For the second straight night, the Harwich Mariners annihilated their opponent. Between excellent pitching and a suddenly top-tier offense, the Mariners have given their opponents little chance to win the past two games.
After allowing a run to the Chatham Anglers in the top of the first inning Thursday, the Mariners scored 12 unanswered runs. The Harwich offense scored in five of their six offensive innings to beat Chatham, 12-1, at Whitehouse Field. It is the third straight for the Mariners, who picked up their first win against the Anglers this season.
Down 1-0, the Mariners did not wait to pull ahead. With Niko Brini at first, Aiden Robbins launched a two-run home run off Chatham pitcher Charlie Foster. Robbin’s fifth home run of the year traveled 413 feet.
The Texas-transfer did what does best: hit fastballs over the heart of the plate.
“Can’t miss that one,” Robbins said. “I did my job and got the boys started.”
His home run was just the beginning of the offensive onslaught. Kyle Wolff added another run in the first with an RBI-single to score Dee Kennedy.
Bristol Carter, returning from hamstring injury, opened the second with a lead-off double. He would score on a single from the next batter, Tanner Marsh. Carter reached base twice on the night, scoring both times.
Marsh himself would score later in the inning on a single from Kennedy to make the score 5-1. The Kansas St. infielder was one of five Mariners with two hits on the night. He led the team with three RBI.
JJ Glasscock came in to pitch in the third for Chatham, but Harwich continued to rake. Like Foster, Glasscock gave up six earned runs.
After a scoreless fourth inning, Harwich picked up two runs in the fifth. Matt Conte doubled to drive in Robbins.
On top of the home run, Robbins recorded a single and scored three runs. Jake Koonin followed with another double to give Harwich its tenth run.
In the sixth, Harwich picked up the key runs to set up the mercy rule. Shintaro Inoue, who seems to thrive as a pinch hitter, hit a double to left field to lead off the inning.
Niko Brini drove him later in the inning with a double of his own, giving the Mariners their 11th run. The Wofford outfielder is hitting .412 in his last four games.
Easy day for pitching
While the offense has found its groove at the right time, the pitching staff continues to its job. Matthew Heiberger struck out six Anglers across five innings. The Anglers had no answer for the lefty, recording just two hits. Tanner Duke closed out the game for Harwich with two scoreless innings.
Moving forward
The Mariners (16-12-3) are riding a high as they hit the road tomorrow for a matchup in Orleans. Harwich plays the Firebirds (15-14-2) at Eldridge Park. Orleans is a perfect 3-0 against Harwich this season. Harwich is now tied for first place in the East Division with the Y-D Red Sox. First pitch is at 6:30 p.m.
