Hyannis, Mass. — Under a bright July sun, the Gatemen stepped off the bus at McKeon Park, aiming to stretch their winning streak to three. It was their second visit to the Harbor Hawks' home this summer, the first ending in a commanding 12-6 victory back on June 20.
With back-to-back wins over Orleans and Bourne, Wareham carried momentum and confidence into their Saturday showdown with Hyannis. They once again delivered in a tightly contested game.
The Wareham Gatemen (10-13) defeated the Hyannis Harbor Hawks (10-10-3) in a low-scoring defensive game by a score of 3-2. The win was the Gatemen’s third consecutive and fourth in their last five games.
The game started as a tense pitchers' duel between Hyannis’ Carson Jasa (Nebraska) and Wareham’s Josh Butler (Arizona State). In the first two innings, both teams went hitless in a scoreless game.
Both teams then threatened in the third. Center Fielder Hayden Yost (Florida) got the first hit of the game off a single to right field. Then, Second Baseman Brayden Randle (Ole Miss) walked to put two runners on with two outs. However, Catcher Levi Clark (Tennessee) struck out to leave the runners stranded.
The Harbor Hawks then loaded the bases with nobody out with the top of the order up. Then Jake Schaffner (North Dakota State) hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Stone Lawless (Tennessee) to put Hyannis on the board.
The Harbor Hawks looked to add on to their newfound lead, but Right Fielder Chase Krewson (UCF) caught a fly ball and then threw out Sawyer Black (North Carolina) at home plate after he tagged up for a timely double play to end the inning.
It was one of three double plays that the Gatemen defense created to take away momentum from Hyannis’ offense. Shortstop Vance Sheahan (Miami) created a 6-4-3 double play to take away a baserunner in the bottom of the first, then he caught a line drive off the bat of Sawyer Black to create a 6-3 double play, erasing a leadoff walk.
“I'm really just trying to help out the pitcher. They're fighting up there and doing everything they can to get out of a tough situation if they're in one, and I’m just trying to help them out,” said Sheahan.
Sheahan owes a lot of that defensive success to his middle infield partner Brayden Randle, whom he has developed strong chemistry with.
“It’s a good connection with me and Randle up the middle. Just the communication we have and we've played there quite a bit up the middle. We're just getting quicker and cleaner up the middle and its been easy from there,” said Sheahan.
The Gatemen defense has been battle-tested all season, especially in Friday’s 5-4 win over Bourne. They once again stepped up to keep Hyannis stuck at one run throughout the game.
“We had that little losing streak, but we knew that we were a good team, a team that's going to battle and we just want to play till the end. We have our saying, it's nine, you know, we play all nine innings till the end,” said Sheahan.
The defense was dialed in and solid pitching performances from Butler and Relief Pitcher Hudson Rowan (Louisiana Tech) kept the game in reach; however, the offense started the game stagnant.
Carson Jasa had a fantastic start for the Harbor Hawks, going 5 innings, allowing only 2 hits, and a walk while striking out 7 batters. The Gatemen’s bats had no answer for the right-hander and struggled to find their way onto the score sheet.
It was not until the seventh inning that the Gatemen got on the board. Vance Sheahan led off with a hit-by-pitch, then Caden McDonald (Florida) pinch hit for First Baseman Landon Stripling (Florida) and crushed a two-run home run down the left field line to give the Gatemen a 2-1 lead.
“I was hoping that Vance would get on base. So I would have a chance to put us in a good spot to get runners on and tie the game. You don't really go into those at bats looking for home runs, I looked to pass the baton to the next guy to drive in a run, but obviously, it felt great to see it go over the wall,” said McDonald.
McDonald’s home run then brought the offense to life. Brayden Randle struck a one-out double, then was driven in by Levi Clark with a single to left field to make it 3-1 Wareham. Once again, the Gatemen offense came alive at a crucial part of the game and turned the tide of the game.
The Gatemen then held that lead into the ninth, where Hyannis attempted a comeback. They scored on a sacrifice ground out from Devin Mitchell (Florence-Darlington Tech JC) to score Jake Schaffner and put the Harbor Hawks within one.
However, Gatemen Pitcher Ty Starke (Louisville) closed out the game forcing a two-out pop up to newly acquired shortstop Chris Ramirez (California Baptist) who made his Cape Cod Baseball League debut in the late innings of the game. He was excited to help his new teammates secure a crucial win.
“I mean, I didn't see the ball at first, which was a little scary, but once I caught it, it was a relief,” said Ramirez. “It was really exciting. I've been waiting for the opportunity all summer, so it was exciting to get the call. Everybody's been great. I love this team. They're all great guys,” said Ramirez.
The win now moves Wareham into third place in the West Division standings after Cotuit defeated Bourne 10-3 on Saturday. The Gatemen find themselves only a game and a half behind both Falmouth, who lost to Y-D 4-1 on Saturday, and Hyannis.
“We want to play our best baseball against the division because those games mean a little bit more. But, any win out here is a good win. So the fact that it was against Hyannis, the top team in our division right now, I'll take that, that was a good win,” said Gatemen Field Manager Ryan Smyth.
It was an important division win and the Gatemen aim to do it again on Sunday as they take on the Falmouth Commodores at home. First pitch for that game will be at 6:00 p.m. at Spillane Field in Wareham.
