Stone Cushing (BYU) pumped his fist and took a deep sigh of relief before hugging teammate Manny Garza (Rice) on the mound in Harwich on a beautiful Sunday evening.

Cushing just punched out his second victim in the bottom of the ninth inning, ensuring a Mariners bases-loaded threat wouldn't spoil the Harbor Hawks' first road trip. Hyannis was victorious in the contest by a score of 5-1.

"Winning's pretty fun," head coach Mitch Karraker said. "This was a good game... a really good game. Again, offensively we kind of chipped away early, had some big stolen bases in the first inning and caused some havoc on the basepaths. Pitching did exactly what I told them to do, use four or five guys and just be consistent around the zone. Overall, it was really fun."

The Harbor Hawks picked up right where they left off on Opening Day from an offensive standpoint. The club finished Saturday's game by scoring plenty of runs and began Sunday the same way.

In the fourth inning, second-year Hawk Jon Jon Gazdar (Austin Peay) took a high-and-inside pitch 357 feet over the wall for his first career Cape League home run. Gazdar drove in four runs Saturday and is now quickly boasting five RBI on the young season. He is turning heads with his flashy glove and ability to hit pro-level pitching at a premium.

Parker Brosius (Georgia Tech) led off the game with a walk, stolen base and then immediately scored thanks to Kane Kepley (Liberty) lacing a base knock down the right field line. Hyannis struck a second time in the inning after Kepley swiped third base and Zach Yorke (Grand Canyon) plated him on a ground ball.

"We've been building this roster since the fall," Karraker said. "A big part of our roster is speed, and so we want our guys to showcase what their strengths are, and at the top of our order with [Brosius] and [Kepley], they can really run. It wasn't so much me calling an offense, I was just letting them do what they can do. They created two huge runs for us."

Kepley is off to a strong start this summer, as he reached base in six of his first seven plate appearances. The left-handed hitter grabbed his first two CCBL hits Sunday and is no stranger to adversity.

"Going from metal to wood, I actually enjoy it," Kepley said. "I've grown up with a chip on my shoulder no matter what school I represent. I'm a small-sized guy, and I always gotta figure out things to improve within my game, whether that be getting faster to beat out a ground ball, or taking an extra base. This game of baseball is about every single at-bat and every single pitch, and if you win more of 'em you're going to win the game."

Nick Groves (Niagara) and Michael Dattalo (Dallas Baptist) each clubbed frozen ropes to add more insurance throughout the middle innings for the Harbor Hawks.

Harwich's arms issued eight free passes to Hyannis batters Sunday evening, three of which were earned by Brosius, and two from Kepley.

The Harbor Hawks pitchers stayed away from granting the same free passes that the Mariners offered, as five Hyannis pitchers combined to allow just a pair of free 90s.

Trey Beard (Florida Atlantic) got the start for Karraker's club. The southpaw turned in four innings of one-run ball, let up just two hits and struck out a trio of Mariners hitters.

"I think it starts with strike one," Karraker said. "Every guy, beginning with [Beard], did that tonight. [Beard] set the tone and didn't allow too many free bases... the changeup is disgusting, and when it's on like it was tonight, everything else in his arsenal plays up to it. I think it's really, really great to see him get off to a good start for us."

The ball was then turned to another left-hander, Cade Crossland. Crossland earned the win on the mound, as he twirled two perfect innings in relief, and also struck out three batters.

Three more Hyannis arms, Casey Hintz (Arizona), Sean Fitzpatrick (Arizona State) and Cushing pieced together the seventh, eighth and ninth frames to secure the road victory.

The lone run of the game for the Mariners was scored in the third inning via a Daniel Dickinson (Utah Valley) line drive that brought home Matt Scannell (Princeton) from second base. Hyannis' arms did a good job at limiting traffic on the bases through the rest of the game, as the Mariners left five men aboard.

Up next for the Harbor Hawks is a home game against the Brewster Whitecaps on Monday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.