On Friday, the Gatemen returned from their road trip to a beautiful blue sky at Spillane Field. The weather completely contrasted with the previous two days in Brewster and Yarmouth and was perfect for baseball.
The Gatemen aimed to move past their wacky loss against Y-D the night before and build some momentum going into the All-Star break before the final week of the regular season. However, the league-worst Harwich Mariners had other plans. Building off their 2-1 home victory over the Brewster Whitecaps, the Mariners aimed to create some momentum of their own and fight for their playoff lives, and they succeeded.
The Gatemen fell to Harwich, 6-3, on Friday night at Spillane Field. The loss is the Gatemen’s second in a row and their first loss to the Mariners this season. It was also one of the longer games of the season, lasting just under 3 hours, 30 minutes.
In that span, the Gatemen did not look like the same team that performed well on the road the previous two days. The lineup only generated six hits on the night. A big reason for that was striking out at the plate. The Gatemen combined for 13 strikeouts on the day, which took the bat out of their hands quickly.
The Mariners fared better at the plate, grabbing 12 knocks of their own. Those 12 hits were given up by seven different Gatemen pitchers over the course of the evening, highlighting the struggle for the Gatemen to also get a consistent performance on the mound.
All around, it was an uncharacteristic performance for the Gatemen, yet despite this there were still positives. Right fielder Reese Chapman (Tennessee) had a great night, going 2-for-4 with a double and a two-run home run. Chapman's success at the plate was thanks to a quick change in his stance.
“To be honest, after the first AB I made a mid-game adjustment and I decided to focus on my toes more. I wanted to balance better off my back heel so I could see the ball better," he said. "I also wasn’t in a rush and saw that he gave me the fastball, and then he did it again and I swung. I was aiming to get on base and get something started for our team."
He exceeded his own expectations, crushing the ball to deep right field to get the Gatemen on the board and cut the Mariners' lead to four. Unfortunately, Chapman’s heroics were not enough to avoid the loss.
Despite the slow pace of the game and the Mariners’ dominance during it, the Gatemen still held their heads up high and showed up with a positive attitude. Even as a majority of the fans departed from the stadium, the Gatemen dugout brought the noise, cheering on their teammates for great plays and crucial efforts that kept them in the fight.
“They didn’t quit. It’s guys that wanna be here and have a little fun without it getting too out of control, but they want to be here and win baseball games," Wareham manager Ryan Smyth said about his team. "Unfortunately, it was not on our side tonight, but we have two days to recharge, which is a rare gift in this league."
Smyth is right about the two-day break as well, as it is the only one of its kind this season. It gives the team a chance to hit the reset button and gear up for the final week of the Cape Cod League season. For seven Gatemen, however, the break will be short, as the Gatemen’s seven All-Stars (Murf Gray, Yohann Dessureault, Brendan Summerhill, Sam White, Tate McGuire, Tony Pluta and Jacob Faulkner) will be heading to Falmouth for the Cape Cod Baseball League’s All-Star Game on Saturday. For them, it will be a fun day of festivities and playing with the league’s best with a large crowd eager to see the top talent on the Cape.
The Gatemen also have officially clinched their first ticket to the postseason in five years after Falmouth’s loss to Orleans on Friday. Now it is a matter of building momentum going into the playoffs. Wareham’s next game will be Monday against the Hyannis Harbor Hawks. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. at Clem Spillane Field in Wareham.
Top photo caption: Reese Chapman walks out to right field in Wareham's 11-0 loss vs. Brewster on July 13, 2024. Photo by Keegan Maloney.
