Lin Gives Braves the Win

Jacob Janower (Photo: Blaine McCormick)

Lyle Lin is no stranger to clutch hitting, having done it all season long with Arizona State.

Three runs batted in from the catcher on Thursday pushed the Bourne Braves to a 4-3 comeback victory, their first win of the season.

Lin is once again off to a hot start, something he has quickly grown accustomed to.

His two-part method towards success has worked well so far.

“First it’s being confident in myself,” he said. “The second is getting in the cage and doing work, hitting drills and stuff.”

The Braves put forth a strong effort in all three facets of the game, holding a lead for most of the game and playing error-free baseball.

Braves Offense Gets Help from Chatham Defense

Chatham’s starting pitcher Taylor Luciani (Quinnipiac) cruised through the first four innings, allowing no hits. On the plus side, the Braves drew three walks, all of which came in the first two frames.

Jared Triolo’s (Houston) double off of Luciani in the fifth jump-started the offense and led to what became a three run inning.

The two-run single by Lin was what ultimately gave the Braves the lead for good, but it was struggles from the Anglers’ defense that said it all up.

Drew La Bounty (South Alabama) was able to reach when Luciani made a wild throw while trying to force Triolo at third base. On the next hitter, Chatham’s first baseman Nick Patten (Delaware) made a throwing error while trying to turn a double play, allowing Triolo to score.

Eichhorn Plays the Role of Unsung Hero

After entering in a tough situation with two runners left on by starting pitcher Chris Holba (East Carolina), Brian Eichhorn (Georgia Southern) was able to get the Braves out of the fifth inning relatively unscathed.

He said his mindset was just to get ahead, not do too much and try to keep the runners from scoring.

Eichhorn then followed it up by striking out the side in the following inning, and working around a leadoff walk in the seventh inning to add a couple more strikeouts, using his fastball to his advantage.

“I’d say getting ahead, putting them behind,” Eichhorn said about what was working for him on the mound. “Fastball was really working, they were chasing.”

Eichhorn’s biggest contribution was holding Chatham at bay after it had taken a short-lived lead, allowing the Braves to mount their comeback.

Late Inning Relievers Set the Barss High

In the Braves’ first save opportunity of the new season, Tyler Barss (Rhode Island) was given the opportunity.

URI’s all-time saves leader worked around two hits and a run allowed to close out the ninth inning.

Set-up man Kyle Marman (Florida Atlantic) worked a perfect 1-2-3 eighth to nail down his first hold of 2017.

Brave of the Game:

For the second straight game, Lin stood out among the Braves. On the top of his go-ahead two-run single, he added a seventh inning double that gave the Braves an important insurance run.

Lin has been given one of the toughest jobs of anyone on the team; handling a completely new pitching staff.

“Our pitchers, they are awesome,” he said. “They are all really good pitchers. It’s not much different.”

While the playing conditions in Tempe, Arizona differ significantly from Cape Cod, Lin has shown no signs of slowing down thus far.

Coming Up: The Braves three game home stand comes to a close against the Brewster Whitecaps at 6:00. Left-hander Eli Kraus (Kent State) is the probable starting pitcher.

 

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

 

Pre-game, in-game highlights, and post-game audio: