Hyannis ends its season with a loss in game three of the Western Division Finals against Bourne
Harbor Hawks come up short in elimination game to finish 2023
By: Mike Maynard
The Hyannis Harbor Hawks struggled to keep up with the offense of the Bourne Braves in an elimination game Thursday night. The 49-game 2023 summer will be remembered as one where the team put together a great season. Unfortunately, they came up just short, falling 12-4 in the final game of 2023.
In a similar fashion to game two of the series, Hyannis (25-17-2, 3-2 in playoffs) got out to an early deficit after the first inning of play. Bourne (23-20-1, 4-1 in playoffs) put four runs on the board to start the game before the Harbor Hawks bats even had a chance to come up.
The game featured 16 hits for the Braves, with five coming in that big first frame. Derek Bender continued to have success at the plate with a three-run homer that opened up the scoring for Bourne.
Hyannis retaliated in the bottom of the first with one run of its own. Brandon Eike smacked a flyball into center field that allowed Zach Ehrhard to score by way of the sacrifice.
The fourth inning was a solid one for the Harbor Hawks offensively with Bennett Thompson starting things off with a one-out single. Trey Lipsey followed up with a base hit of his own, giving way to Eric Snow to come up next. Snow fouled off four balls before lining a double into right-center field to plate the second run of the game for Hyannis.
In the bottom of the seventh, Zach Ehrhard flew a ball into left field that went off the glove of the diving Braves outfielder for a double. Jon Jon Gazdar smashed a single up the middle to bring in the third run for the Harbor Hawks.
While the offensive scoring came occasionally for Hyannis, Bourne continued to put up runs, finishing with 12 by the end of the top of the ninth.
Although the Harbor Hawks’ pitching staff didn’t have the total outing they were hoping for, there were a few bright spots out of the bullpen. Cade Obermueller and Joe Glassey combined for two innings in relief with zero earned runs and four strikeouts between the two.
Elijah Hainline didn’t go down easy in the last half inning of the contest, blasting a solo home run over the wall in right field for his second homer of the summer. His efforts weren’t enough to spark a rally, with the final score ending at 12-4 in favor of the Braves.
“Bourne beat us,” head coach Eric Beattie said. “They played better than we did. They hit it better and pitched it better. They’re a really good team. We’re a really good team too but the last two days they just played better than we did.”
With this game being the last of 2023 for Hyannis, it was an emotional scene after the final out. Players, coaches, staff, interns and fans all made sure to say their goodbyes to the people whom they had gone through this rollercoaster of a season with.
Hugs, tears and smiles were all throughout the field even after the Braves left to go back home. Everyone knew that this summer for the Harbor Hawks was a great one filled with different memories for each person that had the chance to be a part of it.
“We’re on Cape Cod playing baseball with really good players,” Beattie said. “Of course, you always want to win it all every year, no matter what the season is but there’s only one winner and it can’t be everybody. I like it that way. Next year we’re going to come out here and try to win it again.”