By: Finn Riley
Brewster, M.A. 一 On Wednesday, the Whitecaps tied in a rollercoaster of a game with the Wareham Gatemen, with a final score of 9-9.
For the Whitecaps fans who may have left after the first six innings, I wouldn’t have blamed you, because all six of those innings were dominated by the Gatemen.
Right off the bat, the Whitecaps’ defensive struggles showed in the first inning, as an errant throw on a routine groundball gave the Gatemen the opportunity to hang three runs on the board.
Following a poor first inning, things would only get worse for Brewster, as the Gatemen would score in the third, fourth, and fifth innings to extend their lead 6-0.
During this stretch, the Whitecaps would only accumulate two total hits, continuing the offensive struggles in July.
However, the Whitecaps showed their resilience in the bottom of the seventh inning, as they went on to score seven runs on the Gatemen pitching.
The two big hits in this inning came from Carson DeMartini (Virginia Tech) who knocked in two runs on a ground rule double, and from Nick Lorusso (Maryland) who plated two more runs on a single up the middle.
Brewster maintained this momentum through the eighth inning, as Davis Diaz (Vanderbilt) smashed a solo home run to extended the Whitecaps lead to 8-6.
With a two run lead in the top of the ninth, the Whitecaps were just three outs away from completing the comeback.
Unfortunately, a single and a pair of walks would set up the Gatemen to capitalize with the bases loaded as Cam Meyer smoked a bases-clearing triple to put Wareham ahead 9-8 heading into the bottom of the ninth.
The final half inning of play began with Kurtis Byrne (TCU) at the plate, who sent a ball into the left field trees, tying the ballgame at 9-9.
The Brewster offense wouldn’t be able to push across anymore runs after Byrne’s solo shot, leaving the game at an unsatisfying 9-9 tie.
Following the game, Head Coach Jamie Shevchik had a lot to unpack about his team’s performance.
“We’ll salvage a tie after where it started […] we fought all the way back, but just couldn’t put it to bed in the end. I still give these guy a lot of credit because most guys would’ve been out when were were down 6-0. […] It’s a good sign that we have a little fight in us, but we’re a little concerned now about closing games.”
With just five games remaining, the Whitecaps sit in second place in a tight playoff race in the East, with the Mariners just one point behind, the Firebirds three points behind, and the Anglers four points behind.
“We gotta find a way to get in to the playoffs, doesn’t matter if it’s one, two, three, or four […] the playoffs will rejuvinate everybody since the grind of the long summer is over.”
The Caps will get a day off on Thursday, then will make their final playoff push at Spillane Field against the Wareham Gatemen on Friday, starting at 6:00 pm.