Harbor Hawks Rally from Behind to Defeat Bourne 9-6 in Game 1 of West Division Finals
By: Matt Coates
The Hyannis Harbor Hawks hosted the Bourne Braves in Game One of the West Division Finals, beginning a rematch of the same series last year. Bourne (23-20-2, 2-1 in playoffs) bested Hyannis (25-17-2, 3-0 in playoffs) in two games en route to a Cape Cod Baseball League championship last summer. This summer, the Harbor Hawks were searching for a different result.
And that they would get. Hyannis escaped Monday’s matchup with a 9-6 victory in a back-and-forth affair to start the West Division Finals.
“I feel like [the Harbor Hawks] always feel like they’re going to win,” head coach Eric Beattie said.
That confidence was necessary, as the team trailed from the top of the third through to the top of the fifth inning. Luckily, that winner’s mindset helped inspire a comeback and get Hyannis up 1-0 in the series.
Zachary Voelker was on the bump to start the game for Hyannis. He proved he was equal to the task in the first inning, facing four batters and escaping unscathed.
After a scoreless bottom of the frame, Voelker took the mound for the second inning. This time, he was even better. Three up, three down for the Braves as Voelker got through the inning in just 16 pitches.
Hyannis wasted no time when they got up to the plate. Brandon Eike ripped a leadoff double on the first pitch of the half inning, coasting into second base standing. A walk and wild pitch later, the Hawks had two runners in scoring position with no outs.
Eike has been a breakout star for Hyannis late in the season. Through three playoff games, he is hitting .500 with three RBIs, two extra-base hits, and three walks.
Eike has only appeared in 13 games for the Hawks this summer, as he was swooped up from the Coastal Plain League to come and help this Hyannis team. Although he has only been with the team for a few weeks, that hasn’t impacted him.
“At the end of the day it’s just a game,” Eike said. “I just come in every night and play hard, trying to do my job.”
He has certainly done his job for the team, earning starts in all three playoff games thus far. If he continues to swing the bat this way, it will be hard to get him out of the lineup.
Eric Snow, the hero from Game One of last series vs Falmouth, plated the first RBI of the game. A fielder’s choice to the shortstop plated Eike, giving the Hawks a 1-0 lead after two innings.
Unfortunately, the third inning was not kind to the Harbor Hawks. Bourne hit two home runs in the top of the inning, taking over the lead 3-1. In the bottom of the inning, Braves starter Tristan Smith settled in, getting three straight outs on 12 pitches.
After falling behind 4-1 in the top of the fourth, Snow earned another RBI to make the score 4-2. With a man on first and second with two outs, Snow singled to left field, helping Bennett Thompson round third and score the second Hyannis run of the game.
Snow has proved to be a hot hand for Hyannis early in this postseason run. Through the first round, Snow was batting .600 with four RBIs and four runs scored. He has an astonishing 2.150 OPS to start the postseason, leading the CCBL in that span.
Eric Snow
The Bourne bats stayed hot in the fifth, making the score 5-2 on a sacrifice fly. Luckily, the Hawks had a rally up their sleeves. They exploded for five runs in the bottom of the inning, retaking the lead 7-5.
Cam Smith stepped up to the plate with one out, Zach Ehrhard on second, and Jon Jon Gazdar on first. Smith took advantage, ripping a double to left field to score Ehrhard. Smith was the team MVP for Hyannis this season, but has struggled as of late. Before a double in Game 1 vs Falmouth, Smith hadn’t managed an extra-base hit since July 28. It’s safe to say Smith is out of his slump, with two extra-base hits in the past three games.
Later that inning, Eike was the one to tie the game up for the Harbor Hawks. He placed a single into right field, allowing Gazdar and Smith to cross home plate and make the score 5-5.
However, the big blow of the inning would come two batters later. Eike was standing on second base with Trey Lipsey in the box. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Lipsey flashed some opposite field power, blasting a home run over the fence in left field. That two-run shot made the score 7-5, sending McKeon Park into a frenzy after the five-run half-inning.
Hyannis added an eighth run in the bottom of the sixth inning after Evan Whiteaker shut down the Braves in the top half of the frame. The Hawks' run in the sixth came off a Gazdar single, plating Ehrhard.
Including playoffs, Gazdar is batting .386 this summer for Hyannis. Not only has Gazdar shined offensively, but he has played elite defense at shortstop for the Hawks.
Later in the game, Bourne allowed a heartbreaking run in the eighth inning to fall behind 9-5. An odd bounce sent a ball high and over the shortstop’s head, allowing Nick Mitchell to score.
Dennis Colleran would come in to shut down the Braves for the eighth and ninth innings. One run scored in the top of the eighth off a runner that Colleran inherited. Besides that, Colleran and his 98-mile-per-hour fast ball earned five strikeouts to shut the doors.
Hyannis is now one game away from winning the West Division of the Cape Cod Baseball League, but they will not get there easily. The Hawks will travel to Doran Park in Bourne and look to earn their second straight series sweep on Tuesday, August 8 at 6 p.m.
Matt Coates can be reached at coatesm@misericordia.edu or followed on Twitter @MattCoates14
