Complete Effort Gives Braves Season Series Split With Firebirds

By: Jacob Janower

Based solely off of the numbers of their opposition, the Bourne Braves were not expected to win Wednesday night’s matchup against the Orleans Firebirds.

The Firebirds entered the game with the most amount of points in the CCBL (50) and were throwing arguably the best pitcher in the entire league, Logan Gilbert (Stetson), who entered the game with a 0.71 ERA in 25 and 1/3 innings. Yet the Braves (19-17) overcame the odds and took home a 5-3 victory.

While Gilbert wasn’t at much fault for the loss, he was far from the sharpest he has been. For just the second time in six starts, the right-hander allowed an earned run. In fact, he allowed two, the first of which came via a run-scoring single from All-Star Grant Williams (Kennesaw State).

“We had to try to keep it simple,” Richie Palacios (Towson) said about the offense’s game plan. “Just look for a good pitch to hit in a good count and that’s pretty much what we did as a team.”

After the Firebirds (25-12) fought back with two runs on RBI doubles by Austin Hale (Stetson) and Stephen Scott (Vanderbilt) against Braves’ starter Andrew Crane (Troy), Jared Triolo (Houston) tied the game with a sacrifice fly that scored Grant Witherspoon (Tulane). Witherspoon had doubled to start the rally.

Crane had retired the first seven hitters that he faced, and although the numbers were not superb- four innings, five hits and two earned runs- he proved to be a worthy competitor to Gilbert.

Arguably the high and low point of the night for Crane came during the fourth inning, when he allowed hits to the first three batters to give the Firebirds the lead, but responded with back-to-back strikeouts and a flyout to prevent the lead from getting out of hand.

A combination of poor defense and a lack of command from Firebirds’ reliever Graeme Stinson (Duke) allowed the Braves to score the decisive three runs once Gilbert had exited the contest.

Stinson walked the first three hitters he faced in the fifth inning on 14 pitches and Lyle Lin (Arizona State) followed with the game-winning single. Witherspoon, the next batter, brought home another run on a double play. The inning appeared to have reached its conclusion when Scott Schreiber (Nebraska) bounced a ground ball to the right side, but a bobble and a wild throw by second baseman Brandon Shearer (Loyola Marymount) allowed Schreiber to reach and another run to score.

The bullpen took control from there, as All-Stars Luis Alvarado (Nebraska) and Ryan Feltner (Ohio State) did most of the heavy lifting, allowing just one run in the remaining five innings. Both looked like their dominant selves, surrendering just two combined hits and striking out four. P.J. Poulin (Connecticut) was the unsung hero in relief, getting a strikeout to escape a jam with runners on the corners.

The season series between the pair of teams will end with both winning two games, making the Braves responsible for two of just 12 losses that the Firebirds have suffered this season.

Upon Further Review

A couple of plays in the early innings had some longing for the use of instant replay in the CCBL. Palacios led off the bottom of the first with a ground-run double that was initially ruled as a home run. The short, clear fence at Doran Park masked the true result of the hit. After the umpires met, Palacios’ fly ball was changed to a double, which appeared to be the correct decision.

Hale’s double down the left field line to tie the game in the third inning was another point of contention. Left fielder Jameson Hannah (Dallas Baptist) appeared to be camped under the ball in foul territory, but overran the ball and watched it drop fair. The umpiring crew convened again to determine whether it was a fair ball or not, but the call stood. Hale finished the night with two runs driven in.

A moment of deja vu happened later on in the eighth inning, when Triolo smacked a double that one hopped over the wall. Like Palacios’ hit seven frames prior, it was initially ruled a home run before the call was changed to the clear choice.

Scoreboard Watching

Two of the three teams that the Braves find themselves bunched up with in the standings played each other on Wednesday, as the Cotuit Kettleers shut out the Wareham Gatemen 4-0. Falmouth retained their place in atop the division with a 3-1 win.

The Braves continue to sit just one point behind the Commodores for first place and one point ahead of the Kettleers for third place. They have started to gain some separation from the Gatemen, who they lead by five points.

Stat That Mattered

A pair of Braves extended their hitting streaks.Lin’s two-hit day upped his hitting streak to nine games and Palacios now has six straight games with a hit. His average his rose from .250 to .286 since July 17.

“Just trying to keep it simple at the plate,” Palacios said. “Hit the ball the other way. If I do that, I’ll be successful. That’s my plan at the plate. Get a good pitch and drive it.”

He has bounced around the order a lot, but led off today and has gained a great understanding of his role when placed at the top of the order.

“See as my pitches as I can to help my teammates out and tell them what this pitcher has so when they go up to the plate they are one step ahead.

Brave of the Game

Alvarado held the deep Firebirds offense at bay for 3 and 2/3 innings. Although he tired towards the end of the outing with a walk to the final hitter he faced, he still accomplished a lot during his night on the mound and seems comfortable as a multi-inning reliever.

“It’s a new thing for me,” he said. “I came from Nebraska and I was just the closer, I only had 16 innings and coming here to the best summer league and having to embrace throwing multiple innings, it’s different. I think I have done a pretty good job of, instead of putting all the effort into one inning, putting everything into three or four innings.”

He currently sits at just two earned runs allowed in 19 and 2/3 innings, not a bad mark for someone who did not pitch regularly until this past spring with the Cornhuskers.

“My plan was to get ahead in the count with all my pitchers and throw the changeup for a strike,” Alvarado said. “That’s always my plan, throw a lot of strikes.”

Coming Up: The Braves will make their second trip of the season to Whitehouse Field on Thursday to face the Harwich Mariners, who are cellar-dwelling in the East Division.