BOURNE, Mass. — With the Bourne Braves down to their final strike, 2B Blake Schaaf (Wake Forest) played hero tonight with a walk-off RBI single in the tenth.
“I was fouling off pitches when I got to two strikes early. I was in swing mode, and got a half-decent pitch I guess,” said Schaaf about his walk-off hit
In a back-and forth affair, Schaaf’s walk-off hit proved to be the dagger that ended the Braves’ four-game winless streak and gave them a 4-3 victory over the Cotuit Kettleers on Thursday night.
The walk-off hit ended what was a rollercoaster end to the game for Bourne. With the bases loaded in the ninth, the Braves had thought they won the game when RF Luke Costello (Transfer Portal) got hit by a pitch on the arm. After a conference, the umpires ruled the ball actually hit off the end of his bat. Play resumed and Costello flew out to end the frame.
Going into extra innings, the Kettleers started with an automatic runner on second. After the first Cotuit batter of the frame bunted a two-strike pitch foul for the first out, the Kettleers advanced their free runner to third on an infield single. From there, Bravos’ pitcher Adam Buczkowski (Cincinnati) struck out the next two batters to end the threat.
Bourne started their half inning with a sacrifice bunt from 1B Garrett Michel (Arizona State) to move their automatic runner to third. LF Cal Sefcik (Cincinnati) followed with a fly ball to right field, but it was too shallow to tag up on. With two outs, Schaaf saved the Braves from another tie by smacking a two-strike pitch off the end of his bat, just past the outstretched glove of Cotuit’s shortstop for the game-winner.
The Braves’ extra inning win would’ve never been possible if it wasn’t for C Brice Estep (South Carolina) though. The Bourne catcher’s first Cape League hit came in four-base fashion in the seventh. With the Bravos down 3-2, Estep hit a laser that cleared the left field wall to tie the game.
“I knew he was going to give me a fastball to hit, so I just kinda waited for my pitch,” said Estep about his home run at-bat. “I just tried to stay through the middle, and got a barrel on it.”
“He grinded. Got down to two strikes but fought back in the at-bat,” said Field Manager Scott Landers about the seventh inning home run. “He got a good swing on it and the rest is history.”
Before the late-inning action, Cotuit picked up an early lead. Kettleers’ second baseman Dawson Park (Texas State) led off the game in the first with a ground-ball double down the left field line, and advanced to third on a groundout. With the infield drawn in to prevent an early run, Hunter Warren (Wright State) drove a ground ball through the middle of the infield for an RBI single. Braves’ starter RHP Noah Scott (Oregon State) was able to limit the damage, striking out the final two batters of the inning.
In a rare display of early offense, the Bravos’ struck back for a lead in the third. With runners on the corners and one out, DH Andrew Costello (South Carolina) laced a 1-0 pitch down the left field line. One run came around to score, and the Braves ended the play with runners on second and third. In the next at-bat, Luke Costello sent the ball deep to left field. Though it was caught, the Bourne runner on third tagged up and gave them a 2-1 lead.
The Braves’ lead didn’t last long. The Kettleers’ singled twice to start the frame and put runners on second and third after a sacrifice bunt. After a sacrifice fly tied the game at two, Cotuit took a 3-2 lead on an infield chopper that JJ Moran (Stanford) beat out to first to bring the runner from third home.
WHAT IT MEANS
Bourne gets back in the win column for the first time in five games. Both the Braves and the Falmouth Commodores won their respective matchups tonight, meaning they remained tied among the top of the West Division standings
BOURNEBRAVES.ORG PLAYER OF THE GAME
Blake Schaaf is tonight’s Player of the Game. When the Braves needed it the most, Schaaf delivered with a walk-off single for Bourne’s fourth win of the summer. This is the first Braves’ walk-off win since July 26, 2025 which was also a tenth-inning walk-off win over Cotuit.
NEXT UP
The Braves will have an off day Thursday, but return to play Friday night at Doran Park for their second matchup of the season with the Brewster Whitecaps. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. ET.
