The Falmouth Commodores return to play was certainly unique, as the club tied the Chatham Anglers 7-7 on June 20, in its season opener. Fans at Guv Fuller Field were treated to an offensive showcase, in which Falmouth and Chatham traded the lead on three occasions.
The club received offensive contributions from a variety of hitters in the lineup, as four players drove in runs and six crossed the plate. Among these impactful bats was Michael Curialle, who made his presence known in his summer debut. The designated hitter went 2-for-4, while driving in two runs.
Despite the fact that the ‘Dores didn’t come away with a victory, manager Jeff Trundy said that he was simply happy to resume the rich tradition of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
“It was really awesome,” Trundy said. “There’s so many people that work year-round to give these kids the chance that they have, and everybody had a smile on their face tonight.”
The game itself included action from the very start, as Chatham wasted no time putting their first run of the season on the scoreboard.
Adam Stone faced some control issues early, allowing two walks and plunking a batter in the first inning. After loading the bases, Seth Stephenson came home to score on a passed ball to give Chatham an early 1-0 lead. Stone then managed to limit the damage by inducing an inning-ending double play against Rivera.
The Anglers tacked on another run in the second inning, as Cameron Chick drove home Jake DeLeo with an RBI single to center field.
The Commodores flipped the script in the bottom half of the frame, as they plated their first three runs of the year. Jace Bohrofen kicked off the scoring with an RBI double to right-center field, driving home Brennan Milone. Bohrofen then came home to score on a wild pitch by Anglers’ hurler Victor Mederos. Later in the inning Curialle lined an RBI single to center field, providing the ‘Dores with a 3-2 lead, after two innings of play.
Chatham quickly reclaimed the lead in the third inning, as they scored a trio of runs to take a 5-3 lead. The go-ahead hit came on a two-run home run to right-center field by Lyle Miller-Green.
Falmouth got one of these runs back in the bottom half of the inning, as Bohrofen brought home Brayden Taylor with a sacrifice fly to left field.
Each club posted a run in the fifth inning, advancing the score to 6-5 in favor of the Anglers. Chatham opened the scoring in the frame with an RBI single to left field by John Michael Faile. Falmouth then answered back, as Milone notched his first RBI of the season with a single to right field.
The ‘Dores then evened the score at 6-6 in the sixth inning, as Curialle drove home Bryson Ware with a clutch RBI triple. The designated hitter lined a fly ball to right field, which was misplaced by Miller-Green, allowing the ball to roll all the way to the wall. Curialle said that he got the exact pitch he was looking for, in his game-tying at-bat.
“I was hunting a fastball away,” Curialle said. “He threw me a fastball, I drove it to right-center, and it got past him for a triple.”
Falmouth’s offensive heroics continued in the following frame, as the club took a 7-6 lead with a clutch RBI single to center field by Jake Meyer. The catcher did not start the contest but came in as a defensive replacement in the top of the seventh inning.
The Commodores lost this lead in the ninth inning, as Chatham’s Kevin Parada tied the game at 7-7 with an infield RBI single.
This would hold as the final score, as the Commodores were retired in order in the ninth inning. The Opening Night tie provides both Falmouth and Chatham with 0-0-1 records to begin the 2021 campaign.
The Falmouth Commodores will return to action at 6:45 p.m. tonight, as the club will travel to Wareham to take on the Gatemen at Spillane Field.
Click here for Sunday night’s box score.
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Click here for the 2021 Falmouth Commodores schedule.
Tommy Mumau can be reached at tmumau@ithaca.edu. Follow him on Twitter @tommymumau13.
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