Two Home Runs Lift Commodores over Brewster

By Zane Moses

     A pair of home runs lifted the Falmouth Commodores over the Brewster Whitecaps by a score of 3-2 on Saturday.  Solid defense and the ability of the pitchers to pitch under pressure allowed Falmouth to prevent runs, despite an inordinate amount of walks.

     First baseman JJ Matejevic (Arizona) hit a home run to right field in the fifth inning, ending 13 straight scoreless innings for the Commodores.  Falmouth jumped ahead of the Whitecaps 1-0 in the middle innings.

   In the next half inning the Whitecaps got that run back on a passed ball, evening the score at 1-1.  Luckily pitcher Bryce Montes de Oca (Mizzou) managed to work his way out of a bases loaded jam to limit the damage to only one run.

   JJ Matejevic struck back hard in the bottom of the eighth inning, hitting another home run to right field, this time scoring two runs.  After the seventh inning the Commodores had a 3-1 cushion.  However, in the next half inning a sacrifice fly brought a run in for the Whitecaps, but the cushion kept Falmouth ahead 3-2 until the end of the game.

     Despite the low score, the Falmouth pitching was inconsistent in certain situations.  The starting pitcher Austin Tribby (Mizzou) threw five solid innings and gave up no runs. However, he threw five walks and was forced to pitch his way out of difficult situations, which he did.  His relief pitcher, Bryce Montes de Oca threw five walks in just three innings, giving up two runs in the process.  Fortunately, Montes de Oca was effectively wild, striking out six Brewster hitters and getting the win.

     Andrew Frankenreider (Northern Illinois), who has pitched well for the Commodores, struck out three to earn the save.

    Suffice it to say, the Commodores would not have won the game if it were not for the outstanding performance of JJ Matejevic, who went two for three with two home runs.  The team never had more than one baserunner and those runners never got past first, other than the long balls.

     “I got both counts to three two and that three two pitch I mean I just was seeing it well and I just hit it well,”  Matejevic said.

The Commodores are back in action tomorrow in a double header against the Chatham Anglers.  For more information about the Falmouth Commodores, visit the team’s website at http://www.falmouthcommodores.com.