The Y-D Red Sox played to a 4-4 tie with the Bourne Braves on Tuesday, marking their third draw of the summer. Coincidentally, their first tie also came against Bourne back in June, while the second was against Falmouth on July 2nd.
Matthew Shorey (Vanderbilt) faced off against Y-D for the second time this season. In his previous outing on July 5th, Shorey was dominant, throwing five scoreless innings and allowing just one hit. He wasn’t quite as sharp on Tuesday but still managed to limit Y-D to two runs — only one of them earned.
Right-hander Clay Hendry took the mound for Scott Pickler, making his second appearance in a Y-D uniform. Tuesday’s outing was an improvement from his debut, as he allowed just three runs over 4.2 innings of work. Hendry cruised through the first two innings before running into trouble in the third, when Drew Wyers (Mississippi State) launched a three-run homer that left the bat at 101 mph. Despite that home run, Hendry showed strong command throughout his outing, issuing only one walk.
Dean Carpentier continues to be a spark plug in the Y-D lineup, and he was right in the thick of it again in the second inning. The first baseman jumped on the first pitch he saw and lined an RBI single to center, bringing home Connor Capece to open the scoring for Y-D.
Trailing by two in the fifth, Y-D cut into the deficit thanks to Chris Hacopian. With a runner on third and just one out, Hacopian worked a 3-0 count before dropping a single into left field to score Yomar Carreras and make it a one-run game.
Ryder Brooks found himself in a high-pressure situation in the top of the sixth, facing a bases-loaded jam with Cal Sefcik (Cincinnati) at the plate. After Sefcik worked a full count, Brooks got the whiff that he needed to end the inning with a strikeout.
With two outs in the eighth inning, Nick Costello hit a 358-foot game-tying home run to center field. His first longball of the season could not have come at a better time. Carpentier once again found himself amidst the chaos, drawing a walk to keep the inning alive. A.J. Nessler proceeded to drive a ball into right field, sending Carpentier off to the races. Sefcik, the right fielder for Bourne, made the costly mistake of throwing to second base in an attempt to cut off Nessler. Carpentier beat the relay throw to home, giving Y-D their second run of the inning. Both scored with two outs.
The lead didn’t last long, with Wyers hitting his second home run of the day to lead off the ninth inning. His game-tying blast traveled a staggering 412 feet, one of the longest home runs in the Cape this summer.
Carpentier’s aggressive baserunning in the eighth proved crucial, ultimately preserving a 4-4 tie and earning Y-D a valuable point in the standings. With Brewster falling to Orleans on Tuesday, the two teams are now tied at 33 points apiece, sharing the top spot in the East Division.
After an off day on Wednesday, both teams will face off on Thursday in what will be one of the most important games of the season.
