Orleans made their first visit to historic Whitehouse Field on Friday. Entirely surrounded by Cape Cod woods on all sides, the freshly watered outfield grass glistened in the sun. It was a perfect night for baseball again.
The Mariners franchise dates back to the 1920s when they began as a combined team with Chatham, until splitting in 1930. The team played at Harwich’s Brooks Park until 1969, when Whitehouse field was constructed for Harwich’s 275th anniversary. The field is dedicated to B.F.C. Whitehouse.
Whitehouse field is nestled between Cranberry Valley golf course and Monomoy Regional Highschool. The field is used by the Monomoy Sharks during the regular season.
Unfortunately for Orleans, the contest against Harwich proved to be another chapter in the book of early season struggles. Again, it was a game that remained close until the late innings that featured a partial comeback. While the Birds would have loved to earn a 2-2 tie and go home moderately happy, the game ended in heartbreaking walk-off fashion.
Justin LeGuernic (Clemson) took the ball for the Birds, looking to right the ship after struggling with command in the Birds first game of the season. He came out of the gate ripping, sitting comfortably at 96 with his fastball and making quick work of three Mariners
LeGuernic labored a bit in the second. He allowed two walks, but pitched around traffic to exit unscathed.
Shadows became a factor in the third, as the Whitehouse pressbox casted its frame from foul line to foul line.
LeGuernic’s control problems returned in the third, but a nifty play at home cut down the speedy Julio Solier, as Cale Stricklin (Charlotte) fielded a passed ball and threw to LeGuernic for the tag play. The Birds continued to flash the leather when Dominic Cadiz (UCLA) made a leaping play at first to corral a liner. The Birds escaped their first jam.
Trusty Cadiz notched the first hit for the Birds in the top of the fourth — catching a fastball down in the zone out in front and ripping it to left for a single. He would not advance past first.
The Birds fell behind early again. LeGuernic surrendered his first run of the game in the fourth thanks to two Mariners singles.
With bullpens situated right down either foul line and a massive distance between home and the backstop, the Oakland Coliseum-esque dimensions were on full display in the fifth. Three stolen bases by the Mariners and a wild pitch by LeGuernic pushed across another run. After a walk of Tyler Smolinski, the big lefty’s night was done.
LeGuernic was replaced by the right hander Jacob Haley (South Alabama). The Mariners continued running a track meet on the base paths — recording four stolen bases in the inning along with a passed ball and wild pitch. An excellent diving effort by Zach Jackson (UVA) in center saved two runs and stopped the bleeding. The press box blasted Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” over the speakers in fitting celebration.
The Birds badly needed something to go their way. Thankfully, the bench played hero in the seventh inning. Following a single by Nate Savoie (Texas A&M) and a walk from Tyler Myatt (Tennessee), Armani Raygoza (UTRGV) ripped a two RBI double that barely stayed fair down the left field line. Haley followed up the rally with another scoreless half inning.
Haley fought into the eighth, recording a strikeout of Trent Grindinger that left him so fooled that the bat went flying into the bleachers behind third base.
The flamethrower Evan Jones (Wake Forest) followed Haley. Jones embarrassed the dangerous Quentin Coats with a strikeout. Stricklin finally punished a Mariners runner, throwing out the pesky Colin Larson as he tried to take second.
The Birds threatened again in the ninth, but left two more stranded.
The Mariners walked the Birds off in the bottom of the inning, pushing their record to 5-1 and the Birds to 1-5. Orleans will look to turn things around against the Whitecaps on Saturday, hoping to go 2-0 against them to start the season. The Firebirds remain in search of their bridge over troubled water.
