On the road again.
Tuesday’s return to Spillane Field一and return to play after the second off-day of the CCBL calendar一was mired in torrential rain for four straight innings. The Gatemen fell in seven innings to the Firebirds due to the rain-shortened contest, but ended the night by tossing four scoreless frames and tallying two unanswered runs.
Wareham’s tango with Mother Nature is over for now, but it heads to Whitehouse Field for the first time this summer. The Gatemen face a Mariners team that they recently walked off with a grand slam just a few days prior. But each night, each matchup, brings a new twist in the nation’s most competitive summer collegiate baseball league.
Starting Pitchers: Lee vs. Goodman
Wareham: Peyton Lee’s (Arkansas) last start was against then-undefeated Yarmouth-Dennis, a team still with the most victories in the Cape League. He responded well to early adversity with two strikeouts and now has the opportunity to face a slumping Harwich squad with losses in its last two outings. The Mariners didn’t play at all yesterday due to the weather, which gives Lee and his 96 mph fastball the opportunity to catch them off guard.
Harwich: Riley Goodman (Transfer Portal) is in the upper-eschelon of the league’s strikeout leaders with seven K’s after just two appearances. His first start featured four scoreless innings, can he replicate that in his second? The college baseball transfer portal closes on June 30, making this one of Goodman’s final opportunities to show prospective college teams why he should be at the front end of their rotation.
Players To Watch
Gatemen: After his four-for-five outing in Falmouth, Jason Wachs (LSU) tallied a base knock on Tuesday and is now on a three-game hitting streak. He has been a microcosm of the offense: a slow start with all the changes that the Cape League brings, but now is hitting his stride. Wachs has been Wareham’s leadoff hitter for the last two games.
Mariners: Tyler Smolinski (TCU) leads Harwich in hits and RBIs to complement his team-high .393 batting average. He recorded two hits against Y-D and has five in the last two games. Yes, Smolinski gets on base consistently but he also brings a power threat with two long-balls on the summer. The righty shortstop will also make an impact in the field with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage through eight games.
Both of the Gatemen’s wins have come against East Division opponents, one of those against the Mariners, but they are still searching for their first road victory of the season. The Mariners look to get back on track after a recent skid and missing yesterday’s game against the Harbor Hawks.
First pitch from Harwich’s Whitehouse Field is slated for 6:30 p.m. Gatemen fans can make the trip over the bridge and attend the game free of charge, or tune in on Cape League TV.
