Braves rally from four runs down to end Falmouth winning streak

Braves rally from four runs down to end Falmouth winning streak

By: Zach Pekale 

With the offense continuing to roll over the past four games, the Bourne Braves overcame a four-run deficit to defeat Falmouth 7-5, snapping the Commodores’ five-game winning streak.

Outfielder Chase Murray (Georgia Tech) brought the go-ahead run across in the bottom of the fifth inning with a sacrifice fly that scored Jared Triolo (Houston).

However, for the second time in three games, it was the spark of Ashton Bardzell (Hartford) that ignited the Braves offense.

Trailing 4-0, Bardzell connected on a 1-1 pitch that sailed over the left field wall for a two-run home run to cut the Falmouth lead in half.

“I think I’m starting to feel well at the plate. Swing’s starting to feel good. My timing, I feel like I’m on time,” Bardzell said. “I think I’m in the right spot right now.”

Following Bardzell’s home run, Bourne took its first lead in the bottom of the fourth, capitalizing on a two-out rally to produce three runs off of RBI hits from Danny Oriente and Tyler Fitzgerald (Louisville).

First Impression

Behind the plate for the first time this summer, Lyle Lin (Arizona State) got off to a strong start in his second summer on Cape Cod.

The rising junior collected three hits and recorded an RBI single to provide an insurance run in his first action since the end of his season at ASU.

“Basically I took a month off after the season ended at ASU. Today, I worked on it during BP [batting practice], trying to get my foot down early and try to catch some fastballs and I got a pretty good result,” Lin said.

Player of the Game

Reliever Trey Benton (East Carolina) entered in the top of the sixth inning, inheriting two baserunners from Mike Ruff (Florida Atlantic).

Not only did Benton get out of the jam, but also tossed three shutout innings in relief. Though he was not factored into the decision, Benton did not allow any Commordores to reach base while striking out four.

“That’s your job when you’re relieving, come in and leave the score what it is when you come in,” Benton said. “It feels good to come in and pound the zone with my fastball, mix in my breaking ball and changeup and give the team a chance to win.”

Coming Up: The Braves open a three-game road trip Sunday against the Orleans Firebirds. It’ll be Bourne’s first visit to Eldredge Park in 2018.