The Wareham Gatemen are riding high after Sunday night’s 4-2 victory over the Falmouth Commodores, where the team showcased multiple innings of shutout pitching and an ability to seize positive momentum and run with it — literally.
From legging out triples to taking a chance on swiping a bag, the Gatemen showed they weren’t afraid to take risks as they became more comfortable with playing under the bright lights of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
“The more and more they’re open to trying new things, I think this team is going to be really fun to watch,” manager Ryan Smyth said Sunday night.
Wareham has a prime opportunity to show out for its fans — who showed out themselves on Opening Day at Spillane Field with an official attendance number of 2,145 — Monday night as the team returns home to face the Cotuit Kettleers. Cotuit will come to Wareham with a 1-1 record after beating the Orleans Firebirds 2-1 on the road Sunday.
Starting Pitchers
Braeden Sloan (TCU) will start on the mound for the Gatemen. The 6-foot-4 left-handed pitcher is coming off a strong sophomore season with the Horned Frogs, where he posted a 5.93 ERA over 27.1 innings of work and held batters to a .261 batting average. He struck out 43 total batters while walking just 17, and will look to bring that same control to the Cape. Sloan’s best outing of the 2024 season came in TCU’s 6-1 win over Arizona in which he pitched six scoreless innings and struck out 13, both good for career highs.
The Kettleers will hand the ball to right-hander Logan Lunceford (Wake Forest). The sophomore pitched the second-most innings for the Missouri Tigers in 2024, totalling 60.2 innings of work. Lunceford posted a 6.97 ERA, struck out 53 batters and led the Tigers in walks allowed with 26. He also allowed a total of 14 home runs. Opponents hit an average of .297 off the Missouri transfer, who recently committed to Wake Forest.
Players to Watch
Wareham’s Murf Gray (Fresno State) was hard to miss Sunday evening, his ever-present smile just as noticeable as his baserunning. Gray, the only Gatemen with a stolen base so far this season, hadn’t stolen a base in his collegiate career but showed he wasn’t afraid to take the chance Sunday. The sophomore infielder’s willingness to try new things and his three hits in six at-bats make him one of Wareham’s most effective batters over the course of the first two games this summer.
Hunter Dobbins (Ball State) played a pivotal role in Ball State’s 2024 season, in which the Cardinals won 35 games for the fifth straight season and hit a total of 90 home runs. The junior catcher totalled 18 home runs himself, posting a batting average of .267 and slugging .617 with 53 RBI and 17 doubles. Dobbins continued in his winning ways in Wareham’s win over Falmouth, hitting a no-doubt double to bring in Wareham’s fourth run of the evening and proving to be a reliable backstop behind the plate.
The Kettleers return four key players from their 2023 season, in which they won a total of 28 games for fourth-best in Cotuit history. Among the returners is Sean Keys (Bucknell), who took a strong 2023 Cape League season and turned it into one of the best seasons in Bucknell history. The junior infielder was named Patriot League Player of the Year as he led the league in every category, slashing .405/.535/.798. Keys was consistently ranked among the top third basemen in the country by D1 Baseball and proved an all-around threat for the Bison. In 2023 Keys played 12 games for the Kettleers, in which he posted a .333 batting average, hit four home runs and drove in 17 RBI.
Devin Taylor (Indiana) also poses a large threat at the plate for the Kettleers, as the sophomore outfielder was one of the most feared hitters in the Big Ten. Taylor finished the 2024 season with a .357 batting average and 86 hits, and led the conference with 20 home runs and 67 runs scored. Taylor is one of seven Cape League players with a home run to his name so far this season.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at Spillane Field. The game will be broadcast on Cape League TV.
Top Photo Credit: Spillane Field at sunset June 15, 2024. Photo by Kyler Armstrong.
