Article By: Joseph McLaughlin

Bourne, Mass — It was another hot and humid day on the Cape as the Gatemen arrived at Doran Park to face the Bourne Braves. Due to the heat, the Gatemen took batting practice at Spillane Field before heading to Bourne, and neither team took infield/outfield warmups. 

The temperature may have been high, but the stakes surrounding the game were higher. A win would place the Gatemen three games ahead of the Braves in the West Division standings, and with only four games remaining, it would all but confirm them clinching the top spot in the West for the first time since 2018. 

However, the game did not go their way as the Gatemen (19-17) fell to the Braves (17-17-2) by a score of 7-3 on Wednesday. The loss does not hurt the Gatemen too much, as they still stand atop the West Division. 

However, the win shrank their lead over the second-place Bourne Braves to two points, or one game. The win helped Bourne’s quest for a postseason berth, but they did not get that due to Falmouth routing Hyannis 13-1 on Wednesday.

The Gatemen offense quickly got to work in the first inning. First Baseman Chris McHugh (NC State) crushed a two-out double to give Wareham its first baserunner. Then, after Starting Pitcher and Designated Hitter Caden McDonald (Florida) walked, Left Fielder Chase Krewson (Rutgers) drove in McHugh on an RBI single to put the Gatemen ahead 1-0.

That got things rolling for Wareham, who picked it right back up in the second. Second Baseman Brayden Randle (Ole Miss) crushed an RBI double to score Catcher Drew Rogers (Georgia Tech) to extend the Gatemen’s lead to two. 

However, there would be resistance from the Braves. In the bottom of the second, Jason Torres (Alabama) led off the inning with a double and was driven in by an RBI single from Mark Quatrani (Cornell) to cut the Gatemen's deficit in half. 

The Gatemen were quick to respond in the third inning with a sacrifice fly out by Right Fielder Colby Turner (Michigan) to score McHugh to make it 3-1 Wareham. However, from that point on, the Braves chipped away at the Gatemen’s lead. 

In the fourth inning, Torres scored on a fielding error by Shortstop Chris Ramirez (California Baptist) off a hit from Ryan Cooney (Oregon). Then, in the fifth inning, Cal Sefcik (Cincinnati) singled to center field to drive home Kade Lewis (Wake Forest) to tie the game at 3-3.

The Gatemen then faced a tough situation in that same inning as the Braves loaded the bases with zero outs. Pitcher Ty Starke (Louisville) was brought in to bail the Gatemen out, a task that can be intimidating for a pitcher.

“In that situation, I try to tell myself, nobody's on,” said Starke. “Just fill up the zone and let the game take care of itself. I try not to think too much when I'm out there. It usually works out better. So I just treat it like a regular game, like there's nobody on.”

Starke did well in the situation, forcing three quick outs to get out of the jam. Defensively, it was Third Baseman Jack Kail (Columbia) who made the pop-up catch on Drew Wyers (Mississippi State) for the first out of the inning, then fielded the 5-2-3 double play helped the Gatemen escape the jam.

“In those situations, when we have guys on base in the late innings, we don't want runs a score. So I think it's just being out there, thinking about what I'm going to do, where the ball is hit, imagining the different situation or situations, and whenever that situation presents itself, just go and make the play. Don't think about it. Just rely on your instincts,” said Kail.

“It's super nice just having those guys pick you up. Maybe the hitter beat you and hit a ball pretty hard, but the defense is out there doing their job. So it all comes around and goes around, but it's great to have guys like that for sure,” said Starke.

Kail made his Cape League debut on Sunday as a pinch hitter against the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, then as a starting second baseman on Tuesday against the Chatham Anglers. Being able to play again for the Gatemen is an opportunity he is grateful for.

“It’s great to be here. I'm really excited. When I got the call, I was super excited to come up here and play. The Cape's a great league with a great reputation, and I'm excited to be here. And it's been a goal of mine for a long time,” said Kail.

“He's fresh and new. We've had a playoff spot clinched already, and that gives us a little bit of luxury to kind of maneuver guys around and give some guys some rest. That's what he came in for, is come in and play and give some of these guys that have been grinding it out for us all summer a little bit of rest, much-deserved rest, leading into the playoffs,” said Wareham Gatemen Field Manager Ryan Smyth.

His heroics helped the Gatemen keep the game tied for most of the game, until the Braves broke it open in the bottom of the eighth.

Quatrani started the inning with an RBI double to score Wyers and give Bourne the lead. Then, Cooney singled to left field, and an error by Krewson allowed Quatrani to score, making it 5-3 Braves.

The nail in the coffin, however, was a two-RBI single to right field by Gavin Kelly (West Virginia) that scored Cooney and Jon LeGrande (St. John’s), making it 7-3 in favor of Bourne.

It was a good game played by the Gatemen until the eighth inning. Some defensive miscues and poorly timed hits gave the Braves the advantage.

“It started good, and then in the eighth inning, things just kind of sped up a little bit. We made some mistakes on our end and just didn't take care of the baseball. And that's what's going to happen in this league; it could change really quickly. But, we are going to wake up tomorrow and show up to the ballpark ready to play some more baseball,” said Smyth.

The Gatemen, fortunately, can put the loss behind them with a game on Thursday against the Brewster Whitecaps. First pitch for that game will be at 6:00 p.m. at Spillane Field in Wareham.