When Rylan Galvan went up to the plate in the bottom of the second inning Monday night, starting pitcher Braeden Sloan was sitting on the bench in the dugout. The lefty was taking a breather after his first two innings on the mound, already with four strikeouts to his name.
Then, he heard the crack of the bat. He couldn’t see anything that was happening on the field, but it didn’t matter. He knew the ball was gone.
So did everyone else at Spillane Field.
Galvan’s solo home run was the first of his Cape Cod Baseball League career, and the first Gatemen home run of the season. The Texas catcher launched a fastball 344 feet to left field, just to the right of the Gatemen bullpen, for a no-doubt homer that gave the Gatemen a lead they would never relinquish.
“It gave me a lot [of confidence],” Sloan said. “It was nice to get a lead. It took a little bit of pressure off and then just allowed me to work out there and let the defense work behind me.”
In Wareham’s 4-2 victory over the Cotuit Kettleers, the TCU pitcher threw five innings to earn the win, allowing just two hits and one run while striking out seven. The Kettleers were held to two runs on six hits on the night and could never match the energy the Gatemen had after Galvan crossed the plate.
Galvan himself didn’t explode with energy — he took a short pause to watch his ball leave the yard and, as he rounded third base, had just a small smile on his face — but his teammates and the Gatemen fans at Spillane Field celebrated enough for him.
“It just felt good to be able to get that first one out of the way,” Galvan said. “I figured early in the at-bat I was going to get the heater, and it ended up being the first pitch.”
Galvan holds that same mindset every time he steps into the box; his “just get after it” mentality means he’s always hunting for the fastball and will do everything he can to make contact when he sees one. So it was no surprise, really, that the first pitch of Galvan's next at-bat in the fourth inning resulted in a leadoff single.
He saw another fastball, so he got another hit.
Four batters later, he also scored another run. Antonio Jimenez (Miami) hit the ball sharply to Cotuit’s third baseman, and, on a fielding error, Galvan came around to score from second base. It was Wareham's second run of the game, allowing them to take back the lead after Cotuit scored one run in the top of the third inning. The Gatemen put up two more insurance runs across the sixth and seventh innings.
“There were rumors going around we were a road team,” Sloan joked. “[We] proved we were home dogs tonight, so it’s a good start.”
Sloan, whose seven strikeouts helped guarantee Wareham’s good start, is tied for fifth in the league in strikeouts and caught the attention of players, scouts and fans with his pitching arsenal. Thanks to his breaking balls and changeups landing for strikes and fooling batters, Sloan put up three 1-2-3 innings in successful efforts to bring his team back up to the plate.
“[I wanted to] stay consistent and give my team a chance to win,” Sloan said. “And then hand it off to the bullpen and let them shut it down.”
Sloan got just what he wanted, and Monday’s win marked Wareham’s first home win of the season. The Gatemen now sit in second place in the West Division with a 2-1 record. The key to their success? Playing good baseball on all fronts and doing so with a high level of chemistry and compatibility.
“From the jump, it’s been pretty fun with guys keeping everything loose, and I think that starts with the coaching staff,” Galvan said. “The coaching staff has allowed us to have fun, be ourselves and stay loose, and that’s just translating over to our play into the field.”
Top photo credit: Rylan Galvan rounds third base after hitting a home run Wareham's 4-2 win over the Cotuit Kettleers, June 17, 2024, at Spillane Field. Photo by Keegan Maloney.
