Braves Bats Lack Firepower on the Fourth of July

By: Jacob Janower

On the Fourth of July, the fireworks at Doran Park were few and far between in a 4-2 Wareham (9-11) win over the Bourne Braves (11-9) that can simply be classified as a pitchers duel.

The Gatemen pitching staff, especially the bullpen, dominated the Braves and did not allow a hit after the fifth inning.

The Braves have been searching for consistency for quite awhile now. After starting the season with a 6-2 record, they have yet to go on a winning or losing streak longer than two games.

Crane’s Debut

Recent Braves addition Andrew Crane (Troy) was given his first start of the season on the mound, and while he was tagged for three runs in four innings, he was still able to keep the offense within striking distance.

Some nerves would have been assumed, but Crane was steady for the most part. He was able to get some key ground balls in the early going, one that set up a double play in the first inning and another that nearly led to the same result in the following inning.

His only real trouble came in the third inning. Jarren Duran (Long Beach State) tripled, drove in a run, and then scored a run on a sacrifice fly by Steven Kwan (Oregon State). The Gatemen would add a third run in the inning when Willie McIver (Washington) singled home a run.

Roberts, Relievers Handle Braves Bats

The Wareham pitching staff came out much stronger after they had allowed six runs to the Braves offense in their first meeting, giving up only six hits on Tuesday.

Griffin Roberts (Wake Forest) and three relievers stifled the Braves’ offense with runners in scoring position (2-for-10) and scattered all of the hits that they surrendered. The group finished with 13 strikeouts against the opposition.

Another struggling point all season for Bourne has been extra base hits. They entered the game with just 30 total, 24 of which have been doubles, and did not have any during the night.

Stat(s) That Mattered

For just the second time all season, no Brave had a multi-hit game. Six different players delivered a single hit, but nobody was able to break out and carry the offense.

Every hitter in the order had at least one strikeout as well.

Brave of the Game

Kyle Marman (Florida Atlantic), who has worked in both a starter and relief role, delivered four efficient, scoreless innings out of the bullpen, throwing 36 out of his 50 pitches for strikes.

Marman only ran into one real jam, which came in his first inning of work, when the Gatemen had runners on the corners, but he was able to get a double play to escape.

He finished with three strikeouts and no walks during his outing.

Coming Up: The Braves conclude their stretch of 18 games in 16 days by making their second visit of the season to Spillane Field to play the Gatemen. Brian Eichhorn (Georgia Southern), who is tied for the CCBL lead with three runs and currently sports a 2.13 ERA, will get the start.

You can contact the author via email (jjanower@gmail.com) or follow him on Twitter (@JanowerJacob).