After their tough defeat in Hyannis on Saturday, the Gatemen returned home to Spillane Field with some extra motivation. They looked to avenge their tough start and get ahead early against the Falmouth Commodores. It was another hot and humid day during batting practice and not only did the Gatemen want to end their regular season on a good note, but they also had playoff seeding to play for.
A win would secure themselves a three-seed in the West Division playoffs, and with the red-hot Bourne Braves defeating Cotuit earlier in the day 11-5, the pressure was on to finish the job.
At first, the Gatemen once again had a difficult start to the game. In the first inning alone, the Gatemen gave up four runs to the Commodores. Starting pitcher Griffin O’Connor (Georgetown) threw thirty-six pitches in the first frame of the game, giving up three walks, an RBI single from Trent Caraway (Oregon State), and a three-run home run to Donovan LaSalle (Oklahoma State).
It was not the start that O’Connor, nor the Gatemen, were looking for and once again they had to fight from behind. However, They never gave up and climbed back into the driver’s seat.
The Gatemen (22-17-1) defeated the Falmouth Commodores (16-23-1) 9-5 at home on Sunday. The victory seals the number three spot in the West Division playoffs and sets up a date with the Cotuit Kettleers on Tuesday in round one of the postseason. It was a complete team win. One that seemed more like the Gatemen brand of baseball the team had been lacking during the majority of the final stretch of the year.
“A little bit of everything was going right tonight. I mean, we got some good pitching there. I know it wasn’t the greatest first inning, but he settled in and, you know, gave us a couple more. Overall we played some good defense tonight and got the pitching when we needed it,” said Wareham Gatemen manager Ryan Smyth.
The pitching performance from the Gatemen bullpen was nothing short of spectacular. After O’Connor’s rough beginning to the game, the bullpen helped their teammate by shutting down the Commodores lineup. Jaxon Lucas (NC State) had a fantastic outing, pitching 2 ⅔ innings, punching out four ‘Dores and only surrendering one hit, which was enough to credit him with the win. Another great performance on the bump came from Zane Coppersmith (Stetson) who retired three batters in a row with the bases juiced.
“I was trying to start off everyone with some strikes and get ahead of them. I was trying to do my job and help my other pitcher out, try to help us win. So, I mean. I’m happy it went the way it did. Try to keep the ball in the infield, not to score anything, and it worked out,” said Coppersmith.
Coppersmith kept the ball in the infield, forcing a fielder’s choice, a pop-out, and a strikeout to get his team out of a jam that could have been the turning point in the game.
“You know that could have been the entire game right there. For him to come out and get Jack (Smith) out of that jam with the bases loaded and no runs was unbelievable. It was the right spot for him and I’m glad it all worked out,” Smyth said about Coppersmith’s performance.
He finished pitching 1 ⅓ innings and punching out two batters and kept the momentum going for the Gatemen. On top of the pitching performance, the Gatemen offense shined bright.
After the top half of the first, the Gatemen offense locked in, drawing five walks in a row to score their first two runs, and then grabbed an RBI bloop single from the bat of Sam White (West Virginia) to make it a 4-3 game.
The successes at the plate continued through the game as the Gatemen offense ended the night with ten hits and six walks to produce their nine runs. On top of that, the Gatemen had seven different batters grab hits, three of them having multi-hit nights, including Sam White, Colby Turner (Michigan), and Nate Earley (Louisville).
Earley continued where he left off Saturday in Hyannis. He went 2 for 3 on the night with an RBI, two walks, and two runs scored. The Louisville Cardinal has been seeing the ball well and has focused to make his stance consistently effective.
“I’m seeing the ball well right now, but I just get my foot down early and try to see the pitch out of that pitcher’s hand. Mobbs has been drilling in my head that I’m already a big physical guy and I don’t need to swing super hard. So just try to not do too much, hit over the shortstop’s head, and that sometimes leads me to get my barrel out and good things happen,” said Earley.
Earley’s hitting tonight was one of many things going well for the Gatemen offense. The performance is a much-needed confidence boost at the right time as they now enter the postseason and the complete team win is something the Gatemen aim to build off of.
“We’re gonna need a good start, the bats gotta be alive, and we need a good nine innings of baseball. We can do that. We’re just as good as any other team in this league. And, I think at this point in the postseason, it’s who wants to stay here another day longer and I think we’ve had the team that’s wanting to be here all year,” said Coach Smyth
With the win, Wareham’s next stop is Cotuit, where they will play the Kettleers in a single-elimination playoff game. These two teams played each other just this past Friday, with the Gatemen upsetting the visiting Kettleers 10-9 in a walk-off to complete the second-largest comeback in Cape League history. It is a team that has quickly become their rival this season, with each matchup between the two ball clubs being very competitive.
“It would be fun beating them. They’re a good team and I guess we have some beef as players because we kind of danced on the field in front of them, so they’re trying to get some vengeance. But, I think we are the better team so hopefully we pull out the win,” said Nate Earley about the matchup.
If the Gatemen defeat Cotuit, they will then await the winner of Bourne vs. Hyannis and will play the victor in a best-of-three series. For now, the Gatemen set their sights on round one in Cotuit. First pitch is slated for Tuesday, August 6 at 4 pm at Lowell Park in Cotuit, MA.
Top Photo Caption: Nate Earley gets a Gatorade bath from his teammates after Wareham's 9-5 win vs Falmouth on August 4th, 2024. Photo by Andrew Duffy.
