Harbor Hawks Fight Back, Win Game 2 in Extras vs Falmouth, Clinching 2-0 Series Victory
By: Ben Pope
“Don’t let us get hot!”
That was the message left by Jon Jon Gazdar after an exciting 9-7 victory for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks Saturday night, clinching a berth in the Western Division Finals.
After trailing the Falmouth Commodores 6-2 through six innings, the Hyannis offense came to life, scoring two runs in the 7th and three in the 8th to take a 7-6 lead. The biggest hit came from outfielder Trey Lipsey, who drove a go-ahead RBI single in the 8th inning.
The Commodores would not go down without a fight however, tying the game in the bottom of the 9th on a Luke Heyman RBI single that glanced off the glove of third baseman Cam Smith. Hyannis responded right back in the 10th, with Trey Lipsey coming through once again with a two-run single to give the Hawks the 9-7 advantage. After JB Middleton recorded the first two outs, Kros Sively shut the door and clinched the win for Hyannis.
“All the games with [Falmouth], they’ve all been hard fought and close to the end,” said head coach Eric Beattie, “This one felt a big bigger…”
Hayden Frank took the ball for the Harbor Hawks to start, laboring through 3.2 innings while allowing five runs to score. Ethan Lanthier picked up the bulk in relief for Hyannis, throwing 3.1 strong innings allowing one run.
“[Hayden] battled, he didn’t have his best stuff and still limited them as much as he could.” Coach Beattie said post-game.
Cade Obermueller entered in the 8th for the Harbor Hawks and, despite battling a couple baserunners, was able to keep Falmouth scoreless in the frame. J.B Middleton picked up the win for Hyannis, allowing the tying run in the 9th to score but was able to get Hyannis to extra innings.
While seven of Hyannis’ starting nine collected a hit, the star of the game has to be Trey Lipsey. Despite not starting the game, Lipsey made sure to be locked in and ready for his chance. This came as no surprise to Jon Jon Gazdar, who picked up three hits of his own Saturday night.
“That’s my guy!” Jon Jon said. “He’s always ready to go in any situation, can’t say enough about his character and the type of ballplayer he is.”
The Harbor Hawks now move on to the Western Division Finals, taking on the fourth place Bourne Braves. The Braves are coming off a two-game sweep of their own, beating the first place Cotuit Kettleers.
“We’ve got a never quit attitude, it doesn’t matter what point it is in the game, we always feel like we can put up a big inning and get ourselves back into the game.” Gazdar said post-game.
Hyannis opens the series with Bourne Monday night at McKeon Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6 P.M.
Ben Pope can be reached at bpope9202@gmail.com and can be found on Twitter @bope016.
