13 Runs More Than Enough to Lift Wareham Over Bourne
By: Jacob Janower
The Bourne Braves hitting, pitching, and defense all struggled right from the get-go as the Wareham Gatemen won 13-2. It was the second consecutive night that the Gatemen beat the Braves.
Wareham (10-11) was able to tag the Braves for 15 hits and reached on four errors.
Wednesday night signified the last of 18 games for the Braves (11-10) in a 16-day stretch.
Gatemen Bats Come Alive
After scoring just eight runs combined in their first two match-ups against the Braves, Wareham continuously poured it on throughout the night.
Brian Eichhorn (Georgia Southern) failed to complete his bid for a CCBL leading fourth win, suffering from a pair of bad innings in the first and fourth.
John Toppa (Connecticut) had four runs batted in, including three in his first two at-bats, while Willie MacIver (Washington) drove in two, as the Gatemen rode seven hits off of Eichhorn to grab a seven-run lead after four innings.
Despite his struggles, Eichhorn still threw strikes at a similar pace to what he has in the past and only walked one hitter.
Steven Kwan (Oregon State), and Tanner Dodson (California) added two more RBIs apiece during the night.
The Braves bullpen did not help matters much, as a pair of Connecticut Husky relievers, P.J. Poulin and Ronnie Rossomando failed to slow down their torrid offense. Wareham added six runs in the last three innings, including four on four hits in the seventh.
The Gatemen posed a threat nearly every inning and had 16 at-bats total with runners in scoring position.
Defensive Blues
Four total errors committed by the Braves on Wednesday were the most that they have had all season.
The two most significant to the game came when Scott Schreiber (Nebraska) dropped a routine fly ball and Tyler Fitzgerald bobbled a ground ball, leading to unearned runs for Eichhorn and Poulin respectively.
Stat That Mattered
After not allowing double digit runs in their first 17 games, the Braves have now allowed 13 spot to the opponent in two of their last four games.
Brave of the Game
Andrew Fregia (Sam Houston State) was the offensive standout with two hits on the night, including a double that nearly left the yard.
Grant Witherspoon (Tulane) also had two hits and showed off his speed with a bunt single.
The only two runs by the Braves came on a single by Schreiber and a run-scoring ground out by Kevin Radziewicz (Fairfield).
Coming Up: The Braves will earn a much-needed day off on Thursday, their first since June 19. They will then travel to Harwich for the first time this season to face the Mariners.
You can contact the author via email (jjanower@gmail.com) or follow him on Twitter (@JanowerJacob).
Pre-game, in-game, and post-game highlights:
