Hyannis drops regular season finale against Bourne, losing 8-3

By: Jason Boué

Game 44 doesn’t matter when the two-seed in the West Division is already secured. Playing is merely a formality, the focus already shifted to the playoffs. Therefore, it doesn’t matter that the Hyannis Harbor Hawks lost.

Hyannis (25-17-2) made the trip out to Bourne for the final game of the regular season and just went through the motions, falling to the Braves (23-20-1) 8-3.

“It was kind of a weird game,” manager Eric Beattie said post-game. “Both team’s seedings were already set and I think everybody had different motives. It appeared like [Bourne] wanted to come out and win tonight and our guys came out looking like they were ready for Friday. Hopefully.”

The Harbor Hawks did not record a hit until the fourth inning, and despite having runners in scoring position in both the third and fourth innings, they did not score until the seventh. A sacrifice fly from Zach Ehrhard brought home Will Taylor, but the inning ended swiftly after that. They managed two more in the eighth with Cam Smith and Trey Lipsey rounding the plate, but it was too little, too late.

Throughout this game, all eyes were already on Friday. Hyannis is at home hosting the three-seed Falmouth Commodores. The Harbor Hawks will have their hands full, as the Commodores are 8-2 over their last 10 games and playing their best baseball.

“A new season starts Friday,” Beattie said. “We need to make [whatever adjustments] individually to come out and play well starting Friday.”

Despite the sour ending, the 2023 regular season was still a rousing success. The Harbor Hawks finished with a 25-17-2 record, improving upon last year’s 22-16-6 mark. Three players finished the season batting over .300 (Gazdar, .364; Smith, .347; Yorke, .338), and as a whole, the team scored 253 runs on 394 hits. The most impressive statistic, however, might have been getting plunked 63 times, setting a new Cape League record in the process.

And while the regular season was fun, everyone’s record is back to 0-0 starting Friday, and six wins is all it takes to hoist the trophy.

Jason Boué can usually be found with a backwards hat and a toothpick. You can reach him at jason.boue@icloud.com or follow him on Twitter @JasonBoue

Tonight’s Box Score:

Winning Pitcher: Max LeBlanc (2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO)

Losing Pitcher: Tony Robie (3.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO)