On a cold and cloudy Opening Day, Yarmouth-Dennis allowed three runs in the sixth inning after taking a 2-0 lead, falling 3-2 to Brewster in the season-opening game at Stony Brook Field on Saturday.
Y-D entered this season coming off a year where it earned the President’s Trophy for the best regular season record in the Cape League, along with the East Division crown. Meanwhile, Brewster was on the other side of the spectrum last year, as the Whitecaps finished 13-25-2 and missed the postseason.
Both starting pitchers found a groove out of the gate on Saturday, trading zeroes in the early innings. North Carolina State right-hander Jacob Dudan set the tone from the get-go for the Whitecaps, surrendering just one hit during the first three innings. Y-D’s starter, Hunter Watkins (Oklahoma State), matched him every step of the way, with only one baserunner allowed in the same stretch.
Dudan ran into some trouble in the fourth when Will Baker (Georgia Tech) led off the inning with a base hit to the opposite field. With two outs and Baker on third following a stolen base and groundout, Avery Ortiz (Oklahoma State) got Y-D on the board with a line drive single that just snuck over a leaping Dalton Wentz (Wake Forest) at second base.
“I’ve been looking forward to playing in this league for a long time,” Ortiz said. “I thought our pitching did a great job, and some of the at-bats we had were really good.”
Y-D continued to apply pressure with three stolen bases in just the fourth inning and loaded the bases following the run-scoring hit. Dudan was able to escape further trouble, however, as he collected his fifth strikeout of the game on a 94 MPH fastball for the third out of the inning.
Watkins worked into the fifth inning, where he retired the first two hitters but was removed from the game following an infield hit and a walk. Cody New (California Baptist) stranded those two runners by striking out Ty Head (NC State) on a slider to preserve the one-run advantage. Watkins’ final line was 4.2 scoreless innings with just two hits allowed.
Once again, Ortiz played a key role in producing an insurance run for Y-D in the top half of the sixth. He led off the inning with a ground-rule double on a towering fly ball to left and came around to score on a groundout by Yomar Carreras (Rutgers) to make it 2-0.
“[I was] just sticking to my approach, trying to hunt a fastball out over the plate,” Ortiz said. “I got one and used the middle of the field.”
The turning point of the game came when the Whitecaps strung together their first rally in the bottom of the sixth. After New walked three consecutive batters, Y-D turned to Bo Rhudy (Tennessee) to try and escape a bases-loaded, one-out jam.
After striking out the first batter he faced, Rhudy was an out away from preserving Y-D’s 2-0 advantage; however, a walk to the following hitter brought in Brewster’s first run of the game. Josiah Ragsdale (Boston College) delivered the game-changing hit with a go-ahead two-run single to right field, which gave the Whitecaps a 3-2 lead.
Haiden Leffew (Wake Forest) held things in check from there, allowing two baserunners in three scoreless innings out of Brewster’s bullpen. He slammed the door on the Whitecaps’ victory as the game was called due to darkness after eight innings.
Y-D had its fair share of chances throughout the contest, racking up eight hits compared to just three for the Whitecaps. However, nine runners left on base and six walks allowed by the pitching staff were ultimately the difference-makers.
Following the loss, Y-D will look to respond against Orleans at Red Wilson Field on Sunday at 5 p.m for its home opener.
(Photo by Sophie Solarino)
