Weather reigns supreme as Harbor Hawks tie Gatemen in seven-inning affair

By: Jason Boué

Tonight’s Player of the Game vs. Wareham Gatemen: The Fog.

Just kidding. Kind of.

In Sunday night’s matchup against the Wareham Gatemen, the Hyannis got a little bit of meteorological help from “a thick cloud of tiny water droplets suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth's surface” — a phenomenon more commonly known as fog. Mother Nature must be a Harbor Hawks (6-6-1) fan because she came in clutch for Hyannis to help them tie the Gatemen (6-6-2) 2-2.

The fog didn’t roll in until about the fifth inning, but it maximized its utility in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs on the board and not a clue that this would be Hyannis’ last chance, Bradke Lohry came up to the plate with Brody Donay waiting eagerly at third. Lohry connected on one, flying it straight toward center field for what would be, in all other conditions, a routine out to end the inning. But this was not all other conditions. This was The Fog.

Lohry’s fly ball was lost in both the lights and the fog, dropping into shallow left center while leaving Wareham centerfielder Josh Stevenson clueless to its location. Seconds after Donay crossed home, the umpires convened and swiftly decided to delay the game due to the probleatic weather. It never resumed.

“We were lucky to get a two-out knock,” acting manager Eric Luksis said. “It’s unfortunate the way it happened, but we benefitted because of it.”

While the fog played a role in Hyannis’ tie, it was not the team’s only contributor. After giving up a two-run home run to the second batter of the game, starter Ethan Bates settled in for the next 10 outs and allowed only four more baserunners total. Iowa product Cade Obermueller then came in to relieve, facing the minimum in his 2.2 innings of scoreless pitching. His shutdown performance was followed by a dominant inning from Michael “Nightmare” Rodriguez, who took down two batters looking during a scoreless top of the seventh.

Offensively, the only other noise for the Harbor Hawks came in the first inning from an unlikely leadoff hitter in Cam Smith. After working a full count, he drove one to left center where only the trees could catch it, marking Smith’s first homer of the season.

“We put him in the leadoff spot tonight… to be able to do same damage early,” Luksis explained. "That paid off.”

Hyannis will look to return to above .500 on Monday night in Falmouth against the Commodores (3-9-2). First pitch is set for 7 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: N/A (Tie)

Losing Pitcher: N/A (Tie)