Braves score 11 runs in ninth to win 18-10, drub Harbor Hawks in dramatic comeback
By Mac Friday
(Photo: Braden Reed/Bourne Braves)
In the bottom of the third, after the Bourne Braves had given up six runs to the Hyannis Harbor Hawks and trailed 7-1, a Hyannis fan approached the Bourne broadcast booth during the mid-inning break. Motioning to Bravos broadcasters Calvin Christoforo and Max Tanzer, as well as producer Ben Spector, the fan asked if the Cape Cod Baseball League had a run-rule order in effect, referencing the rules put in place by other summer leagues around the country.
Little did this fan know what he and the other spectators at McKeon Park were in for though, as it would be the Braves asking the same question just a few hours later. The Bravos put on an absolute drubbing of the Harbor Hawks on Saturday night, scoring 11 runs in the top of the ninth en route to an 18-10 win.
It was an offensive explosion like Brave manager Scott Landers had never seen before on the Cape. Many of the players agreed, saying that during the school year when the big Division-I universities play against smaller schools, games like this happen, but never on the Cape.
“Offensive performance like this on the Cape? No, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Landers said, grinning.
“You don’t have nights like this up here,” designated hitter Wyatt Henseler said. “At school, this happens once or twice every season, but up here with the caliber of competition you’re seeing up here, it’s very rare to have nights like this at the plate.”
It all started in the third when Braves starter Hunter Furtado came under fire. After giving up a single run in the second, the Alabama lefty allowed six runs to score in the third after a three-run triple turned into an inside-the-park home run by right fielder Rocco Peppi on a throwing error. Furtado was pulled for the uber-reliable starter/reliever hybrid Seth Keener, who hadn’t thrown in 10 days after four and a third innings of one-hit relief in a magical walk-off win against Harwich.
The Bravos wouldn’t lay down though, loading the bases with no outs in the top of the fifth. A sacrifice fly by Josh Moylan brought home the first runner of the frame. Three RBI singles by Wyatt Henseler, Brennan Milone and John Peck scored another three runs and then a bases-loaded walk issued to Bryce Eblin brought in the fifth run of the frame. The Bravos trailed by one and were back in the fight.
“I think we had to reset a little bit at the plate, we were just kind of rolling over everything,” Henseler said. “We were just doing too much. We reset and Bryce (Eblin) and (Matt) Shaw got on and that started to get us rolling.”
Keener sat down nine straight Harbor Hawks before his first blemish, back-to-back walks issuesd to center fielder Phillip Matulia and third baseman Mitch Jebb. A single by former Big Ten batting champ Justin Janis scored Matulia, and a fielder’s choice brought home Jebb, extending the Hyannis lead.
Following Keener came a lights-out performance by Tyler Vogel in his final appearance in a Bravos uniform before shutting down for the next few weeks ahead of the MLB Draft. Vogel dealt two and two thirds of two-hit baseball, notching just a single strikeout.
“Tyler was a great guy to have down in the bullpen,” Keener said of his teammate. “He’s funny and overall a very good guy. He’s always willing to help. He’s very knowledgeable about pitching so it’s always good to pick his brain and we are going to be missing that moving forward. Hopefully, he gets picked up in the draft.”
For the Bravos, the best was yet to come, and it would be a player that faltered in the Braves’ last visit to Hyannis who got Bourne going. Left fielder Brennan Milone, whose costly drop in the bottom of the ninth earlier this week against the Harbor Hawks nearly cost the Braves the win, would lead off the frame with a single into left field.
“We just kept plucking at it and getting good at-bats and found ways to get on base,” left fielder Brennan Milone said. “We knew we were going to get the big hits. We haven’t been getting them lately besides Thursday (12-7 win over Cotuit), but they started coming through.”
Following Milone, the next six Braves hitters would all reach base via base hit or error, as the best defense on the Cape in Hyannis began to melt down. Hyannis was last in the CCBL in errors committed going into Saturday’s contest, and exited the game in fourth, committing four errors in the final inning. With runners on the corners for first baseman Chris Brito, Shaw took off for second. The throw by Hyannis catcher Pancho Ruiz was mishandled and trickled into the outfield. With Shaw chugging hard for third, the next throw to the bag sailed into foul territory, allowing Shaw to score.
The ninth inning got so out of hand for the Harbor Hawk defense that releiver Connor O’Halloran, who faced six hitters, allowed zero hits, but five runs, walking four Braves. Eventually, Matulia was brought in to pitch the remainder of the contest, the first time the Braves have faced a position player on the mound.
However, three at-bats stand out among the rest. Two belonged to John Peck, who has struggled mightily over the first half of the season with his swing and currently leads the team in strikeouts with 26. Peck cleared the bases with a two-RBI triple in his first at-bat. In his second, he did the same, sending a shot into the right-center field gap for a three-run triple.
As more and more fans headed to the parking lot, pinch-hitter Carson Jones hammered a moonshot over the scoreboard and trees beyond the right-field fence, sending the Bourne dugout into a frenzy.
After the third inning, Bourne outscored Hyannis 17-3, shattering the previous mark for most runs in a single game in 2022 by the Brewster Whitecaps.
“We have had a really bad tendency to get no hits through the first couple innings,” Henseler said. “Once we get our first hit, we really get things going. I mean, Carson sent one over the scoreboard, which was a perfect way to cap everything off. It was a really fun way to end the night and it was worth staying up for if you are a Braves fan.”
The Braves will look to carry over their offensive outburst into a matchup with the Cotuit Kettleers at 6 p.m on Sunday at Doran Park.
