It’s not too often you’ll see three balks in a baseball game. It’s rare to see two in the same inning. It’s almost unheard of to see two balks within the same at-bat score two runs.
You never know what you’re going to see when at the ballpark.
Harwich’s Aiden Robbins stepped up to the plate in the third inning with Tanner Marsh at third base and Niko Brini at second. Hyannis Harbor Hawk pitcher Tsubasa Tomii needed one more out to get out of the jam.
On a 1-0 pitch, Tomii flinched his front foot, causing a balk and allowing Marsh to score. Hyannis manager Mitch Karraker came out to plead his pitcher’s case to no avail.
Later in the same at-bat, Brini faked a steal home that caused Tomii to stop mid-windup, leading to another balk. Just like that, the Mariners extended their lead to 5-1 without Robbins lifting the bat off his shoulder.
Add in a stellar start from Gianni Gambardella and a two-RBI double from Dee Kennedy, the Mariners had the perfect recipe to defeat the Harbor Hawks, 6-3, Tuesday night at McKeon Park.
It was the Mariners’ first win since the All-Star break, rebounding from a 5-2 loss to Falmouth on Monday.
Kennedy came through with the big hit for the Mariners early in the game. With the game tied at one, Harwich had the bases loaded with two outs.
The Kansas State Wildcat roped a line drive down the third base line to score Robbins and Maddox Molony. The double gave Harwich the 3-1 lead.
It may have been his only hit on the night, but Kennedy continues to produce in big spots for the Mariners. He is hitting .484 with 15 hits when there are runners on base.
“He’s gotten some huge hits for us,” Harwich field manger Steve Englert said. “That was a big one tonight. He opened the game up.”
Maine’s finest shines
The Cape’s best pitching staff put together another complete performance, led by the starter Gambardella. The righty out of Maine allowed one run in five innings against Hyannis.
He ran trouble into trouble to open the game, walking his first two batters and throwing a wild pitch to put men on the corners for Jeff Lougee, who was batting .321 going into the game.
Lougee hit a deep drive to center on the first pitch that looked like it was destined to clear the fence. As the ball came down, Brini was there camped underneath in front of the fence to make the catch.
“It sounded good off the bat,” he said. “I just kept seeing Niko inch closer to the fence.”
While Hyannis scored on the sacrifice fly, Gambardella was able to take a sigh of relief. He was able to get out of the inning giving up the lone run.
He allowed just three hits the rest of the way before handing the ball off to the bullpen. With just three strikeouts on the night, the starter let the Mariners' defense do the heavy lifting.
“It takes a lot of pressure off of me. Just knowing I have to flood the zone and the guys will get the job done behind me,” Gambardella said.
Adam Arther and Ryan Reich each tossed two innings out of the bullpen. Mimicking each other, both allowed one run while striking out three batters.
Moving forward
The Mariners (14-12-3) head to Bourne on Wednesday to face off against the Braves (13-14-2). The game is a makeup from July 9 after rain made Doran Park unplayable.
