The Y-D Red Sox fell to the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, 7-1, Sunday evening at Red Wilson Field in the last game of the regular season. This was the fourth faceoff between the two division leaders, Michael Ball putting Y-D on the board early with a home run before Hyannis’ Dalton Bargo and Cannon Peebles helped the Hawks pull away with the lead.
Caleb Williams, a new pitcher in the Y-D bullpen out of Rice University, made his first start on the mound. He threw for 3 1/3 innings and collected five strikeouts, one of them to close out the top of the first for Y-D with Hyannis runners in scoring position.
Y-D had yet another electric start on offense with a home run from Michael Ball (U of Nevada) to lead off the first inning. This is Ball’s second homer with Y-D since his debut with the team a couple of weeks ago. Carter Garate (U of Oregon) followed him with a base hit to the left side to continue the energy at the plate.
Alizaeh Gutierrez (Angelo State) started on the mound for Hyannis. He threw for two innings and brought in two strikeouts for the Harbor Hawks. He allowed two hits and one run, but Hyannis was able to match Y-D on offense in the second and third innings.
The Harbor Hawks answered Y-D at the plate with a single from J.P. Acosta (Fresno CC) and an RBI double from Dawson Bryce (Merrimack) to tie the game. In the third inning, Tennessee teammates Cannon Peebles and Dalton Bargo hit back-to-back homers to catapult Hyannis into the lead.
While scoring stayed quiet for Y-D, five players in the lineup picked up a hit to bring the team’s total hit count to six. Garate, Ethan Petry (South Carolina), Easton Carmichael (Oklahoma), Ryan Sprock (Elon) and Skylar King (West Virginia) all recorded singles and got on base for the Sox.
Hyannis kept the dominant offense going in the fifth, seventh and eighth with a bunt single from Bargo and two RBI singles from Acosta and Eddy Pelc (GCU). The Hawks were also able to capitalize with two runs off a wild pitch and a fielding error from Y-D.
Daniel Powell (Kennesaw State) covered the relief innings and Noah Czajkowski (Pitt) closed the game for Y-D on the bump. They totaled 4 2/3 innings and combined for four strikeouts. However, Hyannis continued to put the pressure on at the plate and generated more scoring plays to grow its lead further.
On the hill, Hyannis’ Paul Schmitz (U of Houston) walked away with the win, the right-hander’s first of the season. The top of the ninth brought Y-D infielder Cameron Kim (UCLA) to the mound but the game was called for darkness before the inning could commence.
With a solidified regular-season record of 24-12-4, the Y-D Red Sox will enter the postseason as the top seed in the league. Y-D will face the East Division’s fourth-place team in the first game of the playoffs on Tuesday at Red Wilson Field.
Photo by Sophie Solarino
