Bourne, Mass. - Wareham's lengthy 10-game gauntlet is finally over.
The Gatemen can now rest on the Cape League All-Star break. Thanks to Cape Cod's unpredictable weather, Wareham was handed a tough draw ahead of its two-day weekend vacation. Its road visit to Chatham last Thursday was supposed to be last Tuesday: a league-wide rain cancellation axed a built-in rest day.
After playing the Anglers at Veterans Field for the first time of the summer, the Gatemen nearly got through three innings against the Commodores before mother nature rained on their parade with lighting and thunderstorms in the nearby area Wareham's 3-0 lead was put on temporary pause-first for over 45 minutes at Guv Fuller Field as coaches and umpires discussed further steps then an eventual postponement and rescheduling as a continuation game on Monday, a league-wide off-day, a matchup the Gatemen would eventually win but would have to slug through as the rest of the Cape League recovered for the week ahead.
Wareham's final four days featured a road trip to the Cape League’s best team and two West Division matchups. The Gatemen took down the Red Sox to extend their win streak to three games, but ultimately fell back home against the Kettleers on Thursday.
In Wareham’s final game before the break, it simply ran out of gas against Bourne, the top squad in the division.
“It (Wareham’s final stretch before the break) was okay. Getting the three three-game winning streak in the middle of it was really good. It was exactly what we needed. We didn't finish this off strong, but still in the hunt here,” Gatemen manager Ryan Smyth said. “In two days with this All-Star break, kind of refresh, recharge the batteries, and go on another seven-game run. Got some reinforcements coming in, some new blood, and hopefully that sparks something for us going forward here.”
The game was shaping up to be another defensive battle at Doran Park: neither team reached home plate over three innings. Jordan Stephens (South Carolina) played a large part in keeping the Bravos off of the scoreboard: he didn’t allow a single earned run while tossing three strikeouts. Stephens lowered his ERA even lower under 1.00, now at .64.
Since making his first start of the summer back in June, Stephens has only allowed one earned run while increasing his swing-and-miss total to 24 on the summer, the second-most K’s on Wareham’s staff.
“It (Stephens’ work on the mound) was a great start. Getting him back is a huge bonus for us. We know what he's capable of doing, and he showed that tonight,” Smyth said. “So looking forward for his matchups going forward.”
Wareham kept things close, but in the end the best team in the West prevailed. The Gatemen ran out of gas after their long stretch. Fortunately for Smyth’s squads, a much-needed break awaits.
