Bravos strand nine runners against Firebirds, fall 6-4

By Mac Friday

(Photo: Joey Kurtz/Bourne Braves)

One might assume that the Bourne Braves would use Thursday night’s offensive explosion to push themselves into Friday night’s matchup with the Orleans Firebirds and build off of their successes. Instead, an early three-run deficit and several missed scoring opportunities spoiled the Braves’ night, as they fell to the Firebirds 6-4 at Doran Park.

After striking out the first hitter he faced, starter Ryan Fischer faltered. The New Jersey Institute of Technology right-hander allowed a one-out triple to second baseman Nick Furman. A sacrifice fly to right field scored Furman before the floodgates opened. Third baseman Kevin Sim knocked a home run over the left-field fence. Right fielder Isaac Humprey made it back-to-back Firebirds jacks to put up Orleans 3-0 in the first.

“I just left a couple of pitches up and they got me,” Fischer reflected. “It’s one of those performances where you have to get after it tomorrow, forget about it and keep doing what you’re used to doing.”

While Fischer was certainly down on himself after his performance, the right-hander didn’t back down from a fight. Fischer didn’t allow another hit after the first, only allowing one baserunner that reached on an error, sitting down the other 12 without permitting another hit, a valiant response for a start that got away from him early.

“He pitched great after the first,” Braves manager Scott Landers said. “He didn’t have a hit after the first inning. He was awesome. His pitch count got up a little bit, but I was very pleased.”

After a quiet first three innings, the Bravos finally got the bats going in the fourth with a one-out single by the hottest hitter in the lineup, left fielder Evan Sleight, who went 3-for-4 on the night with two singles, a double and a walk. Another single by designated hitter Wyatt Henseler and an RBI shot down the third-base line by third baseman Brennan Milone scored Sleight. Henseler came across on an RBI double by Carson Roccaforte, his first extra-base hit of the season. However, with the bases loaded, the Bravos stranded all three runners with back-to-back outs to end the inning.

“That was huge,” Landers said. “They had just changed pitchers and we let them off the hook. They made some good pitches, had a couple of good change ups and we swung through them. That’s just baseball.”

After Fischer’s exit in the fifth, righty Justin Willis entered in the sixth and threw two hitless frames with a trio of strikeouts before he melted down in the eighth. Willis hit the first batter of the frame and walked the next two. In came righty Cameron Bye, one of the few Braves relievers to not allow a run with at least nine innings of work on the season. The Firebirds scored three runs on a two-run single by Furman and sacrifice fly by Sim, but all runs were on the books of Willis.

The Bravos put together a short rally in the ninth, as pinch hitter Josh Moylan led off with a hit-by-pitch in the foot. New Braves acquisition Carson Jones, who just got off the plane earlier on Friday, logged his first hit in Braves uniform, a broken-bat blooper up the middle to get two on with one out. Thursday’s hero Matt Shaw then flew out to center. First baseman Chris Brito made sure the runners-on opportunity would not be squandered in the ninth, lacing a double into the right-center field gap to score Moylan and Jones. However, the red-hot Sleight could not come up with his fourth hit of the day, grounding out to end the game.

The Braves scored just four runs on nine hits, three more than the Firebirds, taking their first loss to Orleans on the season. They stranded nine runners on base.

“We hit a lot of balls into the gaps in center later on that just kind of died with the wind and didn’t go out of the yard,” Landers said. “I thought we barreled a lot of balls up. We had nine hits; we just couldn’t get guys in.”

The Bravos are back in action at McKeon Park against the Hyannis Harbor Hawks on Saturday. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m.