Hyannis ends up on top 7-6 after back-and-forth battle with Harwich

By: Jason Boué

In the bottom of the eighth in a 6-6 ballgame against Harwich, the Harbor Hawks found themselves lucky with one of their most dangerous assets at the plate: no-batting gloves Brody Donay. As a figure who may be more folktale hero than baseball player, the gloveless Donay lived up to his expectations. He knocked a one-out RBI double to put Hyannis (10-8-1) ahead for good.

“Whenever I’m struggling, I try to change something up,” Donay said. “Both times I’ve taken my batting gloves off, I’ve gotten a hit, so [I’m going to] keep rocking with it.”

Donay’s go-ahead RBI was the cherry on top for Hyannis in a matchup that felt more like a ping-pong match than baseball game at times. Both teams started scoring early and often, and their offenses were cooking. The two squads combined for 19 hits (nine for Harwich, 10 for Hyannis) and 36 baserunners (15 for Harwich, 21 for Hyannis)

Harwich (11-8) opened the scoring in the top of the first within its first two batters, taking a 1-0 lead, but Hyannis was quick to respond in the bottom half of the inning. The Harbor Hawks put their first three batters on to load the bases, and Will Taylor capitalized with a two-strike single to put Hyannis up 2-1.

Hyannis’ early lead didn’t last long, with Harwich tying things back up at two apiece in the second inning, but the Harbor Hawks retaliated in the third to reclaim their lead as Austin Kelly scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-2.

The Mariners attempted to put their foot down in the fourth and fifth innings with the help of a Devin Obee solo homer in the fourth and a couple of well-placed hits in the fifth. Hyannis right fielder Zach Ehrhard cut the Harwich rally short however, showing off his cannon of an arm. He threw out Mason Guerra at the plate to prevent further damage, ending the top of the fifth with Harwich up 5-3.

The Harbor Hawks must not have been pleased with being down again, because they roared back in the bottom of the fifth, with Ehrhard and Donay crossing the plate after a Bradke Lohry sac fly and Nick Mitchell RBI single, tying the game at 5-5. When the sixth inning came around, Hyannis struck again, with Austin Kelly driving in Cam Smith to put the Harbor Hawks ahead 6-5. They then proceeded to load the bases with no outs, but three straight strikeouts prevented Hyannis from adding any insurance.

Just to keep things interesting, Harwich scored again in the top of the eight, bringing the score all-square at six. We know what happened next.

Overall, the Harbor Hawks had six different players record a hit, three of whom racked up multi-hit games (Nick Mitchell (3-5), Elijah Hainline (2-4) and Donay (2-4)). Those who weren’t putting the bat on the ball were still involved, however, with Hyannis totaling 11 walks on the night.

“The guys are finding the barrel… [and] choosing good pitches to swing at,” manager Eric Beattie said postgame. “That’s helped them a lot.”

This improved pitch selection has kicked into high gear following the 8-0, three-hit shutout that the Hyannis offense experienced on June 29 against Cotuit. Since then, the Harbor Hawks have totaled nine or more hits in each of their three games, going 2-1 in that span.

Although the box score might not look it, Hyannis’ pitching was strong as well tonight. Hyannis starter Simon Miller lost his scoreless streak to start the Cape League season, allowing three earned runs, but he still found his groove when it came to punchouts. Miller struckout nine Harwich batters in his 3.2 innings pitched, including two separate runs of four straight Ks.

Thanks to Saturday night’s premature ending due to fog, the Hyannis bullpen was well rested, allowing Beattie to use five arms in relief. The platoon performed well, with three earned runs over 5.1 innings. De-facto closer Michael Rodriguez came in to make the save, shutting down the side in quick fashion to secure Hyannis’ second win in a row.

Despite a run of five games in a row with three more on the horizon before the next off-day, vibes are still high at McKeon Park.

“We’re just having fun, staying loose, not getting too serious,” Beattie said. “The more fun [the team’s] having, the better they’re going to play.”

Hyannis’ next matchup comes on July 3 as the Harbor Hawks lose a scheduled off-day in favor of traveling to Orleans for a make-up game. The aviary matchup between the Harbor Hawks and the Firebirds is a rematch of Opening Day, when Hyannis fell 4-1. First pitch is set for 6:30 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: Dennis Colleran (1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO)

Losing Pitcher: Will Pearson (0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO)