Photo by Raj Das, ED Photography

The Firebirds found their way back into the win column Sunday night with a much-needed win over the neighboring Brewster Whitecaps at a windy Eldredge Park.

The win snaps a four-game losing streak for the Birds, a skid in which the offense couldn't get on the same page with the defense.

In contrast to their inconsistent offense during their early season rut, the Birds combined another near-flawless night from the bullpen with an efficient performance at the plate.

However, Brewster wouldn't make it easy in the opening inning, with Daniel Cuvet's (Miami) seventh RBI of the summer bringing in Ryder Helfrick (Arkansas) from third, putting instant pressure on the Birds' offense.

Matthew Watson (Texas A&M CC), who started in the Firebirds' one, and only win of the season against Falmouth, ended his first outing with a last-second throw to second basemen Lorenzo Meola (Stetson) to catch Cuvet stealing.

Watson's throwout of Cuvet marked only the second time the Whitecaps, the most frequent stealing team in the Cape Cod Baseball League, had been caught stealing all season (22-for-24).

To quickly bring the Birds through the top of the second and third, Watson recorded back-to-back one-two-three innings, a performance that JP Smith (Sacramento State) would promptly reward him for, with a solo home run shot to knot the contest up at one.

Smith, whose homer extended his hit streak to three, continues to maintain a forward-looking mentality.

"It was about time I actually got behind a ball," Smith said with a smile. "But I'm just having fun honestly. It's not going to fly out every time, but as long as we stay through it and get better every day at the ballpark, we'll be fine."

After Matt Watson started off the top of the fourth by retiring his seventh straight batter, Nolan Schubart (Oklahoma State) doubled with a line drive into deep center. Schubart promptly tallied another stolen base towards Brewsters' total, as he dashed for third on a high pitch from Watson. Two pitches later, another wild pitch that got away from catcher Colin Tuft (Tulane) gave Schubart free rein to run home and put the Whitecaps back in the lead, 2-1.

Despite putting runners on the corners following Schubart's go-ahead score, Watson got the Birds out of the inning before it got away from them.

With the wind blowing in from Eldredge Park starting to intensify, Daniel Bucciero (Fordham) led off with a line-drive double to left center, and Lorenzo Meola's sacrifice bunt sent him to third.

Manager Kelly Nicholson, who always preaches the importance of a timely bunt, knew sacrifices would have to be made in order to move runners on base in 20+ mph winds.

"We knew that to move runners we needed to play a little bit of small ball," said Nicholson. "Conditions dictated that."

With Bucciero at third, Ben Zeigler (Hawaii) delivered yet another timely hit for Orleans, sending an RBI double rolling perfectly down the left-field line to bring in the tying run (Bucciero).

After Orleans once again tied the game, Callan Fang jogged out of the dugout to relieve Matt Watson of his duties after a night of no walks.

Fang wasted no time, quickly getting the Birds out of the fourth with two quick strikes and a pop-out.

After Fang did his job, the Birds' offense did theirs just as quickly, as Roch Cholowsky led off with a line-drive double, and two wild pitches helped him round the bases to give Orleans their first lead of the game.

Fang would continue his dominant performance through the top of the eighth, holding the Whitecaps scoreless through his four-inning stretch, which featured eight strikeouts.

Now, heading into the eighth, all the Birds needed to do was put a cushion on their lead and protect it, but that is a lot easier said than done for this Firebirds team that was a shocking 1-for-25 batting with a lead coming into this moment.

The Firebirds' offense quickly made it clear that they had every intention of making up for that stat, as Hudson Shupe led off with a single that drove into right, followed by JP Smith earning his first walk of the summer. After Jack Gurevitch (San Diego) became the second Firebird to use a sacrifice bunt to move a runner to third, and Jimmy Keenan (Wake Forrest) fought for what was also his first walk of the summer, the bases were suddenly loaded for the Birds.

With the bases loaded, the Birds only managed to come away with one run: a Cholowsky dash home to push the lead to 4-2 after a wild pitch that went flying over the head of Brewster catcher Ryder Helfrick.

With 2023 Reliever of the Year Sean Matson (Harvard) coming in to close the win out for the Birds, Cholowsky's scamper down the third-base line was more than enough of a cushion, as Matson didn't allow a run, and sealed the 4-2 win for Orleans.

The Firebirds look to make it a streak after an off day Monday, as the Wareham Gatemen come over the bridge and pay their first visit to Eldredge Park on Tuesday, at 6:30 pm.