Tristan Smith Throws Five No-Hit Innings in 7-1 Defeat of Wareham

By Mojo Hill

Bourne began a long day of baseball with a comfortable 7-1 victory over the Wareham Gatemen at Doran Park on Monday. Tristan Smith fired five no-hit innings, and though the Braves came up just short of an extra special victory, it was a win nonetheless to improve their record to 18-16-1 ahead of Monday’s nightcap.

Smith began the doubleheader by walking the first two batters he faced. The atmosphere in the park was quiet, with most fans likely still at work and going through their day while the Braves played under warmer weather with an earlier start time.

Smith bore down after a visit by catcher Caden Bodine. He retired the next three batters, with Sam Petersen sprinting in from center field to make the last out.

“[Bodine[ was telling me to trust my stuff and just compete,” Smith said.

Jonathan Vastine and Derek Bender singled in the bottom of the first, and Caden Bodine drove in the game’s first run with a sacrifice fly. Bender stole second and third — giving him a team-high 17 stolen bases without being caught — but Kendall Diggs made the final out of the inning.

The Braves blew a chance with runners on the corners and nobody out in the second inning, but they went right to back to work in the third. The first three batters reached, two via walks. One run scored on a wild pitch, and another on a Diggs groundout. Bourne knocked starter Aidan Major out of the game with one out after drawing the third walk of the inning.

Another run scored in strange fashion, as Josh Kuroda-Grauer came home on a rundown that eventually resulted in a pickoff for the third out. It was a 4-0 lead for the Braves after they scored three runs on one hit in the third inning.

Smith achieved a triumph of his own in the third, as he struck out four in a single frame. He punched out six consecutive batters overall. The first batter of the inning reached on a dropped third strike, and Smith set down the following trio of Gatemen. He changed his jersey from No. 26 to 12 after the first inning, reportedly due to the first one being too large, and he settled in nicely with the freshly fitted threads.

Smith said he has a slider and a changeup but didn’t really need them, as manager Scott Landers kept calling fastball and it kept working.

“Fastball command,” Smith said of what was working. “Just trusting my stuff and letting it play.”

Bourne broke it open with three more in the fifth to go ahead 7-0. They all scored on a Nu’u Contrades single, with the third coming home on an errant throw from right field.

Smith’s evening came to an end after five dominant innings. He didn’t allowed a hit, walked three and collected eight strikeouts. All of his strikeouts came in an 11-batter span.

“My first [start] I was just trying to throw hard,” Smith said. “My last three starts I said ‘Screw it.’ Just throw my best fastball every time.”

Brady Afthim allowed Wareham’s first hit of the game. He gave up a broken-bat single with two outs in the sixth, ending Bourne’s bid for history. He labored in the seventh inning and allowed a run on a bases-loaded hit by pitch, but still otherwise put the capper on a beatdown.

The Braves and Gatemen will be back in action approximately 30 minutes after the finish of the first game.