The Hyannis Harbor Hawks improved to 16-17 on the year by notching their first shutout win since July 14, defeating the last-place Wareham Gatemen 3-0 at McKeon Park on Sunday.
Hyannis’ pitching trio of starter Michael Meckna, long reliever Brayden Sharp and closer Truitt Webb silenced Wareham’s offense all night, while the Harbor Hawks’ lineup took advantage of critical mistakes and misplays by the Gatemen.
“Shutouts are not easy in this league,” Hyannis manager Mitch Karraker said. “Our guys were able to execute a lot of really good pitches. Defense played good behind them. Offensively, we scored enough runs to get a win.”
Meckna’s start of 3.2 innings of scoreless, four-hit ball was his best on the Cape so far this season. The Oregon Duck showed great control, walking only one while striking out four on 69 pitches.
“My stuff was playing well, and I was happy with this,” Meckna said. “You got to be able to just go in there with what you got and not think too much about the mechanics, and be able to be focused on attacking the hitter.”
At Oregon, Meckna had not been in a starting role, and had never thrown more than 57 pitches in a game at the collegiate level before coming to the Cape. Since his Hyannis debut, he has been used as a starter, and has found success making the necessary adjustments.
“[I’m] getting used to the longer routine,” Meckna said. “It’s nice having more time to warm up. It’s just something new.”
Meckna did not allow Wareham a serious scoring chance until the fourth inning, when he departed the game with two outs and two runners on base. Sharp relieved him and immediately notched an inning-ending strikeout – his first of six on the day.
“The last guy, when Mitch came in for the visit, I wanted him,” Meckna said – he finished his night by issuing a free pass to Wareham third baseman AJ Aschettino – “I ended up walking him, but that’s just how it goes. And so, I was happy with the start.”
Sharp continued to shine on the Cape, lowering his season ERA to 2.70 with four scoreless innings. He allowed only two hits and walked one to go along with his six strikeouts.
“Everything was really working,” Sharp said. “Everything I could throw for a strike tonight.”
Sharp threw 34 strikes in the game. He and Meckna both credited their defense – “It was just an all-around team effort tonight,” Sharp said – which completed nine errorless innings.
With Sharp’s control starting to slip – after retiring two in the eighth, he hit two batters and threw a wild pitch – Karraker relieved the Rice University southpaw with Webb, who notched his team-leading seventh save of the season.
Webb continued to be a grounding presence in the late innings, striking out four in 1.1 innings including three to seal the shutout in the ninth.
The Harbor Hawks’ defensive effort showed exactly why Hyannis remains so far ahead of Wareham in the Cape League standings. The Gatemen committed two errors and played sloppy baseball all night.
Wareham’s night to forget began in the second inning, when starter Jaden Barfield – whom the Harbor Hawks tagged for two earned runs – hit Hyannis first baseman Caden Miller and threw a wild pitch, allowing him to advance to second.
It continued in the third, when Gatemen first baseman Dylan Passo made a critical blunder. Harbor Hawks left fielder Nick Dromboski bunted a ground ball down the first base line that was trending foul, but Passo scooped it up before it could leave fair territory and could not throw to first base in time, allowing Dromboski to reach with and moving third baseman Taylor Kirk into scoring position.
Passo’s misplay directly led to a run, as Hyannis right fielder Jax Gimenez drove Kirk in with a single three pitches later. Barfield then threw two wild pitches to score Dromboski before escaping the inning with two strikeouts.
Barfield ended his night by unintentionally beaning Harbor Hawks designated hitter Andrew Lamb, and Wareham manager Ryan Smyth relieved him with Bryce Turner, who promptly hit second baseman JC Davis.
Turner’s errant pitch hit Davis on the wrist and sent him tumbling to the ground, but Davis stayed in the game after a meeting with the team trainer and was able to finish the nine innings.
Aschettino then misplayed a batted ball from Kirk, allowing him to reach on what was ruled a fielder’s choice to load the bases with one out.
The Harbor Hawks had a chance to pour onto the Gatemen with Dromboski up to bat. Dromboski hit a long fly ball to Wareham center fielder Dylan Dubovik on which Lamb attempted to tag and score, but Dubovik made a standout throw home to turn the double play on what was Wareham’s lone defensive gem of the night.
“We would do that 100 times out of 100,” Karraker said. “You got to force him to make a really good throw, and then he’s got to catch and tag … the guy just made a really good play.”
The Gatemen’s second error of the game also led directly to a run. Dromboski singled to lead off the seventh, and reliever Finn Edwards threw the ball away on a pickoff attempt, allowing Dromboski to advance to second. Hyannis center fielder Clay Thompson singled Dromboski in two batters later.
In the end, while each team recorded seven hits, the Harbor Hawks simply outclassed the Gatemen by staying clean in the run-prevention game for seven innings while knocking well-timed hits and punishing Wareham’s multiple unforced misplays.
Though Hyannis’ offense struggled to slug or generate activity on the basepaths beyond Wareham’s blunders, three runs were enough.
“It was a tough night to hit,” Karraker said. “It’s cold. It’s tough to see, and we thought we put some good swings on balls.”
The Harbor Hawks will look to make it two in a row against the league-leading Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox on Monday, in a makeup of July 22’s postponed game. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at Red Wilson Field.
