After already playing in three one-run contests this season, the final battle of the regular season between Y-D and Hyannis on Tuesday once again came down to the slimmest of margins, with Y-D pulling out a thrilling 5-4 victory to win the season series.
A.J. Nessler (Pittsburgh) got things started for Y-D when he hit a blooper that fell in between the shortstop and left fielder for a leadoff double. Nick Costello (UC San Diego) got hit by a pitch in the next at-bat, and Y-D immediately had two runners on base against Thomas Crabtree (Tennessee).
Y-D tried to get aggressive on the basepaths by pulling off a double steal, but Nessler was cut down at third for the first out of the inning. With two outs and Costello still at second base, Armando Briseño (Cal State Fullerton) grounded a ball down the third base line for an RBI single to give Y-D a 1-0 lead.
Carson Ballard (Georgia Tech) took the mound for Y-D and ran into some early trouble when he allowed a double to Ryan McKay (Michigan State) and a walk to Jayce Dobie (Nevada). Gabe Camacho (UC San Diego) lined a 90 MPH fastball from Ballard down the right field line for an RBI double to tie the game at 1-1. Ballard was able to escape further damage by fielding a ground ball right back to him and striking out Devin Mitchell (Florence-Darlington Tech) with the bases loaded.
Y-D took advantage of some defensive miscues by Hyannis in the third inning to get back in front. With a runner on first, Briseño delivered with two outs again by lining a ball down the right field line for a run-scoring double and advanced to third base on a throwing error. Y-D added another run when an infield pop-up from Will Gasparino (UCLA) fell in between all the infielders, resulting in an RBI single to make it 3-1 Y-D.
Hyannis threatened right away in the bottom half of the inning, as McKay and Dobie hit a pair of line-drive singles to start the frame. Myles Davis (State College of Florida) grounded one past the third baseman for an RBI single to cut Y-D’s lead to 3-2. Ballard nearly got out of the jam by inducing a double play, but an errant throw by Briseño to first base allowed Dobie to score and tie the game at 3-3.
Chris Hacopian (Texas A&M) greeted Sam Garewal (Stanford) out of the Hyannis bullpen in the fifth inning with a double to center field. The double marked Hacopian’s second hit of the game and his first extra-base hit since a homer against Wareham on June 28.
“It’s been a rough summer so far, and there’s a lot of failure that comes with playing this game, so we’ve been working in the cage,” Hacopian said. “I think today was almost like a breakthrough where you see the work come through, and it gives you some confidence.”
Y-D was unable to cash in the leadoff double by Hacopian after a couple of ground outs and a strikeout. Through the first five innings, Y-D was 2-10 with runners in scoring position.
Garrett Wright (Tennessee) continued his sensational week behind the plate for Y-D when he caught McKay trying to steal second base in the bottom of the fifth. Wright caught two runners stealing in the game and has cut down six base runners in his past two starts.
Both bullpens kept the offenses quiet until the seventh inning, when Briseño blooped a single into right field to put runners at the corners with one out. Gasparino cashed in the scoring chance by hitting a liner deep enough to right field for a sacrifice fly to put Y-D back in front 4-3.
The Harbor Hawks were on the verge of tying the game yet again in the bottom half of the seventh when they loaded the bases with one out. Davis hit a chopper to Yomar Carreras (Rutgers) at second base, who made an outstanding pick to begin a massive 4-6-3 double play and preserve the Y-D lead.
Briseño delivered another huge two-out hit in the ninth inning when he drove a ball over the head of the center fielder for a run-scoring double to make it 5-3 Y-D. In just his third game with the team, Briseño went 4-5 at the plate with three two-out RBIs.
Chris Downs (Cal Poly) entered the game for Y-D in the bottom half of the ninth to close out the victory, but Hyannis didn’t make it easy on him. The first three hitters of the inning all collected hits to cut Hyannis’ deficit to 5-4 and put runners at second and first with no outs. After Downs got a lineout and a strikeout, he walked Charlie Bates (Stanford) on seven pitches to load the bases with two outs.
Downs went right at Mitchell with the game on the line, firing three straight fastballs and getting him to swing-and-miss at the 0-2 heater to cap off the nail-biting 5-4 win. With the victory and a Brewster loss on Tuesday, Y-D reclaims its spot at the top of the East Division standings.
“I think close [games] are big; if you win the close ones, it gives you a jolt of energy,” Hacopian said. “It was good to see Downs come through there and clutch up the save.”
Y-D will look to maintain the good energy from this win when it travels to face Cotuit at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
