Wareham, Mass. 一 The Gatemen clinched their first win over the Firebirds and first win streak of the summer with a dominant home victory.
After a two-game road trip visiting Bourne and Falmouth, Wareham returned to Spillane Field to face an East Division team after consecutive divisional games.
In their matchup with the ‘Dores, the Gatemen’s early offense proved to be the difference in their 5-2 victory. The same applied on Tuesday: Wareham’s two-run first inning and three-run third inning built an early 5-0 lead. While Orleans would notch a crooked number later, a hot start proved to be pivotal for the second straight game.
The Gatemen clinched their first win of the summer and have now won three of their last four matchups. Not only has the offense clearly turned a corner in the month of July, Wareham is overall playing better team baseball. Defensive work has been cleaner and hitters are putting the ball in play to advance runners.
“It (Getting first win streak) was pretty good. Just playing good back-to-back games. It’s important to start doing that this time of year,” Gatemen manager Ryan Smyth said. “And we're in the middle of a long stretch here before the All-Star break, and hopefully we can finish this strong.”
After two prior defensive battles against the Firebirds back in June, the Gatemen’s 12 base knocks provided an offensive threat in every inning. Orleans was forced to use four pitchers, and its starter was knocked out after just 2.2 innings of work.
Seven different Gatemen batters recorded a hit on Tuesday, three of them with multiple hits on the night. They had a base runner in seven of their eight offensive frames, and built momentum by scoring in three of the first four innings.
“We're just taking one at bat at a time, putting better at bats together consecutively,” Smyth said. “More tough outs than anything else, which is really good. And we're finding a barrel quite often now, so all things are really good right now.”
A large part of Tuesday’s success at the plate came from Coen Niclai (Oregon State), who went a perfect 4/4 and also brought in Henry DiGiorgio (Northeastern) with an RBI single to craft an offensive threat in the fourth inning.
Niclai is one of six participants and three West Division batters in this Saturday’s Cape League Home Run Contest, and his four bombs leads Wareham and ties him at second-best in the CCBL. But on Saturday, Wareham saw the Niclai that sprinkled the ball to all fields and racked up singles and a double. He is more than a home run hitter: Niclai’s bat-to-ball skills are some of Wareham’s best.
“That (Niclai’s performance) was awesome. I think it was four for four. Stole the bag,” Smyth said. “He just loves playing the game, man. He did it with a smile all night long, and it was really good to have him behind the dish too. Veteran leader back there, and really happy for him.”
Speaking of players performing at Whitehouse Field on Saturday, Mark Brissey (Arkansas) posted his best start of 2026 after being named as one of Wareham’s two arms heading to ASG festivities. He didn't allow a single run over four frames and tied a season-high strikeout count. Brissey’s last three outings, two as an opener and one out of the bullpen, have all featured five or more K’s.
“It (Brissey’s ASG appearance) is going to be just a cool moment for him,” Smyth said. “I'm happy for him, and obviously he showed you know he's well deserving of that.”
The Gatemen have now won two of three and are on a two-game win streak, but now face the Red Sox on the road. Yarmouth-Dennis is the Cape League’s top team, 20 wins on the summer and seven points above the second place team in the CCBL, but it has lost two of its last three contests.
