Hyannis takes home dominant win over Y-D at Dunkin’ Park
Harbor Hawks only allow one hit and tally 14 of their own
By: Mike Maynard
The Hyannis Harbor Hawks had fun on their trip to the Hartford Yard Goats stadium, Dunkin’ Park, beating the Y-D Red Sox 8-0 on Wednesday. A huge sixth inning brought most of the team's runs and multiple stellar pitching performances helped dominate throughout the contest.
The biggest explosion of run-scoring for Hyannis (23-13-2) occurred in the bottom of the sixth inning. Brandon Eike started things off with a single into left field. Eric Snow was hit by a pitch before the Harbor Hawks recorded two back-to-back outs.
It was time for a two-out rally. Trey Lipsey drove in the first run of the frame with a hard-hit grounder up the middle. Zach Ehrhard found himself at the plate with the bases loaded and made the most of his opportunity. He smoked a ball on the ground through the left side to plate two runs for Hyannis.
Cam Smith followed up with a deep drive into right-center that got down in between the Y-D (21-16-1) outfielders. The double also brought in two runs for the Harbor Hawks to put the lead at eight.
“There’s not a lot of pressure on anybody in our offense because if they don’t get the job done, there’s a lot of belief in the next guy,” head coach Eric Beattie said. “Anytime you take away some pressure, you’re taking away some distraction.”
With a big lead, the Hyannis pitching staff had a big cushion to deal with. Mason Nichols got the start in this one and had his best outing of the season. He finished 5.2 innings without allowing a hit and only walking one Y-D hitter.
“[Nichols] had a great outing, probably one of the best on the Cape from any pitcher this year,” Beattie said. “It was almost perfect.”
The long scoreless and hitless outing by Nichols put less pressure on the bullpen and allowed for continued dominance on the mound.
JB Middleton, Evan Whiteaker and Ethan Lanthier also threw in Hartford, with each guy not surrendering a run. The three combined went for 3.1 innings and tallied six strikeouts while only allowing one hit.
With nine innings of shutout baseball, there was not much else the offense could’ve asked for. Outside of the five-run sixth inning, the bats got going scarcely throughout the first five frames.
The bottom of the first was the initial chance for the Harbor Hawks offense to get going. Ehrhard tallied the first hit of the day with a single up the middle. Smith followed that up with a soft line drive that dropped in front of the Red Sox centerfielder.
Ehrhard came in to score in the following at-bat. Zach Yorke grounded a ball to second base that couldn’t be turned into a double play for an RBI fielder’s choice. The run got Hyannis out to an early 1-0 lead.
The next bout of offense for the Harbor Hawks came in the fourth inning. Smith led off with a double into left field. Yorke yet again followed up with a productive at-bat, this time singling through the hole in the left side of the infield.
With runners on the corners, Eike smacked a fly ball into right field that was deep enough for Smith to tag up and score Hyannis’ second run of the game.
The fifth inning featured another leadoff double, this time from Elijah Hainline. The Oregon State second baseman came in to score after a balk and an overthrow on a back-pick to third base by the Y-D catcher.
This special game at a special stadium may have lit a fire under the already scorching-hot Harbor Hawks. With an all-around dominant victory, Hyannis will look to carry the momentum into its next game.
The team will have an off day but will be right back at it on Friday, July 28 to host the Wareham Gatemen. First pitch at McKeon Park will be at 6 p.m.
“The start by [Nichols] was big and we scored in the first inning again,” Beattie said. “Our defense made the plays we needed to make, our pitchers made the pitches they needed to make, and we scored a lot of runs.”
Mike Maynard can be reached at mikemay62@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @mikecmaynard