The Hyannis Harbor Hawks nabbed a 4-1 over the Harwich Mariners in their home opener at McKeon Park. Harbor Hawks (2-0) pitching flourished at home, allowing only five hits to the opposition with zero earned runs for the second game in a row.
Hyannis’ starting pitcher, Trey Beard, kept the Mariners (1-1) at bay early in the game. The left-hander began his second year with the Harbor Hawks by going four strong innings, striking out six batters along the way.
“[Beard] had a phenomenal spring and kind of rolled that into tonight, he had three pitches working for him,” manager Mitch Karraker said. “When he has the breaking ball and the changeup, that makes the fastball play up.”
Beard attacked hitters with precise control over his entire arsenal, settling the defense in smoothly. One confidence booster certainly could have been the run support he got early on from an aggressive Hyannis offense.
After a flyout to begin the bottom of the first, Andrew Williamson and Ray Velazquez fired a pair of singles into right field on the first pitch of their respective at-bats. Myles Bailey took the first pitch he saw, then laid into the next one, labeling the ball against the right field fence for an RBI double.
With runners on second and third, Ryan Dempsey, the Harwich starter, searched desperately to end the hitting parade. He did so against Hayden Federico as the left fielder from Ole Miss flew out to deep center field, allowing Velazquez to tag up and score.
This methodical string of hits contrasted with the style of the home team's next scoring burst. Jake Schaffner led off the bottom of the third with a single into left off Dempsey, bringing up Williamson.
The UCF outfielder uncorked on a pitch, drawing immediate applause from a packed McKeon Park from the sound of the colossal contact. This two-run moonshot blazed past the scoreboard in right field and deep into the trees encompassing the ballpark, making it a memorable first home run of the season for the Harbor Hawks.
“It felt great, with a guy on base you want to be able to move the ball somehow or try to do a job,” said Williamson. “[I’m] very thankful and blessed for that as a result.”
Their offense continued to put together good at-bats all game but didn’t cash in on any scoring chances later on. Hyannis’ pitching brilliance, conversely, continued its dominance deep into the contest.
Richie Roman replaced Beard in the fifth inning, getting six outs in a row before struggling in his third inning of relief. The right-hander from Houston saw Harrison Feinberg reach base to lead off the top of the seventh due to a throwing error by second baseman Gavin Roy.
Eric Becker worked a walk, then Matt Conte singled to right, loading the bases with the tying run coming to the plate. Isaac Williams inherited this situation on the bump, immediately settling in with a strikeout.
The righty from UCF walked Shintaro Inoue to drive in a run, but remained unphased, setting Maddox Molony down on strikes afterward. Williams then got Davis Baker to ground out to the shortstop Schaffner who stepped on second base to end the inning.
Along with a heroic performance to escape the bases-loaded jam with little harm, Williams efficiently worked around a walk and single in the eighth, earning the win for his clutch outing.
Ryan Speshyock sealed this game for the Harbor Hawks, collecting his first save of the season with a clean showing in the ninth. This completed another stellar showing from the Hyannis bullpen, combining for five innings while allowing three hits and striking out seven Mariners collectively.
After back-to-back wins to begin the season, the Harbor Hawks attempt to start a winning streak against the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. That game will be on June 16 at 6 p.m. at McKeon Park.
