After a tough, wire-to-wire loss in Cotuit on Friday, Wareham returns home after its two-game road trip to face another West Division team: Falmouth.
The Commodores have won four straight games, their most recent victory coming against a divisional team, and now look to head on a late-season run to potentially claim the second place spot in the West Division. Wareham is still fighting for the final playoff spot, and every game down the stretch becomes even more critical.
Wareham hosts Literacy Night expecting one of the largest crowds of the summer and can take down one of the hottest teams in the CCBL. The Gatemen have just eight games left in the summer to fight their way into a playoff spot and move past the Kettleers. Can a late-season push begin against the third place team in the division?
Starting Pitchers: Butt vs. Stephens
Falmouth: The Commodores have only allowed 12 runs over their last four games: they have all gone down in the win column. The ‘Dores come to Spillane Field with defensive momentum, and now Kody Butt (Bellevue) makes his Cape League debut after strong outings in the Northwoods league earlier this summer. He racked up 21 strikeouts over 18.2 innings of work and already has two starts and six appearances against wood-bat hitters.
Wareham: Jordan Stephens (South Carolina) has only allowed one run over his last three starts. His 24 K’s place him just one strikeout away from tying the team-high mark, and can pass it after tossing multiple in every appearance so far this summer. The Gatemen tallied four scoreless innings against the Kettleers on Friday, and now look for another strong opener from Stephens as they return home.
Players To Watch
Commodores: Falmouth put together one of the most dominant performances at the plate of the CCBL season, scoring 15 runs on 21 hits in their domination of the Harbor Hawks on Friday. In just his fourth game in the Cape League, Jeff Lougee (Northwestern) went a perfect four-for-four at the plate and was one of three Falmouth hitters with multiple RBIs on the night.
Gatemen: Friday’s comeback bid started from the bat of Coen Niclai (Oregon State). He was Wareham’s only multi-RBI hitter with his two-run bomb in the top of fourth inning to score its first run of the ballgame. That was Niclai’s fifth homer of the summer, a mark that not only leads all Gatemen batters but also places him fourth in the Cape League.
First pitch in Wareham is set for 6:00. Fans can attend for free, or tune in on Cape League TV.
