Wareham, Mass. 一 The ingredients were there all weekend. Strong starting pitching. Defensive flashes. Base runners. The Gatemen just needed everything to click at once. Against the Anglers, it did.
Wareham showed promise in its first two games of the season. Its season opener against Cotuit featured five scoreless innings from starter Garrett Lambert (Alabama). Despite that strong start and a scoreless tie after seven innings, late defensive woes wiped an otherwise strong afternoon. The Gatemen kept the Harbor Hawks at bay for eight straight innings on Wareham Opening Day the following night, but the offense couldn’t execute with runners on base. Wareham put together strong performances from individual position groups but never produced a full team performance.
That full performance, the culmination of Wareham’s individual momentum, came against Chatham.
Wareham executed in the clutch, starting in the fourth inning with Jason Wachs’ (LSU) RBI that scored Dylan Dubovik (Miami). The Gatemen’s first run of the summer provided a mentality switch. They weren’t just facing pitchers anymore, they were attacking.
The one run provided the spark that Wareham’s bats needed. The Gatemen cashed in with the bases loaded the following inning, notching three runs and knocking Anglers’ starter Oliver Pudvar (UConn) out of the game with a 9.00 ERA in his Cape League debut. Just two days ago those runners would’ve been stranded: Wareham was a clutch, confident offense.
“It was a good win. It was good for the bats to come alive. And one thing that really stood out, which we talked about prior to this game, we played some really good (Situational) baseball,” Gatemen manager Ryan Smyth said. “It doesn't show up in a box score necessarily, but Tony Lira (Arizona) had a big fly out to right that moved the runner over, then followed by walks, a gritty at-bat that ended in a ground out for an RBI. Things like that, that'll win you baseball games out here.”
In the sixth inning Wareham smacked its first home run of 2026: a 407-foot bomb to left-center field from catcher Coen Niclai. The following frame was another base hit parade with three knocks and two scores. Shortstop Chris Ramirez stole second base and immediately advanced to third off of an error. The runs came in bunches, and they were produced in a variety of ways.
“We just kind of have been struggling a little bit and trying to get runners in scoring position,” Gatemen second baseman RJ Hamilton (Duke) said. “And getting them in, getting the big hit…today we just kind of kept it simple and just passed the torch. Just kind of what the guys did today, we executed as a team.”
Chris Ramirez (Transfer Portal) had another strong night in the batter’s box with three hits. The difference? He was one of many Gatemen to produce impact at-bats. Designated hitter Linkin Garcia (Texas) added a sacrifice RBI along with a double. Dubovik notched a pair of hits and three total bases on the night. Wareham competed in at-bats the entire night, just nine strikeouts compared to Sunday’s 14, in a disciplined offensive performance.
“It's just sticking to the game plan, sticking to our approach,” Dubovik said. “(We need to) Just keep going with it, trusting each other, just handing off the bat to the other person. So it all just all came together throughout the game.”
The offense came together tonight. The pitching staff and field answered the call with a momentous performance of their own.
Brayden Kersey (Tennessee) came into the game in the eighth inning with runners on the corners and just one out. Wareham’s offense was producing, but another episode of late-game drama could’ve drained its momentum from earlier in the night. Kersey, despite the tough situation, elevated the Gatemen’s momentum. He allowed just one hit over 1 2/3 innings and gained quick outs in the top of the ninth to collect a save and protect Wareham’s first win of the summer.
“But kudos to the pitching too. Kersey, man, he shut the door there,” Smyth said. “And yeah, we didn't make it the easiest for him, but he had some big composure there and got the job done.”
Kersey’s save was the exclamation point of Wareham’s work to produce a full-team, full-game performance. As players signed autographs for the kids and the coaches joyfully chatted with one another after the game, a feeling of accomplishment lingered in the air at Spillane Field. This has always been a talented Gatemen squad, but they didn’t allow this roadblock to define week 1.
