After 44 games, we are finally here! The Bourne Braves traveled to Harwich to face the Mariners in Game 1 of the Cape Cod League Championship. What started with ten teams at the beginning of August has wound down to two. The Mariners are back in the Finals since the 2024 season and they faced the Braves looking to win back-to-back titles.
Jason Finkelstein was granted the start from Mariners skipper Steve Englert. Finkelstein is a Babson College product that has 11 innings of work on the season with a 4.09 ERA. Finkelstein came into the game working off his last start that dates back to the last regular season game against Brewster, where the right-hander went six innings, only allowing one hit.
Cameron Seagraves was the starter for the Braves today. Seagraves coming from UNC had a good year for the Tarheels pitching 14 ⅓ innings with 19 strikeouts.
The Mariners came out of the gates hot on both sides of the ball. The offense put up three runs in the bottom of the second inning after big hits from JP Peltier and Brayden Jaksa. Sean O’Leary started the momentum after a leadoff walk. Peltier's double got the offense going putting two runners in scoring position. A Jaksa single would score the first run of the game, bringing home O’Leary. A wild pitch from Bourne’s Seagraves would score Peltier. Micah Rienstra-Kiracofe then struck a fly ball to center field to score Jaksa and give the Mariners a 3-0 lead.
Bourne would respond in the top of the third inning with two runs of their own after RBIs from Rustan Rigdon and Ryker Waite.
Finkelstein outlasted Seagraves in the pitching battle going four innings and only giving up two runs. The Babson product had four strikeouts to go along with his start. Seagraves only lasted 1 ⅔ innings for the Braves, after giving up the first three runs of the game.
The Mariners bullpen struggled with control Sunday night. Ten walks by TJ Ziermann, Rivers Kurland and Cam Keaveney was the spark the Braves needed to go back in front. Bourne took the lead in the top of the sixth inning after a bases-loaded walk to Waite. Rigdon would draw a walk the following at-bat to give Bourne the 5-3 lead.
The Braves added to their lead after an Eliot Medlock two-RBI double to deep center field.
Ty Smolinski is the league MVP and the leader of the Mariners. He knows that Harwich is not done yet and will be ready to even the series.
“We’re good. We’ve played this team a good amount this year. I think we look at today’s game and we had a lot of missed opportunities. We just clean it up tomorrow and play our brand of baseball. We’ll be good,” said Smolinski.
Coach Steve Englert had the same attitude walking off Whitehouse Field Sunday. The team that has been the underdog all playoffs is ready to compete until the very end.
“You lost the ballgame. That’s OK. I’m a huge boxing fan, and one of the greatest middleweight fights of all time was Marvin Hagler versus Thomas Hearns. Hagler lost that first round, and he came out in the second and knocked him out in the third. So we’re going to be Marvin Hagler,” said Coach Englert.
Harwich ultimately fell 7-3 and will be in a win-or-go-home situation Monday at Bourne.
First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m.
