Orleans made the short trip to Brewster for their first appearance at Stony Brook field. Another Cape Cod League mainstay, Stony Brook is also surrounded by scenic woodland and neighbors Stony Brook Elementary school.

Stony Brook is a Brewster community staple. The grounds also feature public tennis and pickle ball courts that active Brewster natives frequent. The field itself is lined with banners that display an impressive MLB pedigree — showing ‘Caps alumni like Aaron Judge, Will Smith, Brent Rooker, and Kyle Hendricks.

Though Tyler Myatt (Tennessee) continued his scorching hot start and hit his third blast in four games, (tying Brewster’s Jacob Lee for the CCBL lead) Orleans failed to come back from another multi-run deficit. The Birds tried everything they could to generate more offense — stealing four bases against Brewster when they had only stolen five all season.

The visiting Firebirds took batting practice second. Groups came in and out of the cage as they tinkered with their swings. As he peppered the ball to all fields, Myatt said he has one main goal for his cage work: “Barrel everything.”

Myatt quickly made good on his word. The powerful lefty lifted a ball deep to right field and into the shrubbery on the first pitch of the game. The Birds were finally out to an early lead due to his successful ambush.

Orleans wasn’t done with their opening statement. Nate Savoie (Texas A&M) reached and advanced himself to second with a steal. Rex Watson (Coastal Carolina) was able to cash in with a seeing eye single that split the first and second basemen. A two run first looked good on the Birds.

Brennan Seiber (Vanderbilt) made his first road start for Orleans. He worked to his strengths in the first, as he recorded three fast outs on weak contact.

The bottom of the third inning was threatened by passing showers, but Seiber was undeterred. The righty seemed to gain extra movement on his sinker and changeup — striking out three ‘Caps swinging in order.

Bub Terrell (Auburn) worked a walk in his second Birds at bat, quickly flashing his speed with a steal of second. Another shower passed over, and Terrell was left stranded at third. Terrell mentioned having the first day jitters during batting practice, but the only thing that showed in his first Orleans start was his serious speed.

The ‘Caps made a big splash in the fourth as the off and on rain continued to be an annoyance. Four straight hits and two sacrifice flies led to four Brewster runs. After his second total walk, Seiber’s afternoon came to a screeching halt.

Seiber was replaced by Brayden Toro (Stetson) who finished the fourth. He continued to be sharp in the fifth, grabbing a scoreless frame. Toro topped out at 93, but relied heavily on his effective slider and curveball.

The Birds finally got another in the sixth. Terrell reached on a catcher's interference, stole his second base of the game, and scored on an Armani Raygoza (UTRGV) groundout. As a Myatt walk ended Camden Wimbish’s day, Prince’s “Purple Rain” rang throughout the stadium.

It seemed that every time the Birds got a rally going, the weather gods had something to say about it. Despite the appearance of a rainbow over the Birds’ dugout, JD Stein struck out looking on a high fastball — leaving three more Birds on the wire in the sixth.

Another scoreless inning from Toro gave the Birds another chance. Two consecutive Birds were hit by pitch, but none would come across to score.

Grant Garman (Hawaii) took the ball in the seventh and made fools of several ‘Caps hitters. He then retired Brewster 1-2-3 in the eighth.

Down to their final chance in the ninth, Orleans went quietly again. On a night when they ran the bases well, played good defense, and worked deep counts, they only lacked the most important thing — the elusive big hit.

Manager Kelly Nicholson gave a blunt but importantly positive summary of Orleans’ first day game of the season.

“We played really well defensively, and we pitched well,” Nicholson said. “We’re not going to win many games with four hits in this league. They played just a bit better than we did today.”

The Birds record currently stands at 1-6. Though it’s been stormy seas so far, Nicholson doesn’t like to take the losses home with him. He advises his players to do the same.

“The players know what they need to do. They’re all really good athletes,” Nicholson explained. “Tomorrow's a brand new day. We get to play baseball at Eldredge Park tomorrow. We have a chance to do something special, and everyone has a chance to create a great memory.”