Outside of another clutch hit from Yohann Dessureault (Stetson) in the ninth to keep it in the battle, West Division-leader Wareham (14-7-1) fell short against the worst record in the West, the Falmouth Commodores (8-14) in a 5-3 contest on Thursday at Spillane Field as the 'Dores secured their first road win of the season.
The Gatemen are now on a two-game losing skid, their first in almost two weeks (June 28-29). Nonetheless, manager Ryan Smyth and his staff get another crack at Falmouth on the road Friday evening, hoping to avoid their first trio of losses in a row this season.
Wareham is 1-1 in the 2024 season with the Commodores. Each team has won while being the visitor, moving the odds in favor of the Gatemen as they’ll face their Falmouth foe two more times in the season.
Starting pitchers
Right-hander Heath Andrews (NC State) gets the start on the mound in a bounce back game for the Gatemen, carrying a 3.00 ERA in six innings pitched giving up two runs with three strikeouts.
Andrews made 10 total appearances with one start as a freshman for the Wolfpack in 2024, finishing his freshman campaign with six strikeouts over 9 1/3 innings.
For Falmouth, its premier arm in Gage Wood, who’s arguably the best arm in the CCBL this summer, is out of the way after silencing a Gatemen lineup for six innings that’s still atop the league with a .270 average.
The Commodores will run left-handed pitcher Parker Coil (Arkansas) out to the bump. The southpaw Razorback holds a 2.92 ERA in 12 ⅓ innings but stands out with a heavy strikeout number of 14 punchies.
Coil was heavy on the strikeouts in 2024 as well with 23 in 18 ⅓ innings for Arkansas, but so were the hits. Coil gave up 15 runs on 25 hits to the tune of a 7.23 ERA.
Players to watch
In his first game featured in the leadoff spot, Dessureault made his season-long consistency at the plate noticed, going 1-for-4 with a massive two-run homer in the ninth inning adding to a walk and stolen base on the night. The Canadian native has been plugged throughout the lineup for Wareham this summer, slashing .313/.353/.542 with a pair of homers — his previous one being a 458-footer clearing the scoreboard at Hyannis on July 5.
Look for him to be a threat immediately from first pitch on as well as carrying a smooth glove at second base for the Gatemen.
For the Commodores, catcher Luke Gaffney (Purdue) made some noise of his own on Thursday. Gaffney swung a hot stick with a 3-for-3, two-RBI performance at the dish, ending a triple short of the cycle thanks to his first home run of the summer early in the game.
Gaffney (.329/.381/.408) saw the fastball early and often in the six-hole for Falmouth, but would suspect to find him higher in the lineup on Friday as their first four hitters combined for eight strikeouts, collecting just one run on three hits.
Simply put, for the Gatemen, it’s a new day to play and make the entire team beat you instead of a single player on the mound and at the plate.
Top photo caption: Right-hander Heath Andrews extends toward the plate, pitching against the Brewster Whitecaps in Wareham's 8-5 win on July 6, 2024. Photo by Kyler Armstrong.
