by Zane Moses
The Falmouth Commodores tied an extra inning ball game against the Hyannis Harbor Hawks on Sunday evening. The Commodores cruised for eight full innings before a disastrous ninth and unyielding extra innings. The first run for the Harbor Hawks came in unusual fashion. In the bottom of the first, with a runner on second base and one out, the Hawk hitter dribbled a ball to shortstop that looked like it was bound to be an easy out. Unfortunately, as the ball reached the infield dirt it took an unusual bounce and skirted past the shortstop Tristan Gray (Rice) allowing the first run to score. In the top of the second inning the Commodores managed to recover that run. The lead off batter, left fielder Mitch Longo (Ohio University), reached base by beating the throw following a bobbled ground ball at shortstop. Following a walk and a fielders choice, second baseman Nick Lovullo (Holy Cross) hit a blooping single to left field that scored Longo and tied the game at 1. In the top of the fourth catcher Logan Ice (Oregon State) hit a double to start the inning and two ground outs later he scored to take the 2-1 lead. JJ Matijevic proved his All-Star caliber skill in the top of the fifth inning and extended the lead for the Commodores. The first pitch of his at bat was taken so far over the right field fence it almost hit the flag at the top of the flag pole. The blast was hit with runners on second and third, scoring three runs. Following the home run the Harbor Hawks’ pitcher had trouble finding the zone. A walk, a double from center fielder JB Woodman (Ole Miss), another walk set up a bases loaded situation with two outs. Third baseman Caleb Hamilton drew the two out walk, scoring one run and at the end of the inning the score was 6-1. It appeared to be the Commodores’ game in the ninth inning, but the commanding lead did not prove to be enough. Two walks and a hit batsmen loaded the bases for the opposing team and an error by the shortstop scored two runs. With two outs and runners on first and third a double brought in two more runs to strip the lead down to one run, a run that sat on second base. That run came in with the next pitch., A triple tied the game at six. Those five runs in the inning were spread among three pitchers. In the top of the tenth the lead of hitter Caleb Hamilton walked to start the inning. The next batter, the designated hitter Evan Skoug (TCU), got a base hit but Hamilton was thrown out at third base. The next pitch Skoug was caught stealing, ending any sort of threat the Commodores posed. In the bottom of the twelfth the lights went out in the middle of a Frankenreider pick off, creating an odd 15 minutes where the field was pitch black and attendants turned on their phone flashlights to create light. Following the game break the bullpens switched sides, the players had to refocus, and a strike out, a fly out and an unsuccessful steal ended the game in a tie. The tie helps the Commodores into a tie with the Wareham Gatemen in third place, so even though it was not the ideal result, it was a favorable one. The real standout of the game was the pitching, through eight innings it was phenomenal for the Commodores. Starting pitcher Bryce Montes de Oca (Mizzou) threw five innings and gave up only one hit and one run. Relief pitchers Adam Oller (Northwestern State), Ben Ancheff (St. Thomas University) and Cobi Johnson (Florida State) pitched three scoreless frames as well. The Commodores are back in action on Tuesday against the Wareham Gatemen on the road. For more information about the Commodores visit their website at http://www.falmouthcommodores.com.
The Commodores Corner 