Wareham, Mass. 一 the weather couldn’t prevent the Gatemen’s offensive onslaught on Saturday night.
Friday’s early action at the plate, two first-inning home runs from RJ Hamilton (Duke) and Dylan Dubovik (Miami), will have to wait until Monday night to become official. Although those stats don’t count yet against Falmouth, the at-bats themselves let Wareham get into a groove ahead of its home matchup against Hyannis.
The Harbor Hawks came to Spillane Field as the second place team in the West Division, but the Gatemen pounced right from the jump. Hamilton started off the night with a leadoff single, then proceeded to steal second base, third base, and then came home off of a wild pitch. Although Wareham technically didn’t play on Friday, it clearly found a groove.
“That (postponement after 3-0 lead against Falmouth) was tough. “Obviously, we had momentum going in there and had Stevens on the mound, who was absolutely shoving at the time, and I don't want to say thought it was a win, but you felt a different vibe in the dugout that day, just the way it started,” Gatemen manager Ryan Smyth said. “And it felt really similar tonight, it felt you know there was some energy in the dugout. We got out to an early lead, was able to extend it. We hit the ball all over the ballpark today. We played small ball when we needed to. Teammates made plays when we needed it, stolen bases. It was a really well-rounded, well-played game by us.”
The Gatemen notched double-digits for the fourth time in the month of July. Wareham had a man reach base in five of its eight offensive frames. It took advantage of a Hyannis staff that ranked at the bottom of the Cape League in team-ERA and earned runs, putting the ball in play and advancing with three total steals on the night to move into scoring position.
Wareham’s upcoming stretch一six games in six consecutive games一requires its bats to stay hot and find way to manufacture runs. Whether the scores come from RBIs or even sacrifice bunt, the Gatemen must pull through at the plate in their four upcoming West Division matchups. Saturday’s work in the batter’s box forced Hyannis to use four arms, each of them with over 20 total pitches. Smyth received production
“It (The offensive explosion) is great. The biggest thing for me, hits or not right, the ability to score runs without hitting is key, and that's where you need team guys, team ABs that are just shooting for wins, and that's something that I'm proud of,” Smyth said. “They’re starting to understand like, hey, let's just get some wins, and you know the stats and everything else are going to come with the wins, and we're playing much better baseball because of it.”
But although the bats powered the Gatemen to a 7-4 advantage at the end of the seventh inning, they still had one job to complete: shut down the Harbor Hawks’ offense, a squad that came into the night with the most home runs in the Cape League (19).
Ty Starke (Louisville) controlled the eighth inning. Although he allowed an early walk, Starke quickly rebounded by forcing a weak grounder that the defense turned into a double play. And because he faced the minimum against the middle of Hyannis’ lineup, its threatening top three hitters weren’t due in the ninth frame.
“He (Starke) has been our guy. He was our guy last year. I have full confidence in him. They had a lot of lefties in the lineup. It was a really good matchup,” Smyth said “Obviously, he's funky as hell. “Came out, settled in really quick and got a big double play when he needed it, and he was in the right spot at the right time.”
Finn Edwards (Arizona State) earned Wareham’s fourth save of the summer after throwing 15 of his 21 pitches in the ninth inning for strikes.
The Gatemen’s full roster一hitters, relievers, defensive sparkplugs一played their role in a victory over one of the West Division’s surging squads. Wareham next faces Bourne, the best in the West, for the third time this summer.
