Sports
Commodores Take Game Two to Even Series
After a disappointing loss in game one, which saw them blow a four-run lead to the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, the Commodores rallied behind strong pitching and timely hitting to win game two of the best-of-three first-round series.
The Commodores took what they were given, and hit when they had to, to take game two of their first-round playoff series with Hyannis on Saturday night, evening the series and forcing a deciding game three (rain date Monday).
One night after blowing a four-run lead to drop game one, Falmouth's pitching and defense rebounded resoundingly. Starter Tyler Duffey gave up two runs on four hits in six innings, and Nate Koneski was even better, pitching three spotless innings in relief.
As on , Falmouth got on top early, scoring a run each in the third and fourth innings before opening it up with three in the fifth. The speedy Eric Garcia led off the third with a walk, then came all the way around to score on a Reid Redman double.
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Another leadoff walk, this one by Barrett Barnes, came back to haunt Hyannis starter Scott Firth in the next inning. Firth compounded his mistake with an errant pickoff throw that allowed Barnes to reach third. Barnes eventually hustled home on a ground ball by Max White to score Falmouth's second run.
In the fifth, Eric Garcia led off with a walk and eventually scored, just as he had in the third. This time, though, he wasn't alone in crossing the plate. After Billy Ferriter singled and Redman sacrificed the runners along, Hyannis opted to walk the dangerous Jermey Baltz to load the bases. Entering in relief of Firth, Dietrich Enns walked Jake Rodriguez to push Garcia home, then surrendered a double to Jared King which plated Ferriter and Baltz.
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Meanwhile, Hyannis had yet to score, leaving that until the top of the sixth, when a rally which included a solo home run by Justin Gonzalez put the score at 5-2. But Duffey escaped the inning without further harm, and Koneski closed the door and kept it closed through his three perfect frames. Falmouth added an unnecessary insurance run in the seventh, and from there the score stayed 6-2.
The series returns to Hyannis for its third and final game on Monday night, when the two teams will meet to decide who will face the waiting Wareham Gatemen in the Western Division finals.
