Harbor Hawks Clinch 2-Seed in West with 6-1 Victory Over Wareham

By: Matt Coates

After a worrisome three-game skid, the Hyannis Harbor Hawks got back in the win column with a 6-1 victory over the Wareham Gatemen at home.

“The win was great,” Head Coach Eric Beattie said. “Having the home field here and playing in front of the Hyannis community is great.”

This victory clears up all uncertainty around the Harbor Hawks' (25-16-2) playoff outlook, as they are now locked in as the two seed in the West Division. They will host the Falmouth Commodores to open the playoffs on Friday, August 4.

This victory comes with large thanks to the Hyannis pitchers, who only allowed five hits and one run over the full nine innings.

Harbor Hawks starter Mason Nichols opened the night with a one-two-three first inning, striking out the first batter he faced.

Nichols had himself another great outing, only allowing two hits and one walk over his four innings of work.

This is the second straight scoreless start for Nichols, who lasted five and two-thirds no-hit innings in Hartford, Connecticut. He now lowered his ERA to 3.46 with this stellar performance.

“We just wanted to come out today and play good baseball,” coach Beattie said. “And I felt like we did that.”

Do that they did, in the bottom of the first inning, Hyannis put up a two-spot to earn the early lead. A Cam Smith sacrifice fly allowed Zach Ehrhard to open the scoring. Nick Mitchell came across on a wild pitch to finish the first inning scoring for the Hawks.

After a quiet second inning, Hyannis came alive again offensively. An error, a fielder’s choice, and a single put Smith on second base and Zach Yorke on first. Newcomer Brandon Eike ripped a double to right field to score Smith and move Yorke over to third base.

Eike has only been on the Cape since July 20 but has been a very welcome addition to the Harbor Hawks. The VCU product is batting .263 over nine games, with three extra-base hits and seven RBIs in that span. Eike will provide much-needed catching and offensive depth on this post-season run for Hyannis.

Yorke scored two batters later after Jon Jon Gazdar was walked and Will Taylor was hit by a pitch. This left the bases loaded for Bennett Thompson, who hit a sacrifice fly, making the score 5-0 Harbor Hawks after three.

A combination of Nichols and then Kros Sivley helped hold the Gatemen (15-26-2) scoreless through the first six innings of play. Sivley struck out two in his two innings, facing the minimum of six batters during that time.

Wareham got on the board with an RBI double in the seventh inning, cutting down the Hyannis lead to 5-1. However, this would be the first and only run the Gatemen would muster in this matchup.

A failed pick-off would allow Ehrhard to score his second run of the game in the eighth inning, giving the Hawks a 6-1 lead, which would end as the final score.

Ehrhard has been on a tear all July, and the Hawks are hoping he continues that performance into the playoffs. Even after starting the season 0-25, Ehrhard is batting .302 on the season. If you subtract those first 25 at-bats, Ehrhard would be hitting .385. Even more impressive, he would have a .486 OBP without those at-bats.

Players like Ehrhard will be crucial as Hyannis gears up for the playoffs. The Harbor Hawks will travel to Bourne to face the Braves in game 44 on Wednesday, August 2. After that, every game counts while Hyannis looks for its first title in 30 years.

Matt Coates can be reached at coatesm@misericordia.edu or followed on Twitter @MattCoates14