As the Wareham Gatemen gathered in right field after a three-and-a-half-hour game Thursday night, they patted each other on the backs and, after a few words from manager Ryan Smyth, held a small round of applause.
It was the first time they all stood together and clapped after a game all summer.
The Gatemen hadn’t won according to the scoreboard, but the fact that they persevered and gutted out an 8-8 tie against their division opponent the Bourne Braves was good enough for a win in their book.
“We really haven’t blown anything lead-wise this summer,” Smyth said. “I didn’t want them to take this away feeling like this was a loss. To me, this is as good of a win as you can possibly get, given the circumstances.”
In the final few innings of Thursday night’s game, it felt like nothing could go Wareham’s way. A four-run bottom of the eighth inning from the Braves tied the game at eight, as they took advantage of walks, wild pitches and timely base hits to chip away at the Gatemen bullpen. Gavin Black (Mississippi State) was able to get out of the inning and leave two Braves stranded, but enough damage was done to force the Gatemen back on their heels.
They tried their best to rally, putting runners in scoring position in the ninth inning. Black came back out for his second inning of relief with the goal of moving the game to one extra inning and did just that. But when the Gatemen once again couldn’t bring a run across the plate in the 10th inning, it was time to go back to the bullpen.
There was one arm left: Lucas Mahlstedt.
Mahlstedt (Clemson) entered the game already at a disadvantage; the Braves had a runner on second to begin the 10th inning, as per CCBL rules. After a throwing error on a pickoff attempt put the runner on third base and the Gatemen elected to load the bases with one out, the Bourne dugout was as loud and excited as could be. Two outs — and no runs — later, neither team was exceptionally loud, but neither was quiet. They each earned a point with the tie, and that was better than nothing.
“For Lucas to do that for us, given the circumstances, when all they needed was a hitter to put the ball in play, you walk out of here feeling like a win,” Smyth said. “He was here last year, he’s been in that spot before, so he was ready for the moment.”
Wareham pitching at the end of Thursday night’s game saved its hitting from the beginning of the game, as the offense put up seven runs in the first four innings. Home runs from Colby Turner (Michigan), Brendan Summerhill (Arizona) and Antonio Jimenez (UCF) headlined the evening, as Turner hit his first long ball of the season, while Summerhill and Jimenez both hit their third bombs of their Cape League careers.
Summerhill had a strong night both at the plate and in the field — as is becoming typical of the center fielder — as he went 3-for-6 with three RBI and a stolen base. He patrolled the outfield quickly and confidently, snagging fly balls throughout the game. Summerhill was also the final Gatemen runner to cross home plate Thursday night, coming around to score in the top of the eighth inning on a Bourne fielding error. That eighth run would, of course, end up being crucial to keeping the Braves from taking the lead in the bottom of the inning.
Thursday night’s game wasn’t the cleanest, as pitching faltered at times and the bats quieted in other moments. But the Gatemen didn’t lose, and because of that they can still walk away with some positive takeaways.
“We didn’t quit,” Smyth said. “They want to win. We were in it, had some chances, and even when it didn’t fall our way from an offensive side, we still played good defense, we pitched it well at the end and were able to come out of here with a point.”
With the tie, the Gatemen move to 11-4-1 and hold on to first place in the Cape League West Division.
Top photo credit: Lucas Mahlstedt pitches during Wareham's 8-8 tie with the Bourne Braves, July 4, 2024, at Doran Park. Photo by Keegan Maloney.
