Right-handers Gavin Jones (Kent State) and Ryan Sprock (Elon) toed a wet slab 60 feet, 6 inches from home plate at Red Wilson Field and watched their pitches dart and dance through the raindrops that soaked into their red, white and blue jerseys. With a mid-major mentality, Jones and Sprock dominated out of the Red Sox bullpen and set the stage for the 2-2 tie with Brewster.

The duo combined for 4 ⅔ innings with three strikeouts and held Brewster scoreless from the fourth to the end of the close contest. Brewster was held to 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base in part to Jones and Sprock, who gave the Y-D offense a chance to climb back into the game, which was cut short due to darkness after a game-tying solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning by Easton Carmichael (Oklahoma).

Jones and Sprock were the only two relievers utilized by head coach Scott Pickler, and the pair consistently matched Whitecaps hurlers who silenced the Red Sox offense. Y-D has allowed five or fewer runs in 17 of 22 games and lowered its league-leading ERA to 3.35.

The Sox trailed 2-0 in the top of the fifth inning when Jones entered after Micah Bucknam (Dallas Baptist), who dealt 4 ⅓ innings with two runs and four strikeouts in his third start. Jones inherited runners on first and second but retired the dangerous Daniel Cuvet (Miami) and Andrew Fischer (Mississippi) to escape the jam.

Maintaining the two-run deficit gave Jones the confidence to maneuver a situation with runners on the corners in the sixth which concluded with his lone strikeout. Jones went 1 ⅔ innings with just two hits and no runs allowed while dropping his ERA to 2.84.

Jones said he’s elevated his mental prowess, which has improved his physical performance on the mound. Jones’ refined mental capabilities has given him the faith and trust in himself that he can execute against some of the biggest names in college baseball. Much like Sprock, Jones is using his standing as a mid-major arm as motivation with a fresh mindset that he can pitch at the highest level.

“You're playing in a league like this and sometimes you can get overwhelmed,” Jones said. “You know the names of players, there's guys on Texas A&M, Tennessee that were just in the College World Series, and then you come from a mid-major and maybe you're a little overwhelmed with the schools that are bigger, the players are a bigger name and it’s just saying, 'Hey, I can compete with the best; I'm out here for a reason.’ Pickler recruited me to come here for a reason, I belong here so it's a lot of self talk saying, ‘This is my time to earn it.'”

The North Royalton, Ohio, product began his collegiate career at Alabama before the former No. 2 right-handed pitching prospect in the Buckeye State returned home to play at Kent State. Jones didn’t pitch with the Crimson Tide in 2023 and made his debut in 2024 with the Golden Flashes where he totaled 33 strikeouts in 28 ⅔ innings.

Jones has limited hard contact in his 6 ⅓ innings with the Red Sox and gone three of the last four outings scoreless. Jones has five strikeouts and said he’s been able to attack hitters with first-pitch strikes regularly. Jones said commanding his low-to-mid-90s fastball with the slider and changeup has given him an arsenal that he can dominate hitters with.

“Just having confidence in myself,” Jones said. “If you're not confident in your own pitches, how are they supposed to work? For me, it's been a lot of mental preparation going into the game, self-belief, self-talk before I get in the game. Talking with the coaches, working with my mechanics and just really fine tuning some stuff. I came in with good stuff but sometimes mechanics get out of whack. Sometimes your mind goes in a different place on the mound, so when you're able to put it all together, the results come out.”

After the first Cape League home run from Anthony Martinez (UC Irvine) cut the Brewster lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Sprock came on in the top of the seventh and worked around a leadoff walk to end the inning with an 8-4 double play.

Sprock struck out a pair in the eighth and stranded runners on first and second in the ninth to register the longest outing of his tenure with Y-D. The two-way talent had three scoreless innings with just one hit and two strikeouts against the Whitecaps and said he had strong command of the fastball and slider which he uses over 40% of the time.

Sprock and Jones lived down in the zone and induced soft contact with pinpoint accuracy and control in the bottom third of the zone. Being from a mid-major gave the duo an edge and allowed them to be familiar with the adversity they faced on Thursday as they were unfazed by the Power Five talent or the rain. It was a moment the pair were ready for.

“It's always a big confidence booster when you know you're going against the best in the country,” Sprock said. “Especially having a little bit of that chip on your shoulder coming from mid-major going up against the best guys from the best schools all around. Being able to compete and any time you succeed at that level you know you have it in you so when times aren't going great, you know that in the past you've succeeded.”