The Birds returned to Guv Fuller Field for the second time in four days. Two long trips to Falmouth wouldn’t deter them from seeking revenge.

MLB Scouts chattered and fiddled with their keyboards and notebooks as they gathered under the press box. The regular crowd shuffled in and took their seats in the first base bleachers.

A beautiful early Cape Cod summer night was brewing. It was almost too tranquil.

It was a mostly quiet day for a Birds squad that had put up nine runs only yesterday. Though the game seemed one sided, a ninth inning rally brought the tying run to the plate before Orleans fell short. A solid start from Matt Cuccias (Wichita State) kept the contest close until the middle innings.

Tyler Myatt (Tennessee) had his best game of the season so far, belting a three run blast deep into the Falmouth night. Myatt did not start, but came into the game in the fifth subbing in for Zach Jackson (UVA).

The rematch against the Commodores came with several lineup changes. Jackson was moved to the leadoff spot, and last night’s standout JD Stein (Wake Forest) was slotted into the two hole. AJ Beltré Jr. (USD), Rayner Heinrich (Tarleton State), and Casey Cumiskey (SNHU) took the night off having started the first three games of the year.

“It’s early,” Manager Kelly Nicholson said. “We just want to try to give everybody a good number of at bats. I thought Jackson was our best option at leadoff — he can run and handle the bat. Stein’s been swinging the bat well. We want to give him as many opportunities at the plate as we possibly can.”

Even with the lineup shuffle, Oreans bats started off as chilly as the stiff breeze blowing across the field in the second. Cuccias was knocked around in his first two innings, as the ‘Dores scored another one run in each frame.

Elijah Ickes (Hawaii) climbed into the box as the sun began to sink. The wind persisted as he stared down ‘Dores starter Ryan Castillo. It was Ickes’ first start for the Birds in ‘26 as a returning player who posted a monster season last summer. Ickes slowed the game down and successfully worked a walk. Third base was as far as he would get, as a Stein flyout ended the half inning for the Birds. Still, Ickes didn’t seem to miss a beat after rejoining the team yesterday, working four total walks against ‘Dores pitching.

Cuccias reared all the way back towards the heavens on his delivery, striking out two Commodores for a 1-2-3 third. Battling through traffic and multiple hits, Cuccias displayed his ability to spin the ball well.

The Birds again went silently in the fourth. Cadiz, ever the professional at bat, rocketed a ball right at Ben Slanker in left field for a loud out. Cuccias worked around two walks in the bottom of the inning to escape the jam.

Despite a Jeremy Sheffield (Georgetown) single that moved Ickes to third after another walk, The Birds came up empty again in the fifth. Ickes' patience in his return was yet to be rewarded.

Ickes wasn’t the only player from Hawaii to make his Firebirds debut, as his teammate Grant Garman (Hawaii) took the ball in the bottom of the inning — quickly generating three outs.

The heart of the order was done being silent in the top of the sixth. Nate Savoie, who just announced his transfer to Texas A&M last night, blistered a ball into center — using his sneaky speed to steal second and put himself in scoring position. Rex Watson (Coastal Carolina) came through in the clutch, shooting the gap to the opposite field to score Savoie with an RBI double. The ‘Dores lead was halved.

Falmouth answered right back. Anthony Diaz recorded the fourth triple of Cape League play, and was brought in to score on a sacrifice fly by Ty Kaunas. The ‘Dores weren’t done. Ben Slanker torched a hanging slider from Garman high over the right field wall, making the score 4-1.

Unfortunately for Orleans, the elite plate approach seen last night was not on display in the seventh. With the bases loaded, three Birds struck out in a row, bringing the Birds left-on-base total to nine.

The bottom of the seventh featured Jayden Stroman’s (Virginia) first inning of work for the Birds this summer. He topped out at 94 miles an hour, working efficiently as gold, pink, and orange streaked the sky.

The Birds got nothing in the eighth, hitting into their second double play of the day. Luca Alagheband (Harvard) was the first Bird to make a second appearance of the season. He couldn’t repeat his scoreless feat against Y-D, as three more hits brought in three more runs.

Orleans sold away their final opportunity in the ninth, just as it seemed a comeback was in order. Following Myatt’s homer, Stein worked a walk and Savoie was hit by pitch, bringing the tying run in Cadiz to the plate.

Dom nearly got the job done, but his slicing line drive was caught by Riley Jackson making a lunging play at first. With one more chance to play hero like he did in the sixth, Watson went up hacking — but came up empty.

Orleans has the day off on Wednesday before facing the Bourne Braves at home on Thursday evening for the first time this summer.