Coming into the game riding a three-game winning streak, the Hyannis Harbor Hawks were tripped up early and couldn’t get back up in a 6-1 loss to the Brewster Whitecaps Wednesday night.
The Hawks were looking for revenge after a 3-2 loss to the Whitecaps just over a week ago on home field, but a lackluster day from the offense undid their plans. The Hawks now sit at 6-3-1 a quarter of the way through the regular season, still atop the West Division, but with a rotten taste in their mouths with two losses to Brewster.
“They were really good, and we were not up to the task,” said manager Mitch Karraker. “That’s just the way baseball goes sometimes. Their pitching was really, really good. Offensively, we just could not get anything going, we had a couple hits and we stranded some runners.”
Hyannis was outhit 13-3 by the Whitecaps, with the last Hawks hit being a sixth inning double by Vahn Lackey. Despite only getting three hits, the Hawks still managed to draw seven walks, giving them 61 through 10 games to pad their league lead.
Brewster took the lead right away, with a first inning double by Blake Cyr giving the Whitecaps a 1-0 lead. In the second inning, Jason Walk got the Harbor Hawks on the board with a single that scored Andrew Williamson to tie the game.
That would be all the Hawks could muster on offense. Brewster took the lead in the fourth on a run-scoring single from Adam Magpoc and continued to pull away from there, scoring one run in the fifth and seventh innings before tacking on a pair of runs in the ninth.
Brewster’s strong pitching staff kept the Hawks at bay all night long, picking up 13 strikeouts on the day. Ryan McKay was the only Hyannis hitter to go without a strikeout with a 1-for-4 day at the plate.
“We struck out quite a bit, which is not like our team,” said Karraker. “Usually we are pretty good with two strikes, and tonight we were not. Tip your hat to them, they made some really good pitches when they had to.”
Left-handed pitcher Brett Lanman took the mound for the Hawks in his second start of the summer. After pitching three innings of one-run ball in his first start against the Bourne Braves, Lanman pitched three more innings of one-run ball against the Whitecaps, allowing four hits and walking three hitters while picking up three strikeouts.
Lanman had mixed feelings about his start after the game, feeling good about the overall results but not the quality of his pitches.
“I did not really have everything working,” said Lanman. “The first start was a lot better in terms of pitches working, movement, all that stuff. I feel like I did pretty good with what I had today.”
Tyler August took the loss on the mound for the Hawks, allowing a pair of runs in two innings pitched after Lanman departed. Adam Troy pitched the next two innings and gave up one run before Max Stammel made his Hawks debut with a scoreless eighth inning. Tommy O’Rourke got the ninth and allowed two more runs to score on three hits.
Despite four of the five Hawks pitchers allowing at least one run, Karraker was pleased overall with how the pitching staff looked against a tough Brewster offense.
“They minimized when they could, only giving up one run an inning until the last one,” said Karraker. “We made some good pitches. Unfortunately, they got some big hits to push some runs across early, then just kept extending the lead.”
Hyannis will take some time to recharge with a day off before a road showdown with the 5-5 Orleans Firebirds Friday night. First pitch from Eldredge Park is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
