Hyannis ends losing streak, returns to .500 with 7-inning win over Brewster
By: Jason Boué
Coach Eric Beattie, July 7, following an 8-6 loss to Cotuit: “We need to set a goal to go out and score first… give ourselves a cushion.”
Coach Eric Beattie, tonight, following a 7-4 win over Brewster: “I think sometimes, you can speak things into existence.
The Harbor Hawks (11-11-1) made their coach’s wishes come true tonight, never trailing in the cross-division matchup with the Whitecaps (9-13-2) and snapping a three-game losing streak in the process.
After a quiet first three innings that saw a combined five base runners, Hyannis took the bottom of the fourth as its opportunity to strike. Cam Smith and Alex Lane reached on walks, putting two on with just one out and newcomer Jon Jon Gazdar at the plate. In his first game at McKeon Park, the second baseman delivered, chopping a ground ball over the shortstop’s head for his first RBI of the season. As the fog began to roll in during this bottom of the fourth (more on that later…), so did the Snow. Eric Snow. Gazdar’s middle infield partner kept the scoring going, knocking in Lane and Gazdar to put Hyannis up 3-0 after four innings.
Brewster tried mounting a comeback in the top of the fifth with runners at first and second and no outs, but the relief duo of Carter Lovasz and Cade Obermueller got out of the jam by power of the strikeout. The Whitecaps managed to plate one, bringing their deficit to 3-1.
The Harbor Hawks swiftly answered in the bottom of inning, doing so without a single hit. Zach Ehrhard walked, advanced to second on a passed ball, then to third on a wild pitch that also happened to be the fourth ball of Smith’s plate appearance. One more passed ball allowed the speedy Ehrhard to score without much effort, adding a run that would turn out to be critical to Beattie’s requested cushion.
In the sixth and seventh innings, Brewster’s comeback attempts were more effective, with the Whitecaps scoring three runs and tying the game at 4-4. As the fog started to thicken, Hyannis’ hopes of a win began looking bleak. Nick Mitchell had other plans, however. The leadoff man nearly achieved one of the most impressive feats in baseball — an errorless Little League home run — but had to settle for a natural triple instead. This hit to start the bottom of the seventh also extended Mitchell’s hitting streak to seven games.
Ehrhard then scored Mitchell with a sac fly to center, retaking the lead and proving that the fog still wasn’t thick enough to delay the game. A one-out single placed Smith on the base paths, and an Austin Kelly walk gave Smith company. Wild pitches continued to haunt the Whitecaps, as Smith scored on one to extend Hyannis’ lead to 6-4.
At this point, the fog really settled in, and Gazdar forced the umps to call it after a less-than-natural RBI ‘triple’ was lost in the outfield. After a short delay that was only for show, the game ended, and Hyannis wasback in the win column after a less-than-ideal stretch.
“There are a lot of things in the Cape League that you just have to embrace, and the fog delays are one of them,” Beattie said. “We just happen to be [undefeated] in them.”
Another thing the Harbor Hawks are undefeated in is their new orange throwbacks, which according to Beattie, “are here to stay.” He confirmed that they’ll be worn tomorrow as the Harbor Hawks make their final regular season trip over the bridge to Wareham. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
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: Jamie Arnold (1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO)
Losing Pitcher: Drake Quinn (2.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO)
