Colleen Loftus/Web Reporter
Game, set, match. The Commodores are moving on in the 2014 Cape League playoffs thanks to their 5-1 victory over the Harbor Hawks. Despite a close first game against Hyannis, Falmouth held unbreakable determination to come out of Game 2 on top.
The Commodores stuck with their popular, regular season routine and took an early lead over the Harbor Hawks. In the top of the first, lead off hitter Trever Morrison (Oregon State) and Steven Duggar (Clemson) were both walked by Hyannis’ starting pitcher Blake Hickman (Iowa). With one out in the inning, both runners crossed home off of Conner Hale’s (Louisiana State) two RBI double to right-center field. Boomer White (Texas A&M) put another run on the board for Falmouth, sending a RBI single to right field that scored Hale from second.
The score read 3-0 until the top of the fifth. Kevin Newman (Arizona) poked a lead off single to center field, putting a runner on base for Falmouth. Newman managed to steal second off a 2-0 pitch to teammate Cameron O’Brien (West Virginia), as well as advance to third off a wild pitch from Hyannis relief pitcher Matt Denny (Mississippi). With Newman 90 feet from home, White drilled a RBI single to deep center field, putting the Commodores up 4-0.
Two innings later in the seventh, Falmouth tacked on one more run when Jake Madsen (Ohio) sent a RBI double to right-center field. Despite allowing one Harbor Hawks run later that inning, the Commodores maintained a steady lead throughout the course of the game.
Falmouth’s pitching truly determined the direction the game took, righty Kevin McCanna (Rice) coming up huge once again. Making his eighth start for the Commodores, McCanna pitched eight whole innings, throwing an even 100 pitches. McCanna became the first Commodores pitcher this 2014 season to reach a three-digit pitch count. Allowing only one error and one walk, McCanna struck out six Hyannis batters. He was credited with the win, pitching a 1.53 ERA for the game.
“I’m very happy with how I pitched tonight,” said McCanna of his performance, “I wanted to try to win this game for the team and just try to throw strikes.”
Behind McCanna stood a united defense who kept the Harbor Hawks off the bases for almost every inning. Hyannis was retired within three batters in six innings, three of which were consecutive. The infield took no chances in allowing Hyannis hits, as Morrison snagged a sailing ball to right field in the second and Hale sprinted to catch a popped bunt in the third. Harbor Hawk Ben DeLuzio (Florida State) was caught stealing second in the sixth, as great communication between O’Brien behind the plate and Morrison at second kept the bases clear.
Despite solid performances at the plate and in the field, it was the second pitcher for the Commodores that sealed the deal for Falmouth. Garrett Cleavinger (Oregon) relieved McCanna after his eight outstanding innings on the mound, hoping to close the bottom of the ninth with a 5-1 Commodores win. Cleavinger threw a total of ten pitches, striking out three straight Hyannis batters. Nine pitches were called as strikes, and the Harbor Hawks in the batter’s box were ill-equipped to keep up with Cleavinger’s deadly curve and fastball. His efforts ended the series, as Falmouth will move on to the next round of the 2014 playoffs. While their future opponent has not yet been decided, the team is ecstatic about their win and determined to keep the energy up.
“They believe in one another, they’re having fun, [and] they want to see this thing to the end,” said Coach Trundy of the Commodores squad, “I’m really happy for them. They’ve earned [their success], they’ve played well, they’ve played together, and I’m happy we are going to be able to go into the Division finals and play baseball some more.”
For more information, visit the Falmouth Commodores website at www.falmouthcommodores.com or the Cape Cod Baseball League website at www.capecodbaseball.org.
The Commodores Corner 