Unable to break deadlock, Braves tie with Harbor Hawks 1-1

By Mac Friday

(Photo: Braden Reed/Bourne Braves)

Sometimes in baseball, you win, sometimes you lose. In the Cape Cod Baseball League, sometimes you tie too.

On Saturday, the Braves certainly had their chances to win, especially with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth, and even more so with the winning run on third with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

Nonetheless, the Braves stranded 10 runners on the basepaths on Saturday, failing to overcome a 1-1 tie in nine innings with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks.

Braves righty Cade Boxrucker started on the bump for the Braves and with just three arms available out of the bullpen, there was some pressure for Boxrucker to repeat his performance against the Harwich Mariners last week where he dealt five innings of one-hit ball.

On Saturday, Boxrucker came out and looked a little wild, struggling to locate his fastball, almost as if he was throwing too hard. The Harbor Hawks had two first inning runners via a single and a walk, but Boxrucker and the Braves defense escaped the jam. They were not so lucky in the second, as Hyannis second baseman Christian Moore led off the frame with a single to right field, before moving to second on a wild pitch. Moore then reached third on a groundout and scored on a sac fly to center. Hyannis got another runner on second after a walk and stolen base, but Bourne limited the damage to one run.

In the third, Boxrucker allowed a leadoff walk, struck out the next hitter he faced, then walked another Harbor Hawk before an inning-ending four-six-three double play.

“Cade was definitely fighting himself a little bit,” pitching coach Brad Cook said. “He was flying open a little bit, struggling to find his tempo, rhythm and get his foot down. When you’re fighting yourself out there and you have your stuff, that’s when (your performance) really matters. He stepped up and (proved himself).”

Filling in for Boxrucker in the fourth was starter-reliever hybrid Seth Keener, who came in for a much needed three innings, providing the length that Boxrucker could not.

Keener allowed just a trio of hits through his four innings on the mound, supplemented by a pair of walks and three strikeouts.

“I felt like I competed well,” Keener said. “I had really solid defense behind so I needed to let them work and they were phenomenal tonight. It’s never fun to end in a tie, everyone wants to win. I was happy with the pitching staff’s performance.”

“Seth had his best performance of the summer so far,” Cook said. “He came in with a two-pitch mix with his fastball and slider and the slider command was excellent. He was able to move his fastball around well too.”

Following Keener was lefty Nelson Berkwich, who kept the contest close tossing two hitless frames with a quartet of strikeouts.

“I just tried to simplify my stuff and compete with every pitch,” Berkwich told sideline reporter Ethan Frank after the game. “It’s tough because we missed some opportunities to score, but we held Hyannis to one run and that was positive, so I feel like we just have to take the positives and keep going.”

“Both Seth and Nelson did a tremendous job,” Cook said. “Any time those guys come out and keep the other team to one run, you always give yourself a chance.”

The Braves tallied their first run on offense of the night in the eighth, led by a leadoff single from right fielder Carson Roccaforte, who advanced to second on a wild pitch. Third baseman Matt Shaw, who followed up a 3-for-4 night on Friday with a pair of singles and a walk on Saturday, settled in for his fourth at-bat. Shaw seared a ball to the shortstop, which ricocheted off his glove before trickling into the outfield. Roccaforte rounded third and scored on the play.

With no outs and Shaw having stolen second on a pitch to center fielder Jack Hurley, Hurley got aboard with a bunt and stole a base of his own to put two runners in scoring position with no outs. Designated hitter Chris Brito then struck out and shortstop John Peck was intentionally walked to load the bases. Back-to-back strikeouts by first baseman Josh Moylan and left fielder Evan Sleight ended the frame, stranding all three.

In the ninth, second baseman Bryce Eblin singled through the right side, putting the winning run on board. CCBL batting average leader Jack Duffy pinch-hit for catcher Ryan Leitch, but was ordered to sacrifice bunt to put Eblin in scoring position, which he did dutifully. Roccaforte put a charge in one to right to push Eblin to third, but Shaw was unable to reach for the fifth time, grounding out to short and ending the contest at a 1-1 tie.

“We just have to take advantage of what we get,” Cook pointed “In low-scoring games like this we have to take our free (bases) whenever we get them and that’s something that we need to keep doing to win.”

“We have to get going early next time,” Roccaforte added. “I thought we got off to a slow start and I think we can get going early on and that will help us move forward… I thought we fought back well on offense and the pitchers did great tonight. Of course, you don’t want to tie, but I think it’s good that we are moving forward.”

The Braves head to Brewster on Sunday for a doubleheader against the Whitecaps. First pitches are slated for 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.