Brewster, Mass. 一 the Gatemen’s final matchup with the Whitecaps of the summer, and the second leg of their back-to-back matchups, was the closest one yet.
Just a night ago, Brewster and Wareham had another defensive battle. Each team only tallied six hits, and both pitching staffs recorded double-digit strikeouts. There was six total runs scored at Spillane Field on Wednesday, the lowest run total in the three matchups between the two teams.
Thursday’s action took the term pitcher's duel to a whole new level.
The game had no score until the ninth inning, there wasn't a single hit until the top of the sixth inning when Carter Groen (Pittsburgh) singled. Nobody even reached base until a Brewster batter earned a free pass in the bottom of the third.
Wednesday was a defensive affair: Thursday showed dominance on the mound from both pitching staffs and the defenses behind them. Ground balls were swallowed up with ease and pitchers got ahead in counts on both sides.
“At this time of the year the position guys are pretty beat up and tired, and just the bats are a little bit slower,” Gatemen manager Ryan Smyth said. “And then you have a mix of new guys coming in and getting their first couple ABs and getting their feet wet, so it's a combo of that.”
Wareham contained and neutralized the second-best offense in the Cape League in large part to starter Peyton Lee (Arkansas). He didn't allow a single hit over four innings, and struck out four Brewster batters. Lee continued to rack up efficient innings which both kept him in the ballgame and saved Wareham’s other arms for the final stretch of the summer.
“It (Lee’s start on Thursday was a good one,” Smyth said. I wish he (Lee) was sticking around, but at least it was a good one before he left.”
The game was knotted at zero for two and a half hours, eight and half innings, until the bottom of the ninth. With three outs before Wareham’s first extra-inning affair since the all-star break, Brewster broke through. The frame started with consecutive singles, then an intentional walk to load the bases.
With two outs left to get and nowhere to put another Whitecap hitter, Brewster gained a walk-off walk in five pitches.
Just one score, a walk with the bases juiced, was the difference in Wareham’s final trip to Stony Brook Field of 2026.
“We've just been on the bad side of things (In late situations). These guys are here, they're invested in it, and we're just coming up short,” Smyth said. “We just got to find ways to win a game, and be able to do that on a consistent basis when the lights are on. We just got to find someone that's going to step up and find a way to get on base, make something happen, and go from there.”
The Gatemen fell to the Whitecaps, but now must have a short memory as they head back into the West Division for a crucial matchup with the Kettleers: the fourth and fifth place teams in the division.
