Harbor Hawks Head Home After Tough Defeat at Hands of Commodores

Hyannis Harbor Hawks Field Manager Chad Gassman (Waldorf College) doesn't make it a common practice to argue balls and strikes, or any aspect of any game for that matter, but Tuesday night (Aug. 9) at McKeon Park he appeared to have good reason to come storming out of the third base dugout before being ejected.

With runners on first and second base in the bottom of the fifth inning and two outs, the score just 3-2 with the Falmouth Commodores in the lead and Hyannis gaining momentum, Harbor Hawks' catcher Kevin Plawecki (Purdue) was called out on strikes on a shoulders' high fastball from Texas relief righty Nathan Thornhill when Gassman came out and argued the call. He was soon ejected, but much to the delight of the near 2,000 Harbor Hawks' fans in attendance, many of whom high-fived the usually jovial head coach as he briskly walked out of the ballpark.

But with the fifth-inning rally squelched and its helmsman ousted, things never quite got better for the Harbor Hawks as the visiting Falmouth Commodores staged a two-run outburst in the top of the seventh frame, mainly due to an RBI-triple from Texas Tech first baseman Barrett Barnes to make it 4-2; Barnes would come scampering home on a wild-pitch to make it 5-2 as it seemed that Falmouth had gotten the best of the hard-throwing and usually effective Hyannis relief southpaw Ryan Gibson (Oklahoma).

And 5-2 is precisely how the score would remain until the last out of the game as Hyannis - 29-15  during the regular season - simply could not catch a break and put runs across.

At no time was that more evident than in the bottom of the ninth inning when Rice University closer John Simms literally bedazzled the Harbor Hawks' bats and in effect ended the Hyannis season. Falmouth moves on in the Western Division finals tomorrow night at Clement S. Spillane Field in Wareham versus the Wareham Gatemen.

With the Western Division semifinals on the line and both teams tied at 1-1 in the series, Falmouth came out firing on all cylinders with two runs in the top of the first on four hits, including an off-the-wall RBI-double to left by Texas Tech's Barnes (3-4, two doubles, triple, walk).

Hyannis' Dan Gulbranson (Jacksonville) laced a one-out single in the bottom half of the first, but that was all the Hawks could muster and they remained down, 2-0.

In the top of the third inning, it was Texas Tech again as Falmouth's Reid Redman basted a one-out single on Dean McCardle's (Stanford) first pitch to make it 3-0. Missouri's Eric Garcia scored on the play after, drawing a walk from McCardle with one out.

In the top of the third inning, Falmouth's Barnes led off with a one-out double after McCardle whiffed Jake Rodriquez (Oregon State) and that was all Gassman wanted to see as the Stanford righty was done for the night, giving way to OKlahoma's Gibson. Gibson got out of the inning with no harm done, but again, Hyannis could not come through with any run support in the bottom of the third.

In the top of the fourth, Gibson was the beneficiary of a textbook, 6-4-3 double play, but the Commodores - with an onslaught of hornblowing, whistle-tooting fans in rare form - would still not relent and remained atop the hosts, 3-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Hawks came back when Plawecki led off with a single and then came home on an RBI-double by Austin Elkins (Dallas Baptist). Down 3-1, the Harbor Hawks almost seemed to cave in when Gibson took an impossible slow-roller along the third base line and heaved it over the head of the first baseman to put runners on second and third. He then settled to fan the hard-hitting Barnes on called strikes and then matched that feat with another whiff of Jared King (Kansas State).

Bolstered by Gibson's outstanding performance in striking out two tough hitters with two men on, the Harbor Hawks went to work. With one out, Zach Vincej (Pepperdine) got things going with a double, then Eric Stamets (Evansville) struck out for the second out. Gulbransen then walked and centerfielder Joey Rickard (Arizona) ripped an RBI-single to make it 3-2. With men on first and second, it appeared things were rolling in the Harbor Hawks' favor when Plawecki was rung up on a tough pitch to end the rally. Gassman proceeded to argue the call at home plate and would not relent until being ejected.

This sort of reverse-psychology to keep his boys' hopes alive and a collective fire in their bellies seemed to work wonders for Gibson who came out and threw aspirin tablets at the Commodores who, but for one lone walk, struck out in succession.

Ever-hopeful, Hyannis General Manager Bill Bussiere commented that he believed his team would stage a comeback.

"These guys have been coming back all year," Bussiere said with his trademarked smile. "Heck, we came back against these guys (Falmouth) in game one when we were down 4-0."

True enough, the Harbor Hawks did come back in game one of the Western Division semifinals to defeat the Commodores, 6-4, earlier in the week, but tonight it simply was not meant to be.

Ahead 3-2 in the top of the seventh inning, Falmouth staged a two-out rally on an infield single by Jake Rodriguez (Arizona State), an RBI-triple by Barnes, and then Barnes, as mentioned before, came home on a wild pitch.

As an aside, the 50-50 raffle prize for the night was over $300 with the winner receiving loud applause from the third base bleachers as the woman went to collect her winnings. All was not a loss for at least one lucky Harbor Hawks' fan.

Wait till next year.