Orleans’ Fire Chief, Police Chief, and Director of Public Works delivered a triple-barrel first pitch to kick off the action at home. A light breeze swirled the American flag in center as community protectors were honored on Orleans Night.

As temporary contracts expire and team rosters continue to turn over, Orleans’ was joined by more new faces at the park. Two new infielders joined the Birds ranks: Adam Magpoc (SDSU) and Tyler Harmony (Northeastern).

Magpoc played the first part of the summer for the Brewster Whitecaps. As he greeted his new teammates and took his first rounds of batting practice as a Firebird, he remarked that he had entered the “Cape Cod League transfer portal.”

On the other side of the “Turtle” (the halfshell looking cage used during on-field batting practice), Tyler Myatt (Tennessee) and Cale Stricklin (Charlotte) discussed the environment of SEC baseball. Myatt explained the close quarters of Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, where “the fans were practically on top of you.” Stricklin reminisced on his Auburn days at Hitchcock Field which has a similar concave shape, projecting jeers and shouts towards the field.

Cape League fans may not be as intense, but they sure do show up. Despite it being a Tuesday, Eldredge was packed with passionate viewers. Their numbers increase with each home contest.

It was the lucky fans who stayed till the very end who got to witness the Firebirds best win of the 2026 season. Dominic Cadiz (UCLA) walked off the Gatemen in the bottom of the 10th after a quiet night from Birds’ bats. Casey Euper (Pepperdine) delivered yet another solid outing, only allowing two runs over five and two thirds innings — striking out six without walking a soul. Most importantly, the Birds proved that comebacks were possible.

Another national anthem echoed off the embankment at Eldredge. Euper trotted to the mound for his third Firebirds start. He picked off a runner and K’d a batter in the first to start off strong. His second inning of work was also brief. Two Gatemen grounded out and one struck out swinging.

The lights kicked on as Euper entered for the third. He continued to cruise, getting three more groundouts.

Ryan MacDougall (Dayton) was the only Bird with a hit through three. Euper was certainly getting up and down quickly. The fast pace didn’t seem to bother him. He struck out two Gatemen with the fastball and got the third to line out.

Wareham rattled Euper in the fifth. The Gatemen cashed in on three straight hits. Linkin Garcia’s single drove in two Wareham runs. Euper remained on the mound for two outs in the sixth, but was replaced by Grant Garman (Hawaii) who recorded the final out of the inning. It was another solid start from the lefty that put him in line for a loss.

The sky grew dark in the seventh as the Birds’ hopes dimmed. Garman returned and recorded two fast outs, but was chased off the mound after two straight walks.

AJ Beltré (USD) made his second pitching appearance of the season, quickly ending the top of the seventh with a groundout.

Birds hitters continued to look lost in the seventh against Andrew Koshy, who dominated with his cutter. Beltré recorded a scoreless eighth, striking out one and touching 92 miles an hour with his fastball.

Ty Starke replaced Koshy in the eighth. The lefty featured a funky delivery. He didn’t throw a pitch faster than 82, but he befuddled the Birds for more fast outs. Beltré added another strikeout and scoreless inning in the ninth.

With one more chance remaining and the top of the order due up, the Birds finally made magic happen. Rowan Kelly (UCSB) worked a walk. Tyler Myatt singled. Nate Savoie (Texas A&M), whose final Firebirds game will be on Wednesday, came through for his first big hit of the year. He smashed a double 104 miles an hour off the bat to score Kelly.

“It was a full team win,” Savoie said. “It felt good to contribute to that and lean on the people around me and my preparation. “I’ve had a lot of fun this summer. There've been a lot of great players here before me, so it’s cool to wear the uniform and play on the Cape. I wish I was staying longer.”

The rally continued. Bub Terrell (Auburn) worked a walk. Newcomer Tyler Harmony tied the game with a groundball, scoring Myatt. The scoring would end there, as Magpoc struck out to strand Savoie and Terrell. For the first time this summer, Orleans would play extras.

D.C. Brown (Brown) pitched a scoreless tenth. He got some help from Cale Stricklin, who had entered as a pinch-hitter in the eight. As he’s done so many times already, Stricklin threw out the ghost runner trying to steal third.

With two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, Dominic Cadiz had a signature moment in him. He punched a single up the middle on an 0-2 count, scoring the ghost runner Magpoc. The Birds finally had a big win to hang their hat on, moving to 5-10 on the season. For now, all sins were forgiven.

“In that situation, you’ve got to have a slow heartrate,” Cadiz said. “He threw me two pitches over the middle that I should have hit, but I got another and did the job. As of late, a lot of our losses have been close, so it feels good to finish the game off. Hopefully this gets us some momentum.”

Manager Kelly Nicholson held his usual postgame meeting as the team circled the mound. Before they headed back to the clubhouse, he instructed his players to bring the circle in tight to break things down.

After the players had cleared, Nicholson reflected on the statement victory.

“Dom Cadiz is a professional hitter,” Nicholson said. “It’s great to see good things happen to good people. Cadiz is a really high character human being and player. A game like this can give you confidence to go on a little run.”