Wareham, Mass. — It was a warm sunny day in Wareham as the Gatemen welcomed in the Falmouth Commodores for the second time this season. Their previous matchup against their division foe did not go well, as they fell 11-4 after committing 7 errors on July 5.
Since then, the Gatemen have been on a tear, winning four of their last five games. The past two games ended in tight one-run wins, showcasing their ability to win low-scoring defensive showcases. Tonight was a different story, however, as the Gatemen’s bats quickly came to life.
The Gatemen (11-13) routed the Falmouth Commodores (11-12-1) by a score of 12-3 to secure their fourth consecutive win and their fifth in their last six games. It also puts Wareham only one point behind both Falmouth and Hyannis for first place in the West Division, with Hyannis losing to Cotuit 8-1, and Bourne losing 3-1 to Harwich.
The game started out with fireworks very early. In the bottom of the second, the Gatemen batted around the order, putting up 5 runs on 5 hits with two outs. The rally started with a single from First Baseman Caden McDonald (Florida) to give the Gatemen their first baserunner of the night.
Then, Third Baseman Vance Sheahan (Miami) walked to put two runners on for newly acquired Catcher Drew Rogers (Georgia Tech), who stepped to the plate for the very first time in a Gatemen uniform, after being assigned to Wareham from the Brewster Whitecaps.
In his first at-bat as a Gatemen, he heard the entire dugout scream “Balk!” as a sudden movement from Commodores pitcher Laif Palmer (Cal Poly), which could have counted as an illegal move resulting in the advancement of both runners. Rogers delivered something even better, however, as he blasted a three-run home run deep to left center field to put the Gatemen up 3-0.
“The only thing going through my mind was everyone screaming, ‘Balk! Balk!” The pitcher flinched, and I didn't even see it. My head was down. But right before that pitch, I cleared my mind, which helped me, and the rest was history,” said Rogers.
It was a surreal moment for Rogers, who has only been with the team for a few days, but he was beyond thrilled to celebrate with his new teammates when he rounded the bases.
“The guys were all there to cheer me on. It's been a while since my last at bat, so I was just happy to be with the guys celebrating that,” said Rogers.
“Welcome to Wareham, right? It's not the easiest thing to get balls out of this ballpark. We play in one of the bigger ones in the league. It was a 3-2 pitch, and he got a good swing on a ball in the zone, and it traveled a long way. That was a cool moment for him,” said Gatemen Field Manager Ryan Smyth.
The Gatemen offense then exploded for two more runs. Second Baseman Brayden Randle (Ole Miss) doubled to score Shortstop Chris Ramirez (California Baptist), and Left Fielder Levi Clark (Tennessee) singled on a ground ball to score Randle to make it 5-0.
Wareham then added four more runs in the third. Sheahan struck a sacrifice fly to score Right Fielder Chase Krewson (UCF), then Randle singled to score McDonald, and Clark hit a sacrifice fly to score Rodgers to make it 9-0 Gatemen.
The game was comfortably in the Gatemen’s hands after the third inning, but solid pitching from Starter Cooper Consiglio (NC State) kept the Commodores off the board. Consiglio went 4 innings, allowed only 3 hits, a walk, and struck out 4 batters. He was locked in from the start and eased in quickly with run support.
“I already felt good, but getting those runs, it's like a weight off your shoulders. From there, I just throw strikes and let the defense work,” said Consiglio
“We have all the confidence in the world in Cooper. He's been one of our best starting arms out here and most consistent. I'd say, we know what we're getting from him. He's a competitor. He wants the ball. That's not easy to go back-to-back innings with a long period of rest, but he handled it really well,” said Smyth.
The start kept the Commodores off the board until the fifth inning, where Falmouth got on the score sheet off a sacrifice fly from Ashton Wilson (Florida) to score Ryan Zuckerman (Pittsburgh). In the sixth, Falmouth added two more runs from a sacrifice groundout from Bear Harrison (Texas A&M) and an RBI single from Justin Osterhouse (Purdue-Fort Wayne) to make it a 9-3 game.
However, the Gatemen were not phased and added runs to reclaim their nine-run lead. In the seventh, Ramirez singled off a deflection from pitcher Jakob Schulz (Vanderbilt) to score Sheahan. In the eighth, McDonald grounded into a force out to score Hunter Carns (Florida State), and Sheahan hit a sacrifice fly to score Krewson, making it 12-3.
The win is huge for the Gatemen, who started the month of July 0-5. Since that mark, they have been 5-1 and have found multiple ways to win games. Games like Friday vs. Bourne or Saturday at Hyannis were close, tight games, while Wednesday at Orleans and Sunday vs Falmouth were dominant routs, each highlighting a different way to win the game.
“We're trying to be the best second-half team we can in this league. And think these guys are, you know, really getting used to the fact of winning baseball games. And that's a good thing. That's contagious,” said Smyth.
Momentum is fully on the Gatemen’s side as they become the hottest team in the Cape going into a day off on Monday. The Gatemen’s next game will be Tuesday against the Brewster Whitecaps at Stony Brook Field at 5:00 p.m.
