Seventh inning costs Braves in 9-4 loss to Y-D

By: Carson Field

As the sun began to set on Tuesday evening against Yarmouth-Dennis, so did Bourne’s chances of winning its third contest in a row. 

In the sixth inning, the Braves took a 3-2 lead as a result of a two-run shot from Jud Fabian, his second home run in the last two games. Because of Harrison Rutkowski’s dominance on the mound, it wasn’t an issue that Bourne only had three hits at this point. 

According to manager Harvey Shapiro, Rutkowski was one of the only gems in the defeat. 

“We played horribly, except for Harry,” Shapiro said. “He was the only guy who pitched well.”

But the performance on the hill deteriorated once Rutkowski exited the game. In the bottom of the sixth, reliever Karl Johnson gave up a run on a passed ball, knotting the game at 3-3. 

Even so, the game was still tied. Bourne had as much of a chance as Yarmouth-Dennis. 

But, an inning later, Bourne dug itself into a hole. Karl Johnson gave up three hits in his first three batters faced in the seventh inning, forcing another pitching change.

In Johnson’s relief, Tyler Brosius added to the Braves’ woes on the mound. Brosius and Johnson gave up seven runs, five of which were earned. 

As rough as the bullpen’s outing was on Tuesday, the struggles were present elsewhere. 

Offensively, the Braves mustered just five hits, two of which came from Fabian. They also recorded three errors in the field, and it very well could have been more than that.

By the time Bourne finally got some more offensive production, it was too late. Darkness prevented the game from going into the ninth inning, and the Red Sox clinched a 9-4 win. 

“We played poorly all around,” Shapiro said. “Defense played awful, offense was awful. The daylight and darkness had nothing to do with those errors.”