While the first inning was disastrous for the Birds, there was one thing that was rather special that occurred in the early moments of Wednesday night’s game against Wareham.

It all started with something unexpected—one of the Firebirds’ own singing the national anthem in front of the Hill.

And Sebastian Gonzalez (Hawaii) did just that for Orleans.

“Music has been a very big part of my life, and I’ve done it a lot outside of baseball,” Gonzalez said. “Right around the same time I started baseball, I started choir. Doing it here is kind of special, it's probably the biggest crowd I have definitely sung in front of.”

However, what Gonzalez may have not known was that just 1.3 innings into the game, he would jump right onto the mound for the Birds to prevent any further bleeding after a tumultuous first inning.

“I haven’t done that before, that may be a first,” Gonzalez said when asked about going right from singing the anthem to pitching in the game. “This was high adrenaline, very much so, I didn’t think I was going to go in today. When he said you’re going in, I was a thousand miles an hour after that.”

Within his 3 IP, Gonzalez notched two strikeouts, while allowing four hits and two runs. He was on damage control after the Birds were already down seven runs by the top of the first inning.

The game was called after six innings due to fogginess and rain, as Wareham stomped over Orleans 10–2.

After two consecutive walks and a Wareham single to start the game, Kyle Johnson (Virginia) was now faced with Colby Turner (Michigan) at bat.

Turner took no time to get something started for the Gatemen, as his RBI scored Chris McHugh (North Carolina State) on the play, giving Wareham an early 1–0 edge.

But Wareham was only just getting its footing. Following a Johnson wild pitch, it advanced Levi Clark (Tennessee) to third and Hunter Carns (Florida State) to second.

Then, Chase Krewson (Central Florida) came to play. Nailing a double on a fly ball to left field, the Gatemen took an early 3–0 lead, as the play brought home both Clark and Carns.

This momentum didn’t falter. In fact, it was only really heating up.

Once Krewson stole third, he was in the optimal position to make it back home.

Vance Sheahan (South Carolina-Upstate) took advantage of the scoring opportunity by singling on a ground ball to center field, as Krewson met his teammates back at home plate.

Just like that, Wareham had a 4–0 dominance over Orleans with just one out on the board.

Replacing Johnson on the mound next for the Birds was Kai Leckszas (Georgetown).

The Gatemen wasted no time putting pressure on Leckszas, as Kyuss Gargett (Kentucky) notched a three-run homer on one of Leckszas’ first pitches.

Down by seven, Orleans needed to close out the inning—desperately. Those next two outs came almost instantly, as Cashel Dugger (UCLA) and Leckszas finished it off for the Birds.

In the bottom of the first, it was Elijah Ickes (Hawaii), who delivered for Orleans.

Having two outs on the board already, Ickes stood up to the plate and fired a home run on a line drive to left field, as the ensuing fog overhead grew. While the Birds earned a run on the play, they would need nothing short of a miracle to complete a comeback.

Unfortunately, for the Birds, that never happened.

By the top of the second, Wareham increased its lead to eight runs. Just two innings later, Clark delivered a homer for himself for the Gatemen, as they extended their lead to nine.

Kollin Ritchie (Oklahoma State) did the same in the top of the fifth, as he delivered Wareham’s third home run and final run of the night.

The only other score that the Birds could muster up was a Dawson Bryce (Charlotte) home run, giving the Birds their second and final run of the night.

However, still down by eight runs, that would not be enough to get the Birds back within reach of the Gatemen.

Just one inning later, the matchup was called, as Wareham took Wednesday night’s game 10–2.