Hyannis takes home dominant 13-6 victory in game one of first-round playoff series against Falmouth

Two Harbor Hawks pitchers combine for eight innings of outstanding hurling to lead the team to the win

By: Mike Maynard

The Hyannis Harbor Hawks took home a huge 13-6 victory over the Falmouth Commodores in game one of the first round of the Cape Cod Baseball League Playoffs. Two stellar pitching performances were assisted by run support in seven of the eight offensive innings for Hyannis to bring home the win in the first game of the series.

The Harbor Hawks managed their pitching staff really well Friday night, only needing to use three arms. Darin Horn got the start for Hyannis, finishing with possibly his best appearance of the summer. In four innings he only allowed one earned run on four hits and two strikeouts.

“We got a good start out of [Horn],” head coach Eric Beattie said. “He didn’t have his best stuff, but he gave us four strong innings.”

David Case was the second pitcher used in this one, coming into the game with only 9.1 innings pitched in the regular season. His longest outing was only two innings, but the postseason brought something new out of him. He exited the game after the eighth inning doubling his highest innings total with four. He gave up zero earned runs and only one hit with four Ks.

“[Case’s] pitch quality got better as the game went on,” Beattie said. “To be able to fill up four innings there and set our bullpen up really good for [games two and possibly three] was definitely huge.”

The Harbor Hawks got their scoring started in the bottom of the first inning. A leadoff walk by Zach Ehrhard and a double into right field by Jon Jon Gazdar brought up Cam Smith with runners on second and third with no outs. Smith grounded a ball to second that allowed the first run of the game to score and give Hyannis the early one-run lead.

The Commodores started their scoring in the top of the second with three singles in a row to plate their first run. The second run of the frame came in off an error at shortstop by the Harbor Hawks.

In the bottom of the second, Hyannis exploded for a four-run inning. A hit-by-pitch and three walks put baserunners on for the Harbor Hawks. In his at-bat, Ehrhard beat out what could’ve been a double play for an RBI fielder’s choice.

Bases on balls for Hyannis played a big role in the ability to score runs Friday night. Getting the free pass nine times in eight innings of offense was huge in order to get base runners on and create scoring chances.

“Our pitch selection [Friday] was really good,” Beattie said. “[Falmouth’s] pitchers weren’t really throwing us strikes and we didn’t help them. When we got good pitches to hit, we hit them hard.”

Gazdar blooped a single over the head of the Commodores' first baseman to plate the second run of the second for the Hawks. The third and fourth runs of the inning came by way of a bases-loaded walk and a wild pitch.

Nick Mitchell led off the bottom of the third with a hit-by-pitch. Eric Snow came up to bat with the runner on and blasted a moonshot over the fence in left field. The two-run homer gave Hyannis a 7-2 lead.

Cam Smith and Brandon Eike both doubled in the fourth inning to score another run. In the fifth, Gazdar tallied his second double of the night, scoring Trey Lipsey who singled earlier in the process. Another run came in just before off an error in the field by Falmouth.

The sixth inning featured run production for both teams at the plate. The Commodores got their third of the contest with a wild pitch after runners got on from a walk and an error in the field by the Harbor Hawks.

Mitchell drove in a run in the bottom of the sixth with a bloop single into left field. Snow tacked on another RBI to his line with a single up the middle to drive in the twelfth run of the game for Hyannis.

The Harbor Hawks scored one more in the eighth inning, getting the bases loaded with no outs and grounding into a double play that brought another to cap it off at 13.

With a dominant victory in game one of the series, Hyannis will look to continue its momentum into game two against Falmouth. First pitch at Guv Fuller Field will be Saturday, Aug. 5 at 6 p.m.

“I got to the field today and the vibe here was energetic,” Beattie said. “I knew right when I got here that the team wanted to win. I think the scoreboard [of game one] is more of a reflection of that than anything.”

Mike Maynard can be reached at mikemay62@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @mikecmaynard