The Harbor Hawks returned to form Friday night with a resounding offensive effort in their 11-8 win against the Firebirds at Eldredge Park in Orleans.
First-pitch swinging — and bang! Matt Miura stayed hot, homering on the first pitch of the day to get the Hawks (7-4-1) off to an aggressive start. Standing in against his Hawaii teammate Sebastian Gonzalez, the at-bat meant more than just a leadoff plate appearance.
Miura took on the challenge and came through with flying colors. Talking with Hyannis sideline reporter Ava Fernandez, he said it was exciting to compete against friends and teammates. The Firebirds (5-6) couldn’t get out of the tough innings and fell in front of Hyannis.
The red-hot offense needed a pick-me-up after a tough 6-1 loss to the second-place Brewster Whitecaps. The Caps (7-4) have taken two against Hyannis at McKeon Park. The next time these teams face, the Harbor Hawks will be looking for a similar result to Friday. Manager Mitch Karraker highlighted the tone Miura set with his leadoff blast.
“Anytime we can set the tone on the offensive side (or) defensive side of the ball, we want to do that, and we did that tonight.”
Karraker continues to support his team's offensive output, especially as the Harbor Hawks dominated at the plate Friday. Miura shares the same belief in the depth and firepower of this year’s roster.
“I mean, it just shows that 1-9, everyone is out there competing, everyone can hit. It's a lot of fun playing with these guys.”
Andrew Williamson had a great game, tallying two runs and two RBIs. Behind a standout showing from Ray Velazquez, Hyannis truly dominated the lineup from top to bottom. Nine-hitter Jason Walk turned over the lineup multiple times, bringing in two runs while doing it. Karraker praised the construction and balance of the lineup.
“Yeah, I think that's one of the funnest challenges of coaching a Cape Cod League team… We've kind of bounced the lineup around a little bit, trying to see what meshes, who hits well behind each other, how we can create depth throughout the lineup.”
Despite the roaring offensive numbers, the players in the lineup continue to rotate as the summer progresses. USA Baseball has pulled four Harbor Hawks: Myles Bailey, Trey Beard, Chris Rembert and Vaun Lackey. Filling in for Lackey and Bailey are newcomers Gabe Camacho and Stone Lawless. Karraker gave his thoughts on both after the win.
“It was good for Gabe to get back in there. He had a good first game. Obviously, with Myles taking off, he's gonna get a lot more role in there. And so good to see him get some good at-bats in. Stone I thought caught really, really well and put together some really good at-bats. He's got a chance to be really, really good. So we're going to need those guys as we kind of go through this season, and it's good to see them have some success early.”
With Team USA call-ups shaking up the lineup and midseason chemistry beginning to settle, the Harbor Hawks are proving their depth runs deep. If Friday was any indication, this is a team with the ability to weather the storm of the summer.
Hyannis will look to build on this momentum when they return to action Saturday against Falmouth. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at McKeon Park.
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