The rain did not stay away again at Red Wilson Field for Thursday’s makeup game with the Brewster Whitecaps. The two teams battled it out in the rain and wind, with Y-D trailing until a 406-foot home run from Easton Carmichael tied the game up in the ninth. Due to darkness, an extra inning was not played and the game resulted in a tie, 2-2.

The game started out slow for both sides as it remained scoreless until the third inning. Micah Bucknam of LSU started on the mound for Y-D and threw for five innings. He collected four strikeouts in the game, two of them in the second to keep Brewster scoreless until the third inning.

In the third, the bats came alive for Brewster — the team recording three hits. Left fielder Cooper Vest started the inning off with a single to the left side, breaking his bat during contact, and right fielder Dallas Macias followed him with a single up the middle to put two runners on for the Whitecaps.

Nick Dumesnil, the center fielder, came to the plate next and hit an RBI groundout to put Brewster on the board first. Third baseman Daniel Cuvet got on base later with an RBI single on the ground to left field, extending the Whitecaps’ lead over Y-D by another run to make the score 2-0.

The fourth inning showed signs of life for Y-D at the plate with UCLA’s Phoenix Call ripping his first double of the season down the left line, pushing South Carolina’s Ethan Petry to third base. Call also snagged his 13th stolen base of the season, placing him third in the league for total stolen bases.

On the mound for Brewster in the early innings was Jake Clemente. He went for four innings and had six strikeouts. The right-hander held Y-D to one hit and no runs in the time he was out there, contributing to the Whitecaps’ strong defense. Isaac Morton threw the back half of the game for Brewster, going for four innings and collecting four strikeouts.

The fifth was quiet on both sides as no hits or runs were scored. Brewster generated a couple more hits in the top of the sixth with singles from Vest and first baseman Blake Binderup. It was UC Irvine’s Anthony Martinez who ultimately shined in the sixth, crushing his first home run of the season over center field to put Y-D one run shy of tying the game.

Kent State’s Gavin Jones pitched relief and Elon’s Ryan Sprock closed for the Sox on the mound. The two combined for three strikeouts, holding Brewster to no runs and across three innings.

Y-D was able to close out the top of the seventh in the field with a clutch double play on a shallow outfield pop-up. To add to the team’s tight defense, South Carolina’s Will Tippett made an impressive catch running back in right field with two runners on to shut down Brewster’s offense for the night.

RJ Austin of Vanderbilt cranked out his fifth double of the season in the eighth inning to spark some offensive energy for Y-D. Although the eighth finished without any other hits for the team, the ninth inning was a different story for the Sox.

With a new pitcher for the Whitecaps on the mound, Oklahoma’s Carmichael kept Y-D alive by smashing his fifth home run of the season to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. His homer went back 406 feet over the left-center fence, allowing Y-D to match Brewster, 2-2, at the end.

A tie game in the ninth would typically prompt a 10th inning to be played, but the game was called before then due to darkness. Now with a record of 15-6-1, Y-D will look to grab a win in its second home game in a row Friday against the 6-15 Orleans Firebirds.

Photo by Sophie Solarino