One familiar face has emerged for the Birds—Tyler Myatt (Tennessee).
After notching a 471 foot home run against Wareham, Myatt came up big again on Saturday night for Orleans with a grand slam in the top of the second inning. Myatt’s heroics propelled the Birds to a 8–5 win over the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in eight innings.
When asked about what he hopes to achieve in the Cape League, Myatt kept it simple.
“This is the best league,” Myatt said. “I’m just hoping to come out here and compete.”
Myatt is doing just that.
After jumping to an early 4–0 lead, it seemed like the Birds were more than smooth sailing to start off the matchup.
“It’s always good to win a division game on the road,” manager Kelly Nicholson said. “We got ahead early with a grand slam by Tyler and that set the tone for the day and gave us a little bit of wiggle room.”
In the bottom of the third, Y-D got something going for its offense. After three consecutive singles, Jayce Tharnish (St. Bonaventure) led the offensive charge with a line drive single that brought home Armando Briseno (Long Beach State).
Up by still three runs, Orleans wasn’t too fazed by the offensive push of the Red Sox, though.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the fourth when things really got started in the matchup.
Replacing Kyle Johnson (Virginia) on the mound for the Birds was Colby Guy (UNC Ashville). The Red Sox took no time to start putting the offensive pressure on Guy.
A Yomar Carreras (Rutgers) ground out to first baseman Dawson Bryce (Charlotte), Y-D got another run on the night—inching within two. The Birds’ lead only diminished as the inning continued. Off a wild pitch by Guy, the Red Sox brought it back within one run.
Eventually, the score was knotted 4–4 when another wild pitch by Guy brought Brayden Dowd (Southern California) home.
Fortunately, for Orleans, the score wasn’t tied for too long—thanks to Alejandro Garza (Cal Poly).
Just as Garza always does, he delivered a single when it mattered most, scoring Anthony Potestio (UC San Diego) on the play.
Elijah Ickes (Hawaii) made it clear soon after that the Birds were just getting started, though. Off a line drive single to right field, Ickes proved exactly why he was selected for the CCBL East All-Star team.
Just like that, Orleans had carved out a three-run lead over the Red Sox. And that edge was here to stay.
“Y-D is always going to come back, we threw a couple balls and gave them a couple runs, but then we came right back and punched right back, which is what we have been doing all summer,” Nicholson said.
While the Red Sox managed to inch within two runs again, the Birds’ defense shut down any chance of them snatching the lead.
Jumping up to make a catch, center fielder Javar Williams (Wake Forest) made an ESPN Top-10 worthy catch to cap off the bottom of the sixth inning.
Cheers erupted from the Birds’ fans when Williams came up with the ball in his glove.
“Off the bat, I thought it was going to be way over the fence, but I didn’t give up on it,” Williams said. “I then timed it up and just got it.”
The Birds’ final run of the night occurred in the top of the eighth. Leadoff hitter to start the frame was Williams, who logged a ground ball single.
Potestio then followed suit with a single of his own, advancing Williams to third.
After Williams stole second, Michael Crossland reached on a fielder’s choice. However, Williams was called out at home on the play.
But it didn’t take too long for the Birds to have a successful scoring opportunity when off a Y-D throwing error, Potestio stole third, giving Orleans its eighth and final run of the night.
After losing two-straight, Saturday’s win was exactly what the Birds needed going into Sunday’s matchup against Falmouth.
“We got to tip our hats to our guys, Y–D is a good team,” Nicholson said.
