Harwich, Mass. — The saying goes, ‘all good things must come to an end,’ and unfortunately for the Gatemen, their four-game winning streak came to an end on Sunday.
The Gatemen (4-4) fell to the Mariners (5-3) by a score of 3-2 in a walk-off, evening the season series between the foes at 1-1, and moving the Gatemen back to .500.
The game started with a bang. With two outs in the first inning, Gatemen Left Fielder Levi Clark (Tennessee) crushed a home run deep to left field to put the Gatemen on the board.
“It felt pretty good. I was late on the first heater he threw me, so I was just trying to be on time with the next heater and it felt pretty good,” said Clark about his home run.
After coming so close against the Mariners on Thursday and against the Harbor Hawks on Friday, Clark finally grabbed his first homer as a Gateman.
However, the early lead did not spark the Gatemen offense, which had been hot for the previous four games, getting 35 hits during that span. Tonight it was quieter, getting only 6 hits on the night.
That was still enough to out-hit the Mariners 6-4, for a combined ten hits from both teams. That was because the game became a defensive pitching duel from the start.
Cooper Consiglio (NC State) and Evan Dempsey (Florida Gulf Coast) had good nights. Dempsey pitched 5 innings, only allowing three hits while striking out five batters. He was a big reason the Gatemen’s lineup could not get things going.
Consiglio pitched 4 ⅓ innings, allowing 2 hits and striking out 4 batters. However, he allowed 2 unanswered runs.
In the bottom of the third, Jake Koonin (Princeton) hit a fly ball to center field, where the Gatemen center fielder, Chase Krewson (UCF), dropped the ball after losing it in the sun. Koonin reached third on the error, teeing up Niko Brini (Wofford) for an RBI groundout to second.
After that, in the fifth, Consiglio balked with a runner on third, despite the Gatemen believing he stepped off the rubber before moving his hands. After a conference with the umpires, the call stood, and Harwich took a 2-1 lead.
The Gatemen then tied it thanks to a sacrifice fly from Colby Turner (Michigan) to score newly acquired Chris McHugh (NC State). McHugh made his Cape League debut on Sunday, an opportunity he had always dreamed of having.
“It's always been a dream of mine to play in the Cape. All the hard work I put into it and finally getting to play in such a prestigious league; it's a great feeling,” said McHugh.
“These guys are the ones who do it on the field at school. First, you’ve got to produce there to get noticed and be wanted out here. He (McHugh) produced at school. He's got tremendous bat-to-ball skills, and once he gets his feet wet, he's going to be a very good hitter for us,” said Gatemen Field Manager Ryan Smyth.
Unfortunately, the Gatemen could not add any more runs onto the board, going into the bottom of the ninth tied 2-2, where the Mariners won on a walk-off passed ball steal by Bristol Carter (Auburn).
The loss was tough for the Gatemen, but one they knew was a little wacky, and does not diminish what they have built in the past week.
“I think we'll be fine. We were on a little winning streak right there, and I think we'll be fine. This was kind of just a weird game, but I think we'll be right back in the winning column on Tuesday,” said Clark.
They now head into their first off day of the season on Monday, an important opportunity to recharge and take a short break from baseball.
“It's always good to just have a break, get away from it, reset the batteries, and go back after it again on Tuesday. I want these guys to have fun. Go, enjoy the off day. Go roam around the Cape, and go to a beach, and just have some fun,” said Smyth.
The Gatemen return to play on Tuesday, June 24th at 5:00 p.m. to face the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox at Red Wilson Field in Yarmouth.
