BREWSTER, Mass. – As the sun set on Stony Brook Field, the top of the ninth came to a close with a 1-2-3 shutout on the Falmouth Commodores from Brewster Whitecaps closing pitcher Will Ray (Wake Forest) to award Brewster a 10-8 victory.
Falmouth came out hot first with a two-run home run from Zion Rose (Louisville) to give the Commodores a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. The Whitecaps had a response in the home side of the first with three hits and three runs to take the lead, 3-2.
“Got my boy Pat on the bump. Kind of know him,” Rose said lightheartedly about his college teammate and Brewster starting pitcher Patrick Forbes. “I'm surprised he gave it to me, fastball inside, I know his fastball inside and I just went with it.”
Ryder Helfrick (Arkansas) kept Brewster moving when he sent the ball past the fence to pick up a two-run homer to extend Brewster to a three-run lead, 5-2. The third and the top of the fourth were quiet, but in the bottom of the fourth, the Whitecaps loaded the bases with a walk from Nick Dumesnil (Cal Baptist).
Francis Ferguson (Eastern Nazarene) relieved Matthew Dallas on the mound after he gave up his fifth walk. Drew Faurot (Flordia State) doubled it to put up three more runs to top Falmouth, 8-2, in the bottom of the fourth.
The Commodores started to chip into the Whitecaps' lead in the top of the fifth with a three-run homer from Jaxon Willits (Oklahoma) to reach 8-5. The hits continued with a double from Rose, but a groundout and strikeout stunted the rally for Falmouth.
Brewster quickly rebuilt its lead with a single from Kaeden Kent (Texas A&M) to punch in two runs. A groundout on Daniel Cuvet (Miami) held the Whitecaps to their two runs in the bottom of the fifth to leave the score at 10-5.
Three singles in a row led Trent Caraway (Oregon State) across the home plate in the top of the sixth. Jack Bell (TCU) loaded the bases off a walk and Willits brought Gavin Kilen (Tennessee) home off a sac fly. The Commodores sat 10-8 behind the Whitecaps after the top of the sixth.
The game settled until the top of the ninth with Falmouth’s last at-bat. Luke Gaffney (Clemson) was next to the dish with two outs already on the board. He swung through to pick up the last strikeout to hand Brewster the 10-8 win.
The Commodores (8-16) have an off day on Monday but will return to action on Tuesday at Guv Fuller Field to take on the Chatham Anglers (13-11) with the first pitch set for 6 p.m.
Righty Sean Brennan (Keystone) will be the starting pitcher for Falmouth. He has a 2.45 ERA and has appeared in 3 2/3 innings this summer. Brennan is 0-0 and his last start was against the Hyannis Harbor Hawks on July 10, when the Commodores went on to lose, 4-3.
You can get live game updates on Instagram and X @FalCommodores or tune in to the live television broadcast featuring Aiden Blanc, MJ Newsom and Braden Schenck on YouTube @FalmouthCommodores.
Photo credit: Meghan Murphy
