Hyannis, Mass. — The wind was whipping at McKeon Park in Hyannis ahead of the Gatemen’s second matchup with the Harbor Hawks this season.

The wind was also in the Gatemen’s sails after their second consecutive win on Thursday against Harwich. It was momentum that the Gatemen carried into Hyannis and did not let go of as they dominated from start to finish.

The Gatemen (3-3) defeated the Hyannis Harbor Hawks (3-2-1) 12-6 on Friday. The win marks the team’s third consecutive and brings the team back to .500.

The game started out rocky for the Gatemen as in the bottom of the first, Chris Rembert (Auburn), blasted a 3-run bomb to left field to put the Harbor Hawks on the board 3-0.

However, the response from the Gatemen was swift. In the top of the second, they tied the game thanks to third baseman Kyuss Gargett (Kentucky), who drove in three runs while he reached first on a throwing error.

“It didn't affect us at all,” said Gargett about allowing the early home run. “Our pitchers and hitters know what to do, and we're going to execute at the highest level in this league.”

Putting pressure on the other team’s defense has become the identity of the Gatemen offense, and so far it has proven effective.

“For us (the offense), just putting the ball in play and creating pressure for the other team, and that seems to be working,” said Gargett.

The Gatemen continued to paint runs on the scoreboard. In the top of the fifth, the Gatemen were down 5-3, after a wild pitch followed by a Jaxon Willits (Oklahoma) RBI single, but once again responded.

Second baseman Brayden Randle (Ole Miss) doubled to center to score left fielder Levi Clark (Tennessee) and right fielder Colby Turner (Michigan) to tie the game. Then, designated hitter Caden McDonald (Florida) singled to score catcher Adam Agresti (St. John’s) and Brayden Randle, to put the Gatemen up 7-5.

Randle had the best night hitting among the Gatemen, going 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs and 3 runs.

“He came up with a huge hit up the middle to give us a little bit more breathing room. He's been putting some good swings on balls, like a lot of our guys have,” said Gatemen Field Manager Ryan Smyth.

Randle was among four Gatemen batters with three hits, helping do a lot of damage in the lineup.

McDonald, however, also pitched in the game for the Gatemen for the first time this season. Being a two-way player at Florida, he was excited to be able to help his team on both sides of the field.

“I was happy to finally get in there and be able to help the team on the mound. That's just going to be the goal moving forward, both hitting and pitching to help the team,” said McDonald.

“You're getting two for the price of one with McDonald. It's going to be a lot easier when we transition him into a starter and DH than it is mid-inning. Tonight, he was aggressive at the plate, which is what we’ve been preaching, and he dominated the zone on the mound,” said Smyth.

McDonald had a great day in both pitching and hitting. He went 2 for 4 at the plate with a walk, an RBI, and a run. On the mound, he pitched 1 ⅔ innings, allowing 4 hits but striking out 3 on his way to his first win.

The offense continued adding on in the eighth, as a couple of passed balls and singles from Agresti and Gargett helped the Gatemen score 12 runs on 16 hits, a season high in both categories for the team.

Wareham entered the game scoring only 13 runs on 25 hits in their first five games combined. They scored half of those totals tonight alone, a sign that the offense has finally found its rhythm.

“We were getting adjusted to the wooden bats, but that adjustment period is over. Looks like we were squaring the ball up pretty good tonight, found the holes that we needed to and played good overall baseball all up and down the lineup,” said Smyth.

The pitching also had a great day, especially for Josh Butler (Arizona State), who pitched 2 innings, allowed 2 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 2 batters. He made a crucial play in the seventh with the bases loaded, creating a 1-2-3 double play followed by a strikeout of his Sun Devil teammate, Brody Briggs, to get the Gatemen out of a jam.

“To be honest, I was trying not to look at him (Briggs) because I think I would’ve started laughing, because he's actually my roommate too,” said Butler. I tried to get pitches back in the zone. I got myself in a little bit of trouble there with a couple of walks, but I tried to pitch the contact sinker and it worked out.”

He also got some good luck to go with it, as before entering the game, a seagull dropped a payload right onto his hat, forcing him to exchange hats with a teammate.

“Coach Mobbs came up and told me that that means it's seven years of good luck, so there you go,” said Butler.

This performance seemed to show everything that the Gatemen were capable of; a high-powered offense paired with a lethal pitching staff creates a dangerous combination for the rest of the league.

“They can be as dangerous as they want to be. They're the ones who come to the ballpark to play every day. As of right now, I think we have a really good mix of players coming in and players here. It is a really good mix, and right now, things are going good,” said Smyth.

The Gatemen aim to make it four straight as they return to Spillane Field to face the Falmouth Commodores at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday.