Wareham, Mass. — Spillane Field was hit with spots of sun showers ahead of the Gatemen’s matchup with Orleans on Wednesday. The team, falling to the Y-D Red Sox 13-7 the day before, was hoping for a win to bring them back to .500.
Orleans seemed to be a favorable opponent, a team the Gatemen had swept in 2024 and a team that entered the game batting .197 as a team. However, the game did not go the Gatemen’s way.
Wareham (4-6) was defeated by Orleans (5-5) 7-5 on Wednesday. The Gatemen held a 5-0 lead over the Firebirds, but allowed seven unanswered runs to cross the plate, leading to their defeat.
The Gatemen started early, thanks to a 2-RBI double from Kollin Ritchie (Oklahoma State) that drove in Brayden Randle (Ole Miss) and Ty Dalley (Clemson) to give the Gatemen an early 2-0 lead.
The Gatemen tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Left fielder Mac Rose (Vanderbilt) hit a sacrifice bunt down the third base line, reaching on a throwing error, and scoring center fielder Hayden Yost (Florida). Then, a pair of RBI singles from Landon Stripling (Florida) and Brayden Randle made it 5-0.
“I'm feeling well, I'm seeing the ball getting deep into counts, which is good for a lead-off hitter,” said Randle.
Randle had a great game, going 2 for 4 with an RBI. He recently took over the leadoff role in the lineup, adjusting to be the spark in the Gatemen’s offense.
“I’ve been getting a lot more off-speed pitches. So I'm having to adjust to that. But again, what I said is getting deep in a count so I can give other hitters behind me the ability to see pitches,” he said.
“He's kind of got a little bit of that spark that Shamaar did. And now with Shamaar down, I just thought he was a good guy to get in that position,” said Smyth. “He can pull the ball, he'll slap it the other way, he's a threat to steal a bag, and he can bunt a little bit. He's a kind of multi-dimensional guy.
However, the Gatemen could not hold the lead. Their pitching, which had been a strength for a good portion of the season thus far, shot themselves in the foot, allowing a combined 11 walks and 1 hit-by-pitch, giving the Firebirds many opportunities with runners in scoring position.
“It's tough when you drop a pretty substantial lead like that. Pitching wasn't there tonight. Way too many walks that ultimately ended up costing us a misplayed ball. We just got to play cleaner baseball all around,” said Smyth.
The Gatemen then found themselves down by two in the ninth inning. Orleans again threatened with runners on base, then right fielder Chase Krewson (UCF) made a spectacular catch in right field to save a run and keep the game close.
“I needed to catch anything that was up in the air in that situation, being down two runs and having a chance at the bottom of the ninth. As an outfielder, you’re just trying to look out for your pitcher and anything that gets put in the air, you're just trying to catch it,” said Krewson.
The play was one example of the Gatemen showing a lot of fight during the game. They had no interest in giving in and all wanted to rally for the win.
“We showed grit and toughness there at the end. Tried to fight back, just shows what this team's capable of. We're here to win and support each other through it,” said Krewson.
“That's guys who want to be here. Who want to win baseball games. They didn't give up, it just didn’t go our way,” said Smyth.
However, their efforts were not enough, as the Firebirds shut the door, confirming their third straight defeat. The Gatemen now sit at 4-6 and are tied for third in the West Division standings with the Falmouth Commodores.
The Gatemen have a day off tomorrow but return to play the Brewster Whitecaps on Friday, a very personal match for Ryan Smyth.
“Brewster is a special place to me. I spent six years there, won two championships, played in the third, and I coach with Jamie and a lot of guys who are over there. It's just, it's one of those games where there are a lot of connections between the two coaching staffs. We both know how we're going to coach, and it comes down to the players on the field. So there's a little extra motivation for Friday,” said Smyth.
First pitch will be Friday, June 27, at 5:00 p.m. at Stony Brook Field in Brewster.
