Hyannis Drops Back and Forth Battle to Falmouth by a Score of 8-7
By: Matt Coates
The Hyannis Harbor Hawks traveled to West Division rival Falmouth Commodores after the All-Star Game, looking to stay hot in the final stretch of the season.
This back-and-forth affair only featured three full scoreless innings today, with Hyannis playing catchup from the second inning on. Unfortunately, they were not able to catch up tonight. Falmouth came away with an 8-7 victory in the first game back after the All-Star game.
“We were a couple of hits short tonight,” head coach Eric Beattie said. It was just that kind of night, with the Harbor Hawks getting out hit 14-11 tonight.
After a scoreless first inning, Hyannis (21-13-2) fell behind early. The Commodores (18-16-2) led off the bottom of the second with a ground-rule double, setting them up for a three-run half-inning. Harbor Hawks starter Darin Horn faced eight batters in the inning, escaping with two runners on.
In the top of the third inning, Hyannis had a chance to respond. Jon Jon Gazdar singled to get on and then landed safely at second due to an error on the defense. With two men on and one out, Zach Ehrhard dropped a beautiful bunt down the third baseline to load the bases with one out. Unfortunately, two quick outs stranded the Hawks on base.
Horn finished his outing after two innings with 49 pitches, paving the way for a Kros Sivley appearance. Even with the pitching change, Falmouth left fielder Gavin Turley continued his hot night. He ripped his second extra-base hit in as many at-bats, with this one falling over the fence in left field. That shot dropped Hyannis to a 4-0 deficit heading into the fourth inning.
However, the Harbor Hawks wouldn’t stay quiet for long. Hyannis haven’t been shut out since June 29th, and weren’t about to change that tonight. After getting on first with a fielder’s choice, Elijah Hainline got active on the bases. He stole second and third base, setting himself up to cross home plate as Will Taylor grounded out to second base.
The Commodores would get that run right back right away in the bottom of the fourth. A single to right field and a bobbled ball in the outfield allowed a runner to score from second. Just like that, the Hawks were down by four again in a 5-1 ballgame.
In the top of the fifth inning, the Hyannis bats woke up from the All-Star break. An error allowed Ehrhard to make it to second on a bunt down the third base line, bringing in two runs in the process. Then, to no one’s surprise, All-Star starter Cam Smith tied the game on a two-run homer over the wall in center field. Smith scorched his sixth homer of the season, ripping it 102 miles per hour off the bat to straight away center field.
Unfortunately for the Harbor Hawks, Falmouth refused to relent. After Hyannis tied the game in the top of the fifth, the Commodores had four hits in the half inning, helping them score three runs and extend their lead to a margin of 8-5.
Three hits to start the sixth inning brought the Harbor Hawks within two runs. They earned their sixth run with two singles sandwiched around a Brody Donay double to make the score 8-6. Zach Yorke earned himself a walk with the bases loaded later in the inning, making this matchup a one-run affair.
After a scoreless seventh and eighth inning, Hyannis was down 8-7 with three outs remaining. Unfortunately, there was no magic for the Hawks tonight. A one-two-three top of the ninth led to the first loss since July 11th.
As the team heads into the final stretch of the season, coach Beattie urges his players to just finish strong.
“We’ll stay with our 1-0 approach that we’ve had,” Coach Beattie said.
Hyannis will look to go “1-0” on July 25th, as they travel to Chatham to face the Anglers at 7 p.m.
Matt Coates can be reached at coatesm@misericordia.edu or followed on Twitter @MattCoates14
