The Commodores return to Guv Fuller Field in do-or-die circumstances.
After dropping Game One to Bourne, Falmouth needs to find the resolve in itself to scrap out two straight wins to keep the dream alive.
That dream? Winning the Cape League title for the first time in 46 years.
Game One Recap
The Braves threw the first roadblock in the ‘Dores quest to achieve that in the very first inning of the series, when a Ryker Waite (Vanderbilt) snowballed into a Matt Bolton (Binghampton) sacrifice fly to put Bourne on the board. Then in the bottom of the fifth, a three-run triple from Luke Costello (Wake Forest) and an RBI double from Burke-Lee Mabeus (Oregon) created a gap too wide for the Falmouth offense to fill, as Tyler Baird (Vanderbilt) bounced back in his second outing against the Commodores behind some great defense.
“[Justin Osterhouse (Alabama)] made some good plays out there. Robbed one with two guys on, on the move, two outs, two strikes and then stole a base hit from Brayden [Jefferis (Michigan)] down the left field line.”
Osterhouse was so locked in on his former team that in the seventh, he had the wherewithal to gun down Fabio Peralta (Miami) getting a tad too aggressive on the base paths while trying to advance from first to third on a single into the left-center gap.
“It’s baseball, you know, we're going to make mistakes,” said Peralta. ” I was trying to be too aggressive there, and that didn’t end up working out…I looked back, I'm like, wow, I didn't know I was this far from the bag.”
Baird made a crucial adjustment that enabled him to toss four innings of one-run, four-hit baseball: pitching backwards.
“He switched it up a little bit. They went hard with guys on base, and they went soft with nobody on,” said hitting coach Beau McMillan. “Last time he was flipping a lot of breaking balls early. We were jumping on it. This time he went breaking balls with nobody on, and he stayed hard with guys on base.”
A combination of stellar glovework and smart pitching left the Commodores empty handed on seven of their nine opportunities with runners in scoring position last night in the 8-2 loss to the Bravos, but the nature of the CCBL playoffs leaves the ‘Dores no time to sulk. “Tomorrow's a new day, so we just come out, be prepared, and do the little things right,” said Peralta, speaking on how the team needs to regroup and prepare to fight with everything they have left.
Pitching Matchup
Left-hander Christian Aiello (Jacksonville State) is a solid pick for the Commodores to start on the bump while facing elimination at home. Aiello dominated in his three regular season appearances, boasting a 1.23 ERA through his 14.2 innings of work. The grad student became the first starter to earn a decision victory for the Commodores in their annual July 4 matchup against Cotuit.
He opposes Duke right-hander Ben Dean, who’s logging nearly identical numbers to his 2025 summer season with the Keene Swampbats of the NECBL. He’ll take to the hill tonight with a 1.50 ERA and 22 strikeouts through 18 innings. Tonight will be only the second start of his summer, as he’s primarily worked out of the bullpen for the Braves.
Players to Watch
Despite his baserunning mistake, Peralta has dominated Bourne in his last two appearances against the Bravos. He’s gone 6-for-9 with a double in his last two games against Bourne and has been a staple of the Commodore order at the top of the lineup. When speaking to the media last night, Peralta accredited his success to sticking to his approach and his confidence in seeing Baird’s pitches well.
On the flip side, Costello has been the lifeline of the Braves order amidst their end-of-season turnover. His three-run triple brought Bourne the decisive momentum swing that propelled them to a victory at home last night.
First pitch from Guv Fuller Field is set for 6:00 p.m.
