Wareham, Mass. 一 the Gatemen finally put an end to the rest vs. rust debate.
After a two-day break thanks to the 2026 Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game, an event that was cancelled after just two full innings of play at Harwich’s Whitehouse Field, the entire league went back to work on Monday for the resumption of the regular season.
Both the Gatemen and the Mariners stumbled into the break. Wareham fell to Bourne, the West Division leaders, and Harwich lost to Yarmouth-Dennis, the top team in the entire Cape League. But the weekend gave Wareham some much-needed rest after its Gauntlet 10-day stretch. While other teams around the CCBL faltered with errors and strikeouts, the Gatemen displayed the exact opposite in their first home game since last Thursday.
The success started with the offense. The Gatemen began the night on the board as Connor Cuff (Southeastern Louisiana) doubled and scored on RJ Hamilton (Duke) after his leadoff walk. Not only did Hamilton speed from first to home, he notched his 17th run of the summer. That mark leads Wareham and also ties him for the eighth-most scores in the CCBL. But Wareham’s early-game triumphs only began: Levi Clark (Tennessee) hit home Cuff in the very next at bat, and then Foster Apple (Transfer Portal) kept the inning alive with a two-out RBI single.
Wareham’s immediate advantage, a three run lead, gave it a gust of momentum after its two-day break. While other teams around the CCBL stumbled into their return to play, the Gatemen shook off any rust in their first few plate appearances.
“It (Wareham’s early offensive success) was more patience than anything else. Their starter was a little all a little erratic and we didn't get ourselves out tonight,” Gatemen manager Ryan Smyth said. “Put ourselves in some good counts and was able to get some good swings off and led to success. So stuck with the game plan and it worked out great for us early on.”
The Gatemen tallied a score in the second inning and a pair of runs in the fourth frame, but their final true cash in came in the bottom of the seventh: a spot where Wareham’s high baseball IQ paid off to secure a stronger advantage.
After a flurry of defensive changes in the top of the seventh, the Gatemen were looking to build on their 6-3 lead. Wareham made its own comeback earlier this summer against Harwich, and now it was time for Smyth’s squad to lock things down.
Clark began the rally with a leadoff walk, then Chase Krewson (Pitt) earned first base with pain after being hit by a pitch. The Gatemen already recorded one out, but had two men on. Then, in his Cape League debut, Dylan Passo (Wake Forest) singled for his first hit as a Gatemen. But that single would do much more damage than expected: a multitude of defensive errors from the Mariners would score both Clark and Krewson.
Wareham could’ve been thrown off by this or even misplayed the wild throws themselves, but it stayed patient and advanced. Henry DiGiorgio (Northeastern) later brought in Passo for the third score of the frame and ninth run of the night.
“We put balls in play, we didn't strike out there. It was nothing pretty by any means, but we allowed another team to kind of beat themselves by just putting some pressure on them, and it worked out for us, and it was great,” Smyth said. “We needed it right then.”
The Gatemen’s offense, top to bottom, came out hot right out of the break. Now, it must come off a bus strong on Tuesday in Orleans. Wareham takes its final trip to Eldredge Park of the summer, a spot it played extra baseball in last time out.
