Commodores Fall Short to Mariners

Colleen Loftus/Web Reporter

After a close nine innings, Falmouth was unable to pull out a win against Harwich last night at Whitehouse Field. Both teams’ infielders and pitchers dominated play, as a total of 17 strikeouts were delivered by the Commodores and Mariners pitchers.

Starting on the mound for Falmouth was lefty Matt Hall (Missouri State), who struck out six batters in five innings and allowed no runs. Michael Boyle (Radford University) pitched first for the Mariners, delivering one strikeout.

The score remained tied at zero in the first four innings of play. Hall struck out three batters in a row in the bottom of the second, and would continue the streak into the third inning with the strikeout of second baseman Alex Perez (Virginia Tech). Right fielder Steven Duggar (Clemson) hustled to four balls hit to far right field. First baseman Connor Hale (Louisiana State) snagged two balls along the right field line and managed to tag the bag with ease before the oncoming batters could reach it.

The Commodores struck first in the top of the fifth, with Evan Ocello (Holy Cross) cracking a double to the fence in center field. Nick Ramos (Indiana) stepped to the plate and attempted to bunt, hoping to move Ocello to third. Ramos bunted up the left field line, and an error by Mariner’s third baseman Danny Zardon (Louisiana State) allowed Ramos to reach first base while also allowing Ocello to take third. With Ocello in scoring position and Ramos on first, shortstop Kevin Newman (Arizona) drove a fly ball into centerfield. Harwich’s center fielder Skye Bolt (North Carolina Chapel Hill) caught the ball with ease, but Ocello tagged up and headed for home to put the Commodores on the board. Falmouth led 1-0 as the Mariners came to bat.

Falmouth made their first pitching change of the night. Righty Donny Murray (Holy Cross) came in to pitch the sixth. On a 1-1 count from Murray, Mariners catcher Anthony Hermelyn (Oklahoma) singled, which was followed by a single by third baseman Zardon. A bunt by shortstop Angelo Amendolare (Jacksonville) placed both Hermelyn and Zardon in scoring position. First baseman Sal Annuziata (Seton Hall) grounded out to Commodores shortstop Newman, who whipped the ball to Hale force Annuziata out at first. With this 6-3 out, Hermelyn sprinted from third to home, moving Zardon to third and tying the game 1-1.

The Commodores coaches decided to make their second pitching change, replacing Murray on the mound with Kyle Zimmerman (Wayne State). With Zardon in scoring position, right fielder Brendon Sanger (Florida Atlantic) knocked a single RBI to right field as Zardon crossed home. The Mariners led 2-1 going into the top of the seventh.

Unfortunately, the Commodores could not regain the lead. Pitcher Johnathan Frebis (Middle Tennessee State) struck out four Falmouth batters in the sixth, seventh, and eight innings. Falmouth’s Zimmerman had a successful seventh inning, striking out three out of four batters. The Commodores’ closer for the evening was Matt Eckelman (St. Louis), who had one strikeout and was able to hold off the Mariners from scoring any runs in the ninth. The final score was 2-1 Harwich, leaving Falmouth 3-3 in games this season.

The Commodores will travel to Wareham tonight, June 18, 2014, to face the Gatemen at 7:00 p.m. For more information, visit the Falmouth Commodores website at http://www.falmouthcommodores.com.