Hawks' Bats Mash Past Whitecaps in 7-3 Victory
By: Ben Pope
The bats came to play for the Harbor Hawks Thursday evening, posting 14 hits in a wild 7-3 victory over the Brewster Whitecaps.
“We had a lot of hard-hit balls the other way,” head coach Eric Beattie said post-game, “All the way around from one through nine, saw a lot of good at-bats.”
Going on the road after Wednesday’s walk-off win vs Yarmouth-Dennis, the bats for the Harbor Hawks (15-12-1) continued to stay hot in the early frames against Brewster (9-17-2). In the second inning, a two-out double from Elijah Hainline set the table for Hyannis to grab the early lead. A wild pitch advanced Hainline to third, allowing Aaron Parker to drive in the runner with a single to center.
A bit of déjà vu in the third for Hyannis, as Jon Jon Gazdar lined a one-out double to the left field corner as Hainline had done the inning prior. A wild pitch once again advanced the runner, and the Harbor Hawks’s DH Zach Yorke drove in Gazdar with an RBI single.
The early lead looked to be in great hands, as Hyannis starter Bradley Hodges looked to be in full command, facing the minimun through three innings. Backing him was his defense, most notably Trey Lipsey who made a beautiful diving catch in the second inning.
“He made some big pitches, got a couple double plays. When he pitched ahead, he got a lot of weak contact from the other side,” Coach Beattie said about Hodges.
The Brewster offense put together some momentum in the fourth, however. A leadoff single from Davis Diaz threatened trouble, but Hodges retired the next two hitters in short order. Brock Tibbitts was next for the Whitecaps, working a walk to get runners on first and second. Ike Irish followed up with an RBI single, cutting the Hyannis lead to 1. The next batter Jaime Ferrer popped one to the right side, but a misplay by Austin Kelly allowed the runner to reach and Tibbitts to score, tying the game at two.
The Hawks would respond back in the sixth. After Hainline and Parker both reached to start the inning, Trey Lipsey got them into scoring position with a ground-out to the right side. Cam Smith was next, hitting a sharp lineout to right. Hainline thought the ball could drop, so he had to retreat to third after the catch. Wild pitches were the name of the game for Brewster pitching though, and Hainline was able to score on the third wild pitch of the game for the Whitecaps. Jon Jon Gazdar extended the lead with an RBI knock to score Aaron Parker.
Despite the mistakes on the other side, Coach Beattie kept things focused on his hitters and what they control in their at-bats.
“The key is just to keep getting guys on base. The hits are gonna come but taking advantage of those mistakes on the other side, only happens when we’re getting on-base,” Beattie said post-game.
The Hyannis ‘pen held it from there, with Will Armstead (W, 1-0), David Case, and Kros Sively holding Brewster to one run over the last five frames of the contest.
The Harbor Hawks tacked on an additional run in the seventh on a Will Taylor sacrifice fly. In the ninth, Alex Lane pinch-hit for Austin Kelly and reached base on a hit-by-pitch. Zach Ehrhard stepped to the plate with two hits and a run scored already under his belt. Ehrhard drove a 1-2 heater deep to left, just grazing off and over the left-center wall for a two-run homer.
Hyannis will look to keep the good times rolling Friday at McKeon Park, where they take on the Chatham Anglers. First pitch is scheduled for 6 P.M.
Ben Pope can be reached at bpope9202@gmail.com and can be found on Twitter @bope016.
