Falmouth, Mass. — The Gatemen’s Fourth of July weekend continued as they exited the bus at Guv Fuller Field in Falmouth. It was the team’s first trip to the Commodores’ ballpark since their three-team joint scrimmage with Falmouth and Bourne on June 12.
The Gatemen have had a rough start to July and their Independence Day weekend, going 0-4 in the month, with their last loss being on Friday July 4, where they lost 5-2 to the Bourne Braves after a delayed start due to a power outage at Spillane Field that was not fixed until the third inning.
It was their second matchup with the Commodores this season, after a 4-1 win on June 21. However, the game would not go their way the second time around.
The Gatemen (6-12) were defeated by the Falmouth Commodores (9-8-1) by a score of 11-4 on Saturday after many defensive miscues. The loss is their fifth consecutive, extending their longest losing streak of the season and tying 2024’s longest losing streak of five games.
The Gatemen did start out the game with the lead. In the top of the second inning, catcher Hunter Carns (Florida State) blasted a two-run home run to left center field to give the Gatemen an early 2-0 lead. It was Carns’ first home run of the summer, a product of some adjustments he made to his hitting
“It felt great to hit one out,” said Carns. “I’ve been working hard in the cage, trying to make a few adjustments to tap back into my power. I’m focusing on being more loose, having more flow in my swing. It’s something Coach Mobbs and my hitting coach from back home have been working on. Just being able to simplify my approach and hunt pitches in certain counts and get to my pitch.”
He then would tie the game later in the sixth with the Gatemen down 4-2. He crushed a two-run double to left center field to score Landon Stripling (Florida) and Colby Turner (Michigan).
Carns has become a cornerstone of the Gatemen offense with his bat and defense with his catching ability. In the game, he went 2 for 3 with 4 RBIs, giving the Gatemen offense life.
“He's doing great behind the dish, and the hitting has been coming around,” said Gatemen Field Manager Ryan Smyth. “It started off a little slow, but since he's been in there the last few games, he's been really seeing the ball well. He’s been putting some really good swings on pitches, and tonight was a perfect example.”
However, the Gatemen kept shooting themselves in the foot with defensive mistakes. The team recorded 7 errors on the night, the third most in a single game by one team in Cape Cod Baseball League history. The woes fall behind only the Wareham Gatemen on July 13, 1996, where they committed 8 errors against the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, and the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, who recorded 9 errors against the Gatemen on June 14, 1994.
A lot of the mistakes were players trying to do too much to get outs, which resulted in the Gatemen not taking care of the baseball.
“We just got to take care of the baseball. I think it's unacceptable on the Cape at this level, with how talented these guys are, to have seven or eight errors in a game. There were probably a couple more that they called hits. That's something that we've got to clean up. I thought our pitchers threw well throughout. We just have to take better care of the baseball,” said Smyth.
The result of these mistakes was six straight innings, from the third to the eighth, where Falmouth scored at least one run in each inning. Things came completely apart in the eighth, where Falmouth scored four runs on two Gatemen errors.
Gatemen Manager Ryan Smyth even paid a mound visit, something he usually never does, to try and get his team together. The delay then caused Home Plate Umpire Rick Antonio to eject Ryan Smyth for the first time this season.
It was a game where everything that could have gone wrong went wrong for the Gatemen. The loss separates them from the rest of the West Division by three points, and now they face one more game before a much-needed day off.
They end this six-game stretch with a home game against the Cotuit Kettleers, who routed the Brewster Whitecaps on Saturday, 19-3, with 14 of those runs scored in the sixth inning alone. The Gatemen will have their hands full, but need a win against a division rival to keep up in the standings.
First pitch for the game will be at 6:00 p.m. at Spillane Field in Wareham.
