Entering Brewster’s matchup versus Bourne, the Whitecaps appeared to have a significant advantage offensively. While the Braves were hitting just .225 as a team (ninth in the Cape Cod Baseball League), the Whitecaps were hitting .251 (fourth in the CCBL).

Brewster’s defense had also been stellar recently, making just one error in the last two games and allowing six runs combined. Meanwhile, Bourne had allowed 10 runs combined in its last two games while making five errors.

Both advantages went the other direction Wednesday night as Brewster (9-12) fell to the Braves (8-11), 9-4. The Whitecaps made three errors in the field and scored just four runs, falling into an early hole they couldn’t climb out of.

“That’s been the difference in the last couple of games we’ve won,” Brewster manager Jamie Shevchik said postgame. “We played solid defense, we didn't walk a lot of guys in those games. We came up clutch when we needed to. Today was the opposite of all of them.”

Seth Tomczak (Cal State Fullerton) started in his final appearance for the Whitecaps before the MLB Draft. He started off on the wrong foot, allowing a single, wild pitch and then an RBI double to put Brewster in a quick hole.

The Whitecaps nearly tied the game in the bottom half of the first. Nick Dumesnil (Cal Baptist) and Andrew Fischer (Tennessee) made it first and third with two singles. Five-hole hitter Daniel Cuvet (Miami) lined a ball at 104 mph to center field but right at Bourne’s center fielder, thwarting the threat.

Bourne added on in the second with Garrett Michel (Virginia Tech) driving the eighth pitch of the at-bat into the left field trees, doubling the Braves’ lead. Tomczak carved through the rest of the inning, though, striking out the next two swinging.

Following another empty inning of offense for the Whitecaps, Tomczak allowed another run on an RBI single by Braden Holcomb (Vanderbilt). In the bottom of the third, Kaeden Kent (Texas A&M) led off with a single to right field but was stranded.

Through three innings, Brewster had four hits but nothing to show for it on the scoreboard, as they were all spread out then left on the bases. Meanwhile, Bourne continued to get to Tomczak.

To lead off the fourth, Chris Stanfield (LSU) lined a ball just out of Dumesnil’s reach along the left field fence, clearing the wall and pushing the lead to four. The next inning, Tomczak allowed back-to-back singles, and Shevchik came out of the dugout for a mound visit. He allowed Tomczak to attempt to work out of the jam.

Facing Holcomb, Tomczak forced a slow roller to shortstop, where Kent picked it but came up short on the throw. Brody Donay (Florida) wasn’t able to pick it and two runs scored on the infield single.

That was the final blow for Tomczak as he exited for Jacob Marlowe (Florida State). In his fourth appearance of the season, Marlowe worked out of the jam. But the damage was already done as Bourne led 6-0.

“When you're down by six runs it's hard to come back from a mentality standpoint because the game feels like it's not in reach,” Shevchik said. “And our goal throughout the course of this game was trying to cut the lead in half and give us a shot. And we were just never able to muster enough things offensively.”

With Marlowe still in the game in the sixth, Bourne added another run. The Whitecaps finally got on the board with a solo shot from Donay, but it could’ve been even more. A baserunning blunder from Cuvet made for an easy out at second base when he didn’t slide attempting to steal.

In the following frame, the Whitecaps offense went silent, striking out twice and going down 1-2-3 to enter the eighth down six runs. However, in the next inning, Brewster worked its way back into the game, courtesy of Donay again.

After the Whitecaps worked the bases loaded with an error and two walks, Donay ripped a two-run single through the 5-6 hole and into left field. With J.D. Rogers (Vanderbilt) up to bat, Cuvet scored on a wild pitch, cutting the deficit to three. Rogers struck out on the same pitch and Drew Faurot (Florida State) grounded out to end the rally.

With Boston Flannery (North Carolina) in for the ninth, Bourne added two more runs, making the deficit too much to overcome in the eventual loss.

“It doesn't matter who you're playing. It can be the best team in the league or the worst team in the league. If you don't come up with clutch hits when you need them and you don't play clean baseball, you're not going to win a lot of those games,” Shevchik said.

Photo credit: Avery Raimondo