a seven inning scrimmage against a mix of high school and college players. The Birds won the not-so-serious contest 4-1. The Firebirds’ broadcast crew was lucky enough to take over a visiting radio booth in the press box, covering a victory at Fenway Park as the sun set over the Boston skyline.

Back at Eldredge, it was time to face a division rival. If the Birds wanted a chance to make the playoffs, they’d have to leapfrog the Chatham Anglers for fourth in the East division. Thankfully, the Birds were due for a big night.

In the spirit of Independence Day, it was a night of offensive fireworks for the Firebirds. Orleans put up 10 runs on 21 hits. Dominic Cadiz (UCLA) had the performance of a lifetime. He went six for six with a homer and four RBIs, not to mention his second legendary walk-off hit in three games. Rowan Kelly (UCSB) paired up with Cadiz to be the perfect one-two punch at the top of the order. Hitting leadoff, Kelly had four hits and a stolen base. Not a single Firebird went hitless.

“This win means everything for the Birds,” Rowan Kelly said. “Hanigan said yesterday that the bats worked at Fenway and we had to keep it going. The ‘Wombo Combo’ between Dom and I was seriously fun tonight. We were prepared, confident, and I knew that when I got on base Dom would do what Dom does and knock me in.”

It was “show and go” for the first game of the two game set versus Chatham. Due to the oppressive heat, there was no batting practice or infield practice before the game. All veterans in attendance were invited to stand behind home plate as the anthem was performed.

Jacob Haley (South Alabama) made his third start for Orleans. With the righty on the mound, the opposing Anglers rolled out a lineup of eight lefties. They got Haley for a run in the first despite him touching 96 with his fastball.

Cadiz punched right back. With Kelly on first, he crunched a ball through the thick Cape Cod heat over the fence in left field for his second homer of the season. Though not usually known for his pop, his sweet swing has worked wonders for the Birds.

Orleans is king of the first inning. Tyler Harmony (Northeastern) singled. AJ Beltré (USD) ripped a double down the left field line. Adam Magpoc’s (SDSU) first Firebirds hit scored Harmony. Beltré would have been the Birds’ fourth run — if not for a perfect throw to the plate from Ty Peeples in right field.

The Anglers added on in the second. More hard contact off Haley led to another run. It was an early bloodbath at Eldredge.

The Firebirds loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning, but left them loaded like so many times before. Ryan MacDougall (Dayton) might have scored on Cadiz's second hit of the day, but ran into Ryan Hanigan’s stop sign at third.

Haley began to lock it down in the third. He struck out two Anglers and got another to ground out weakly. The Birds followed suit, as only three batters came to the plate. Tyler Harmony recorded his second hit, but an unlucky lineout to the pitcher by Beltré caused a twin killing.

With the sun setting in the fourth, Haley still battled command problems. The catcher MacDougall, affectionately known as “Big Mac”, sniped two Chatham runners trying to steal second, securing a scoreless half inning.

The Orleans offense roared to life again in the fourth. With two outs, The Birds mounted an epic rally. Kelly recorded his third hit and stole second. Cadiz drove him in for the second time today with a single. Tyler Myatt (Tennessee) then singled and recorded his first steal of the year.

New Firebird Corey Nunez (UCSB) recorded his first knock in dramatic fashion — ripping a two-run double over the third baseman’s head. The Birds kept working, loading the bases again, but came up empty. They had batted around in the fourth and recorded three more runs, bringing their daily hit total to a staggering 12.

Nunez’s UCSB teammate Rowan Kelly is elated to have an old friend on the team.

“Playing with Nunez is one of my favorite things to do,” Kelly said. “He brings so much joy and fun to the team. The man’s got a solid bat and he can pick it in the field. It’s just like playing with him at school.”

Haley was done after four and a third. D.C. Brown (Brown) took the pitchcom device, placed it in his hat, and warmed up to go. Recent LSU transfer Bino Watters contributed the Anglers’ third run with a sacrifice fly.

Golden cloud wisps striped the sky as night fell. The scorching heat had subsided, prompting the huge crowd to stay put. Brown returned for the sixth, recording two quick outs before allowing a solo shot to Ty Peeples. The Birds still led the heavyweight bout 6-4.

The Birds kept making Anglers’ pitching dig deep. Orleans juiced the scoreboard again in the sixth as Harmony drove in two with his third hit of the day. Another seven batters came to the plate for Orleans.

It was Grant Garman’s (Hawaii) turn in the seventh. He was composed as ever, not allowing a single Angler to reach base.

Orleans wasn’t done. Cadiz roped his fifth hit of the day in the bottom of the inning. A Myatt groundout scored the ninth Birds’ run at Eldredge. Garman returned for the eighth and dominated — striking out two Anglers.

Things got interesting in the ninth. Garman lost control, and was pulled by Kelly Nicholson with the bases loaded. Beltré entered to pitch, but couldn’t find the plate. Two runners scored on wild pitches. Another three Anglers came across to score as Beltré couldn’t reign it in. Despite the Birds’ 19 hits, it was a 9-9 game going into the bottom of the ninth. It seemed that all hope was lost.

When you need a man that you can depend on, you call upon Dominic Cadiz. Kelly ignited another rally with a leadoff double. Cadiz came through yet again for the Firebirds. He grounded a single up the middle to score Kelly — punctuating a six-hit night with the walk-off hit.

“Dom was just a barrel-finder tonight,” Kelly said. “I’ve seen a couple five-hit games in my day, but maybe never six. Things went a bit awry in the ninth, but the ability that this group had to refocus in front of a big crowd on a special day was huge for us.”

Cadiz was mobbed by his teammates as he rounded first. After signing no less than 30 baseballs for young Firebirds’ fans, Cadiz glowed with pride, but remained humble as always.

“It was a great team win,” Cadiz said. “When you have double digit hits, it doesn’t get too much better than that. Our team chemistry is only getting better. We’ve got a lot of season left. By no means is it over.”