Jake McCoy took a deep breath as he walked to the mound in the third inning against the Falmouth Commodores Friday night. He was in the midst of his most difficult start with the Harwich Mariners. He had given up his two first runs of the summer and was on the wrong end of a few borderline pitch calls.

But he wasn’t going to let two innings ruin his summer.

McCoy kept his composure and battled for another two scoreless innings, striking out the side in the third inning. He ended his day after the fourth inning, stranding a guy at second base and punching out eight batters.

Facing adversity, he did not back down.

“He’s mature beyond his years. I don’t think he gets rattled,” Mariners assistant coach Marc Thibeault said.

With an innings restriction for the summer, he walked calmly off the mound for the final time. McCoy knew, win or lose, that he just had possibly the best month playing baseball in a long time.

Bursting onto the scene

The lefty from South Carolina took the Cape League by storm on opening night against the Bourne Braves. With a fastball reaching 96 MPH, he struck out 10 batters in just four innings, a total that matched the highest for opening night in the league since 2010. He allowed no runs.

After the game, he knew his pitching coach at South Carolina, Terry Rooney, would be smiling to hear that McCoy finished the game with zero walks. It was Rooney’s connection with Mariners field manager Steve Englert that brought McCoy to Harwich.

“He’s going to be a good one,” Englert said on opening night. He knew he got a guy who was going to compete and be a great teammate.

Raising money for the vets

His second and third starts came on back-to-back “Red Shirt Friday” nights where the league honors military veterans and first responders. For McCoy, assisting veterans has become a personal cause.

Before the spring season, he teamed up with Purple Heart Homes, an organization that helps provide veterans with safe and accessible housing. He started a fundraiser, “Strikeouts for Veterans”, pledging to donate $23, his jersey number, to the organization for every strikeout he recorded.

“The people over there are awesome. They've done nothing but good things for me,” he said. “I've always been very passionate about the military and veterans, and I just think that if there’s any way I can give back, I’m doing it.”

At Cotuit he saw a motorcycle parade from Big Nick’s Ride circle the field to honor fallen heroes. Then at Falmouth, he witnessed a 21-gun salute between innings.

“ You know, nothing but respect for all those guys. That was super cool. The Color Guard came out twice, McCoy said. “It's really cool. I'm just honored to get to honor them by playing baseball.”

Against Cotuit, he couldn’t have asked for a better day for another scoreless start and seven more strikeouts, upping his total to 17 for the summer and 94 including his season at South Carolina.

Thanks to consecutive dominant starts, he earned the league’s Player of the Week award.

The eight strikeouts against Falmouth raised his summer total to 25, 102 including his spring season. His original goal was to hit 100 before the end of the year.

McCoy has raised over $2,346 this season, $575 on the Cape alone.

McCoy the teammate

On his off days, McCoy was among his teammates on and off the field. With the few off days the team had, McCoy was typically hanging out with his fellow Mariners.

That chemistry translated to gametime. When he wasn’t on the mound, he could be seen on the railing of the dugout, cheering his friends on.

“It's just like when you're running with a good group of guys, it makes it easy to cheer for him,” he said.

After Bristol Carter scored the winning run in the team’s walk-off victory against Wareham, McCoy was one of the first guys out of the dugout to celebrate.

As the holder of the team’s Cadillac Chain at the time, McCoy had the honor of bestowing it’s next owner. He presented the chain to infielder Shintaro Inoue, whose bunt earlier in the ninth put Carter on third base.

“He came in there in a clutch situation, ice in his veins, and put down a great bunt,” McCoy said. And I think that's deserving.”

While their time together as teammates was short, the short infielder from Kansas State left an impression on the pitcher.

“He's just a cool guy. I like him a lot. He's always trying to learn, which I can admire,” the rising junior said.

The energy in the dugout allowed McCoy to pitch stress-free and get into the right mindset.

“ I think going out there and playing loose is the key. I think the stats speak for themselves, like if you just go out there and play for fun, that's all you can do,” he said. “Playing for fun doesn't mean you're not competing, but, uh, just having fun is just the name of the game.”

During his final day with Englert, McCoy told his coach this month was the most fun he had playing baseball in a long time.

There's no question as to why. He struck guys out at will with each start. He donated over $500 to a veterans organization. And he built relationships that will last a lifetime.

All in the matter of three weeks.

With nothing but gratitude, McCoy knows he won’t forget the experience.

“ I've just had so much fun. Every day has been such a joy.”