Braves Strand 11 Runners in 4-2 Loss to Orleans
Returning to Eldredge Park for the first time in over a month, the Bourne Braves played a game reminiscent of the ones they suffered through in the early going of this 2023 season. They had baserunners and chances all night, but couldn’t come up with enough timely hits in a 4-2 loss to the Orleans Firebirds. They left 11 runners on base and dropped their record to 15-13-1 with their second consecutive defeat. It dropped Bourne to third place in the West, behind Hyannis.
“We put pressure on them, especially early on, and we couldn’t get anything going,” Bourne manager Scott Landers said. “They pitched us pretty good with runners in scoring position. I didn’t think our plans were great when guys got on. They beat us tonight. We didn’t beat ourselves.”
Josh Kuroda-Grauer, playing left field for the first time this season, reached on an infield single in the first inning. He scored on a Kendall Diggs single, getting Bourne off to a quick 1-0 lead.
Gabe Driscoll got his first start of the summer on the mound. He’s allowed just two runs in 10 2/3 innings out of the bullpen, and he’s a starter for Binghamton University, so he got the nod on Friday.
Driscoll’s first two innings of the evening were scoreless, helped out by Diggs gunning down a runner at second. But Driscoll made his biggest mistake of the night came in the third, when he surrendered a two-run homer that flipped the Firebirds in front 2-1.
Down by a run, the Braves struggled to manufacture offense despite a plethora of baserunners. They recorded a pair of singles – sandwiched by a caught stealing — in the second inning, then had a runner in scoring position in each of the next six innings.
Driscoll retired eight in a row after a mound visit with Landers in the third inning. With the Braves still down 2-1, he came back out for the sixth and allowed the first two runners to reach. He recorded the first out with his fifth strikeout, which brought his outing to an end after 5 1/3 solid innings. Left-hander Matthew Taubensee replaced him for his Bourne debut.
“He screwed up with one pitch, but other than that, it was good,” Landers said of Driscoll. “He pitched well.”
The Firebirds scored one of the inherited runners on a sacrifice fly, but Taubensee recorded a strikeout to limit the damage. The Braves trailed 3-1 after six innings.
They finally scratched a run across in the seventh, as Hugh Pinkney scored on a fielder’s choice from Caden Bodine. But the Braves could only get a single run across after having two on with nobody out.
Their first two batters reached once again in the eighth, but they still couldn’t make much happen. They tried to pull off a double steal, but Sam Petersen was caught at third. Nu’u Contrades drew a two-out walk, and Pinkney grounded out in a 3-2 battle to end the inning.
“Just a miscommunication. That was it,” Landers said of the steal attempt. “He wasn’t supposed to do anything. But I’m not gonna blame him.”
Taubensee surrendered an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, as the Firebirds hit two singles and scored on a double play.
The Braves had no response in the ninth. Bodine reached on an error to keep the game alive, but they struck out three times in the final frame. They fell 4-2 despite never going down 1-2-3 in an inning.
“We were fine,” Landers said. “We played loose. Guys were in the game. We just didn’t get timely hits.”
On Saturday, the Braves will travel to Hyannis, coming off a deflating fog-shortened loss to the Harbor Hawks last Monday. The second and third-place teams will face off at 6 p.m.
