In Game 1 of last year’s Eastern Division Finals, the underdog Harwich Mariners exploded for 10 runs on 13 hits to take the series lead against the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.
Fast-forward to a year later, it was the Red Sox who dropped 14 hits Friday night at Whitehouse Field.
One night after fighting tooth and nail to keep its season alive, Harwich was silenced by an unlikely candidate in the first game of the Eastern Division Finals.
Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox pitcher Clay Hendry had the game of his life against the Mariners. After tossing only 11 1/3 innings for the Red Sox all summer, he nearly matched that total, going seven shutout innings. He and Drake Frize held Harwich to zero runs, leading the Red Sox to the 5-0 win and putting Harwich on the brink of elimination.
The only hit Harwich mustered was a single by Niko Brini to lead off the fourth inning. Thanks to two inning-ending double plays, Hendry faced the minimum 21 batters. A two-out walk by Sam Harris in the ninth was the only time Harwich got four batters to the plate.
Out of all the pitchers on the Y-D roster, Hendry was not grabbing the headlines. He finished with a measly 4.76 ERA in just four appearances.
Y-D manager Scott Pickler and his staff were on point with their shifts all night, turning multiple hard-hit balls into lineouts caught by the infield. Harwich saw just five balls reach the outfield. At several points, the Red Sox had three infielders covering an entire side of the infield. Shortstop Armando Briseno caught three line drives on his own.
The Mariners hoped starting pitcher Pierce Friedman could carry over his magic from his start a week earlier when he threw 6 2/3 no-hit innings against the Brewster Whitecaps.
In a sign of things to come, he lost this no-hit bid on the second batter of the game. Y-D got a man to second base every inning Friedman pitched. He almost got out of bases loaded and no outs in the third after Chris Hacopian lined out to third baseman Patrick Fultz, who stepped on third for the second out of the inning.
Harwich could not get out of the inning unscathed as the next batter, Ryan Niedwiedz, singled to right to give Y-D the 1-0 advantage. Considering the situation Friedman worked through, the Mariners did well to minimize the damage.
The next inning would not be as fortunate for the Mariners. Friedman appeared to be in control, getting the first Red Sox batters out.
Then the wheels fell off the wagon.
After hitting Jayce Tharnish, Friedman gave up a double to Will Baker as Y-D extended its lead to 2-0. The Swampscott native walked Briseno before field manager Steve Englert came out to take the ball.
Englert called on Ryan Reich with men on first and second. Reich, who last pitched three innings on Aug. 30, was put into the fire, and Y-D feasted on the fresh arm.
The Red Sox hit back-to-back singles before Harwich got that final out, leading 4-0.
It took some time for Reich to settle, but he eventually found his groove. He pitched Harwich’s first 1-2-3 inning of the game in the sixth. With the offense dead silent, Reich saved the bullpen by finishing out the game.
Moving forward
With Y-D having an off-day on Thursday and getting unexpected performances from overlooked arms, the team will have a full arsenal of arms at the ready.
The good news for the Mariners is they will also have plenty of arms available. Bulldog Thomas Shurtleff has yet to make an appearance in the playoffs.
Game 2 is set for 4 p.m. from Red Wilson Field. Bryan Matuschat gets the start for Hariwch.
