Tyler Mudd pitched through the middle of the loss, allowing just two runs on three hits in three innings. Photo credit Sadie Parker.
by Eamonn Ryan
YARMOUTH—Whitecaps catcher Dylan Leach (Missouri) thought he had two hits in the final two innings of the Brewster Whitecaps’ 8-6 loss to the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (1-2-0) Monday evening at Red Wilson Field, but some spectacular plays from the Red Sox prevented Brewster from ever leading.
In the eighth, Leach hit a 347-foot bomb to the right-field wall, but the Red Sox’s Enzo Apodaca (Gonzaga) leaped up and made a Herculean effort to rob the Whitecaps’ backstop of extra bases. Even Leach applauded Apodaca’s leaping grab.
It didn’t help that in the bottom of the inning, Y-D’s Hunter Hines (Mississippi State) smoked a ball over that same right-field wall to take an 8-6 lead.
“I mean, I thought I got every bit of that,” Leach said. “I thought I hit it as hard as Hunter Hines hit his.”
The Whitecaps (1-1-1) had another chance to come back in the ninth after left fielder James Tibbs (Florida State) laced a double to right-center, but Leach once again got the short end of the stick after he hit a hard grounder that ricocheted off the first baseman’s glove directly to the second baseman, who easily threw him out at first.
That was the story of the game for the Whitecaps, who compiled their own early mistakes — the Red Sox put up five runs in the second inning — with some unlucky bounces later on and couldn’t put it all together.
“We got off to a little bit of a slow start but I thought our offense picked it up a little bit for us and kind of chipped away a little bit at the lead,” said Whitecaps pitching coach Brian Del Rosso. “I thought our pitchers did a good enough job giving us a chance to win today.”
After a rough start by righty Jacob Riordan (Arkansas-Pine Bluff), lefty Tyler Mudd (Holy Cross) entered and pitched three scoreless innings before surrendering two runs in the eighth. His slider played against the Y-D lineup, but Max Viera (Seton Hall) caught up to Mudd in the eighth, blasting a two-run home run that gave the Red Sox the win.
Jacob Timmerman (Ohio State) came in afterwards and set down the Red Sox in order with two strikeouts, showing off a mid-90s fastball to overpower hitters.
“He pounds the zone too,” Del Rosso said. “He’s got a really good slider and good command of it, he controls both sides of the plate. So he gives us a good shot at the back end for sure.”
Early on, center fielder Will Turner (South Alabama) led the comeback effort, sending a two-run homer over the right-field wall in the third inning to make it a 5-2 game. Then first baseman Brock Tibbitts (Indiana) singled to score Leach in the fourth, further trimming the lead.
But once again, Brewster was its own worst enemy, as a wild pitch by Mudd advanced Y-D shortstop Collier Cranford (Kansas) to third before designated hitter Nathan Archer (Bowling Green State) added an insurance run.
Still, the Whitecaps chipped away offensively, as right fielder Jaime Ferrer (Florida State) scored off a sacrifice fly from designated hitter Joe Stella (Barry) in the sixth inning and then scored off a groundout from third baseman Dylan Hoy (Marist) in the eighth. Tibbitts scored the tying run after second baseman Trevor Austin (Missouri) singled him home.
That comeback effort has become a Brewster signature over the first three games of the young 2023 season, but wasn’t enough Monday evening. Still, the team feels confident to stay in games when going down early.
“We’re not out. I mean, our offense is way too good to get out,” Leach said. “We had six hits today, but that didn’t show for the hits that we hit hard. It’s good that we’re molding as a team early.”
The Whitecaps return home to Stony Brook Field Tuesday evening at 5 p.m. as they welcome the Hyannis Harbor Hawks to Brewster.