BREWSTER, Mass. — As the rain continued to drizzle down onto Stony Brook Field and the sky grew darker, the Whitecaps’ two-game winning streak drew closer to ending.

Trailing by five in the eighth inning, J.D. Rogers (Vanderbilt) reached first base on a bunt single toward the third base line. Rogers stole second and third without much competition. The heart of Brewster’s order had a chance to flip the game on its head.

The Whitecaps’ 2-3-4 hitters all struck out and after Daniel Cuvet (Miami) swung through the final pitch, home plate umpire JC Fernandez looked toward the Brewster dugout and waved his hands in a crossing motion, signaling the end of the game.

Brewster fell in eight innings Saturday evening, 6-1, to Cotuit, breaking its first winning streak of the summer. Following two games in which the Whitecaps (3-4, 1-1 East Division) combined for 22 runs and 24 hits, they reached home just once Saturday while recording four hits. A lack of offensive production mixed with a walk and error-riddled defense resulted in a lopsided margin in favor of Cotuit (4-3, 2-0 West Division).

In the first inning, Brewster starting pitcher Darien Smith (Southeastern) struggled to find his command, walking the first two batters and putting immediate pressure on the Whitecaps defense.

With first and second base filled and no men out, Smith forced Cotuit’s Nathan Hall (Clemson) to hit a ground ball directly at Cuvet. The Whitecaps third baseman had a perfect opportunity for a 5-3 double play to limit early damage. Instead, he threw to second baseman Andrew Fischer (Ole Miss) in an attempt at a 5-4-3 double play. The Whitecaps recorded the out at second, but Hall beat out Fischer’s throw to first.

Nolan Nawrocki, the Cotuit runner who advanced to third, scored four pitches later on a single by A.J. Gracia, giving the Kettleers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Smith got out of the inning allowing just one run, but on the offensive side, Brewster couldn’t get anything going.

Smith set down the Kettleers in order in the top of the second, but it all unraveled in the third. Similar to the first inning, the first two batters reached base. And again, a ground ball headed toward Cuvet at third.

After a stellar freshman season at Miami, Cuvet has swung the bat exceptionally well for the Whitecaps recently, tallying eight hits and a home run in the past five games. Defensively, though, he had a tough night. This time, when attempting to start a double play, his throw to Fischer at second sailed into right field, scoring the base runner headed toward third.

Smith struck out a batter for the second out of the inning and appeared to record the third out when he forced a lazy fly ball to center field. Brewster center fielder Nick Dumesnil (Cal Baptist) circled around the ball, but the wind continued to carry it inward, forcing a more difficult play. Dumesnil dropped the ball, scoring two more runs and extending the Kettleers' lead to four.

After another quick inning for Cotuit starter Ben Jacobs, Smith took the mound again and walked two batters. As his pitch count worked closer to triple digits, Smith worked through trouble, ending his day allowing just one earned run through four innings of work.

As Smith exited, so did Jacobs. Cotuit brought in Joey Volchko (Stanford) in relief, and the Whitecaps offense slowly found its footing again. Nolan Schubart (Oklahoma State) turned around a 96 mph fastball with a 103 mph exit velocity, hammering a ball into the left-center gap for a leadoff double.

Following a Cuvet strikeout, Fischer reached base on a seven-pitch walk. A wild pitch advanced Schubart and Fischer to second and third with Dumesnil at the plate. But a base running mistake by Fischer ended the threat, thwarting one of Brewster’s best scoring chances of the night.

Levi Huesman (Vanderbilt) entered for Smith in relief and struggled early, allowing a run to score after a walk and two hits. Though from there, Huesman was effective, retiring the final eight batters he faced and striking out four straight batters across the sixth and seventh innings.

The Whitecaps eventually got on the board in the sixth inning when Schubart reached for the third time and Cuvet moved him to third on a 97 mph single to right field. Schubart scored on a wild pitch with Fischer at the plate. Though that’s all the Whitecaps would plate in the game.

Parker Detmers (Louisville) entered for Brewster in the eighth inning and allowed another run after giving up a triple and throwing a wild pitch. But in the end, Brewster fell into a hole its offense couldn’t climb out of.

Brewster manager Jamie Shevchik explained after his team’s win over Chatham on Friday that games are often won and lost in the first four innings of a game in the Cape Cod Baseball League. After four innings Saturday, the Whitecaps trailed 4-0 after four frames, and those runs proved decisive.

Photo credit: Avery Raimondo