Mariners Down Commodores in Pitched Battle to Take Game One

The Commodores struck early and often in game one of the Cape League championship series in Harwich on Friday, but still found themselves playing from behind for most of the night. In a tight game that featured power, speed, and three separate tie scores, the Mariners' steady defense, and Falmouth's lack thereof, made all the difference.

Billy Ferriter led off the top of the first by seemingly reaching safely on a dropped putout throw from the pitcher to the first baseman, but he was ruled out for having run outside the baseline. The very first call of the game would prove costly, as Reid Redman followed with a home run to left.

Falmouth added another run, on another solo homer, when Max White sent the first pitch of the second inning over the outfield wall. Three batters later, Harwich starter Andrew Leenhouts was gone, his leash shortened considerably by the heightened importance of every pitch in this best-of-three championship series.

Harwich answered in the bottom of the second when Mike Garza doubled in Austin Wilson from first, went to third on the unsuccessful throw home, and scored on Luke Voit's single.

After a one-two-three top of the third by reliever Eddie Butler, Harwich took the lead in the bottom of the inning, swinging the momentum squarely to the home team's side. After Falmouth starter Tyler Duffey began the inning with a pair of strikeouts, Jake Davies reached on a clean single to left. Wilson's grounder to third should've ended the inning, but Falmouth's periodic defensive struggles suddenly reappeared, and Redman's error allowed Wilson to reach. Garza followed with a single to left to give Harwich the lead.

Falmouth tied it in the top of the fifth, switching seamlessly into small-ball mode after the unaccustomed power surge of the earlier innings. Ferriter led off with a single through the right side, and Redman sacrificed him to second with a fine bunt. Jeremy Baltz legged out an infield single to put runners on first and third, and Jake Rodriguez followed with a ball that somehow found the three feet of unoccupied grass between the incoming right fielder and the outgoing second baseman. That left the score tied and runners on first and second with still only one out, but Butler rallied to strike out the next two batters.

Harwich took the lead right back in the bottom of the fifth, when Duffey's control deserted him, leading to two straight walks to begin the inning. Nate Koneski came on in relief, and induced two straight weak grounders to the left side of the infield, neither of which was hit hard enough to allow Falmouth to turn two. The first fielder's choice put men on first and third with one out, the next brought in the run.

Not done yet, Falmouth tied it up again in the sixth. White blasted a triple over the center fielder's head—giving him seven total bases on the day, plus a walk—and scored during the next at bat on a wild pitch. Butler locked down Falmouth after that, though, finishing his 4.1 innings by retiring the next three batters. Overall, Butler gave up two runs on four hits and one walk, and struck out four.

He also got the win, as he was still the pitcher of record when Harwich reclaimed the lead, this time for good, in the bottom of the sixth. Leading off the inning, John Wooten crushed a 1-1 pitch to deep, deep left-center, over the fence and into the trees beyond, and the score was 5-4, where it would stay.

Blake Hauser made sure of that, taking over for Harwich in the top of the seventh and closing out the game with three near-perfect innings. Falmouth's best chance came in the seventh, on a two-out double by Rodriguez. But Barrett Barnes, whose bat has cooled considerably after a red-hot first round against Hyannis, grounded out to short to end the threat.

Hauser put the Commodores down in order in the eighth, and again in the ninth, collecting five strikeouts in his three clutch innings.

The Commodores return to Guv Fuller Field for the final time this season on Saturday night at 8:00, when they'll look to even the series, and avoid elimination.