All of Spillane Field turned their heads to center field during pregame to watch the Massachusetts State Police Helicopter touch down in the outfield grass. Players, staff and fans were in awe at the sight of this spectacle, beginning a night of celebration for all the first responders who serve and protect the Wareham community and beyond.

This was a welcomed sight for a Gatemen team who had been in a rough patch, losing five of their last eight games and losing four straight home games. Yet all of that negative energy vanished with the excitement brought by the Wareham community on Saturday.

Wareham Gatemen’s designated hitter, Murf Gray (Fresno State), acknowledged how the exciting celebration brought a new and lively energy to the ballpark and gave the Gatemen the spark they needed to succeed.

“The first responders being out here was it was big-time, you know, I thank them a lot for everything they do for the community, especially out here in Wareham. I think all the fans showing up for that kind of sparked us and gave us the energy to get the win tonight,” he said.

The Gatemen (18-10-1) bounced back in a huge home win, defeating the Bourne Braves (12-15-2), 10-5, on First Responders Night. Wareham Gatemen manager Ryan Smyth emphasized just how much things went their way.

“I think we cashed in on some situational hits. You know, you can call some bloopers some hard hits, whatever, but it felt like it was rolling our way today, and, you know, from the get-go, the energy was a lot better,” he said.

It seemed the Gatemen were back to their old selves, grabbing 13 knocks on their way to snapping their four-game home losing streak. Of those 13 hits, designated hitter Gray and second basemen Yohann Dessureault (Stetson) combined for seven of those hits.

Gray continued his tear through the Cape League on Saturday, going 3-for-4 with three RBI. Gray has easily become one of the most feared hitters in the entire league, but despite the noise, he has managed to stay laser-focused during each at-bat.

“Everybody's out here to compete, you know, I'm going up there with fight and edge and I want to win every at-bat … You got to play with everything you have, you know, wherever you're from, wherever you're at, you got to bring it to the field and show up at 6 o'clock ready to play,” he said.

His hunger and determination to win his battles at the plate have been working for him this season as he is tied for first in the league in hits (38), tied for second in RBI (24), second in OPS (1.006) and third in batting average (.369).

Gray has not been the only Gateman to have been heating up, as Dessureault decided to go on a tear of his own, going 4-for-5 on the night, scoring four runs, and improving his batting average by 50 points in the process (now batting .354 on the summer). For Dessureault, it is keeping things simple and starting his team off on the right foot.

“You can't overthink in the off spots. You just see ball and hit ball and it's been working pretty well for me,” he said.

Dessureault was also a force on the basepaths, stealing three bags and setting the rest of his offense up to cash in. As someone who did not steal much at Stetson, he has taken his opportunities at the Cape to see what he can do and he has tremendously improved his baserunning.

“I think it's something I've recently started to become more confident with because I didn't really steal bases at school or anything. So I'm kind of trying it out here,” he said.

His experiments have especially led to an effective use of the delayed steal, which he feels is underutilized in summer ball with teams not paying as much attention to it.

All of this has made Dessureault, and his teammates more confident in his abilities as a leadoff hitter. Now with Brendan Summerhill (Arizona), the Gatemen’s traditional leadoff hitter, returning to the lineup, it gives Smyth some creative options for his lineup.

The much-needed home victory gets Smyth and the Gatemen finally back to the baseball they like to play. They look to continue the momentum into their next game against the Falmouth Commodores (10-18-1) at Guv Fuller Field on Sunday afternoon.

Top photo caption: Yohann Dessureault gears up to fire the ball over to first base in Wareham's 8-6 loss at Hyannis on July 5, 2024. Photo by Kyler Armstrong.