Last week, the Mariners' pitching staff and defense combined to give up a season-high 13 runs. The pitching staff allowed 12 hits, three of which were home runs. Meanwhile, the defense lost fly balls and committed two errors.
Tom Chmielewski labored through four innings, giving up five runs, though only one was earned. The reliable Thomas Shurtleff and Christian Rodriguez gave up five runs in two innings.
A week later, the Mariners put together their most dominant win of the season, 12-2. Harwich scored seven runs in the seventh inning to break away from the Braves. It is the Mariners' fourth win in their past five games, as they earned their first mercy-rule victory of the season.
The trio of pitchers recovered from the disastrous Wareham game to overmatch the Braves. Chmielewski tossed five innings, allowing just one run.
With just three strikeouts, the lefty out of North Carolina let his defense make the outs behind him.
Shurtleff and Rodriguez ensured the Mariners would walk away with the early win. Shurtleff threw two innings and allowed just one unearned run due to a Tanner Marsh error at shortstop.
With the Mariners up by 10, Rodriguez got two great plays behind him to close out the game.
Marsh made a stop on a grounder behind second base for the first out. Niko Brini followed that up with a sliding catch in front of the center field fence.
"We were positioned deeper in order to see everything, because the ball has been carrying a lot today," Brini said. "I saw the ball of the bat hard, took a few steps, put my head down, went as fast as I could. When I looked up, I had a good angle on it."
The offense ensured Harwich’s fourth win over Bourne would be an easy one.
Up 4-1, the Mariners loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh. After Sam Harris walked to bring in a run, recently added Sam DeCarlo singled in Dee Kennedy and Jake Koonin to put Harwich up 7-1.
Later in the inning, Brini doubled to bring in two more runs. His second hit of the day put Harwich up 10-1 and put Bourne on the brink of getting mercy ruled.
After opening the inning with a strikeout, Aiden Robbins singled up the middle to drive in Brini and give Harwich the 10-run lead.
If there is one thing the Mariners' offense is good at, it’s scoring in the late innings. Harwich is third in the league with 44 runs in the seventh inning or later.
Bourne got a run in the bottom of the frame to push the game to the eighth. Kennedy got hit to put a man on first to open the inning. After he stole second, Koonin drove him in for Harwich’s 12th run.
It was a three-hit day for Koonin, who has had his fair share of hot streaks this summer. In addition to the RBI, he scored three runs of his own.
Moving forward
Harwich returns home Thursday as the Chatham Anglers come to Whitehouse Field. The A’s beat the Mariners, 12-7, when these teams last met on July 11.
