Bottom of the 10th inning. Tie game. Bases loaded, two outs. Deiten Lachance, fresh off a five-RBI, .316 batting average week, at the plate. A single or a walk would give the Hyannis Harbor Hawks a big win.
Then, he struck out. Ballgame over.
The Harbor Hawks and Cotuit Kettleers battled to a 3-3 tie at McKeon Park on Tuesday night, giving both teams one point in a crowded West Division playoff picture. The Harbor Hawks moved to 14-17-4, Cotuit to 14-18-3.
Though the night didn’t end in a Hawks win, it was a sigh of relief that they battled the Kettleers to the end, with two of Hyannis’ three losses to Cotuit this summer coming in lopsided, mercy-rule defeats.
“Our pitching staff was really good,” manager Mitch Karraker said. “Mason did not have his best stuff, but I thought he grinded through a couple innings. From then on out, our guys did an unbelievable job. Edwards and ‘Sammy’ and Connor there at the end was really, really good. Proud of those guys.”
With southpaw Mason Russell making his first start of the summer for Hyannis, he was greeted rudely in the first inning by Cotuit’s Caden Bogenpohl. He blasted a two-run home run to right field that cleared everything, even the top of the trees, to give Cotuit an early 2-0 advantage.
Hyannis struck back in the bottom of the inning when a Jeff Lougee groundout scored Owen Prince to make it a 2-1 game. With two outs in the second inning, Sawyer Black turned on a 1-1 pitch from Cotuit starting pitcher Ryan Buckler and deposited it over the right-center field fence, with his two-run home run putting the Hawks ahead, 3-2.
In the fourth inning, Cotuit’s Luke Matthews took off for third base, attempting to swipe the bag. Lachance’s throw from behind the plate sailed into left field, allowing Matthews to score and tie the game, 3-3.
Both teams had further chances to score but were unable to push a run across.
“Tip your hat to them, they pitched good and we did not hit some balls,” Karraker said. “[I] thought we hit some balls hard, we left a few guys on base. Sometimes it goes our way and sometimes it doesn't, but I think our guys are doing a good job.”
Russell allowed two earned runs, three total, in his start for the Hawks, spanning three full innings and a Nolan Stevens double to start the fourth before being taken out. He allowed five hits and just one walk while striking out three Cotuit hitters.
After the game, Karraker hinted that Russell could be a starting option for the Hawks in the postseason if they make it that far.
“That is a role that I think he could have down the stretch,” Karraker said. “We like it when he has the ball. He is super competitive, he has got good stuff, I thought he did a good job. [He] did not have his best stuff tonight, but was able to wiggle out of some innings.”
After Russell departed, in came Zach Edwards, the imposing righty from Oregon State University. After pitching three scoreless innings in a loss to Chatham a few days prior, Edwards delivered four more scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and one walk with a pair of strikeouts.
“Heater felt pretty live today,” Edwards said. “Arm [was] feeling good coming out of the pen … slider and changeup were both working a little bit today. Not my best stuff, but still made it work and was able to get quality pitches when I needed them and get a handful of outs.”
This relief outing was Edwards’ last with the Hawks for the summer before heading back to school across the country. As such, he was ready to throw as many innings as Karraker needed him to throw to help save some arms in the bullpen for future games.
“I talked to the coaches and told them, ‘Let me ride,’” Edwards said. “I will let you know if I need to come out, but I told them if I am throwing good, then let me go. That was the goal today, come out and have a quality last outing and let the pitches get up there a little bit and finish off the summer strong.”
Edwards dropped his ERA from 2.19 to 1.65 with the Hawks as a result of his latest dominant appearance, with his WHIP also dropping from 1.05 to 0.98 in 16 1/3 innings.
After Edwards left, Sam Garewal took care of the next two innings, allowing just one baserunner. Connor Kelly, with two saves in two appearances with the Hawks, got into a bases-loaded jam in the 10th but kept Cotuit off the board to preserve the chance for a win.
Though the Hawks couldn’t get a win out of this, the one point they did get combined with a loss by the Bourne Braves puts them two points back of Bourne for second place in the division. The Thursday tilt with the Braves at McKeon Park now figures to have even more at stake than already anticipated.
First, they’ll have to get through the Falmouth Commodores on the road Wednesday night, a team the Hawks are trying to stay ahead of in the West Division race. Carson Jasa starts for Hyannis with a 6 p.m. first pitch scheduled at Guv Fuller Field.
Michael Najarian can be reached at mikenajarian379@gmail.com and on X @MichaelNaj3.
