FALMOUTH, Mass. – The Falmouth Commodores fell 4–2 on Sunday night, as a ninth inning rally by the Wareham Gatemen was the difference in the ballgame.
The contest was tied entering the ninth inning, but a fielding error on a ground ball to first base led to a two-run double later in the frame. Falmouth made three total errors during the game.
The ’Dores put a couple of runs on the board early in this one but were held in check for the rest of the contest. The club scored just two runs on five hits. Despite these struggles in the batter’s box, shortstop Alex Mooney extended his hitting streak to six games by going 1-for-4.
Falmouth’s pitching staff kept the club in the game, holding Wareham to four runs on seven hits. Josh Hartle started on the mound, allowing two runs while striking out four batters in four innings of work. The southpaw said he was pleased with his start, in which he picked up a no-decision.
“Early on, I was throwing the ball well,” Hartle said. “[The] defense made some good plays behind me. And the [fourth] inning there, I got into some trouble, fell behind in counts and gave up a few hits. But all in all, I thought it was good.”
Will Johnston impressed in his second appearance of the summer, keeping Wareham hitless in a pair of frames. Garrett Coe then recorded a scoreless seventh inning, fanning a batter. Levi Wells picked up the loss, giving up two runs during his two innings of work. However, only one of these runs was earned.
The Commodores opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning, taking a 1–0 lead over the Gatemen. Third baseman Jackson Nicklaus hit a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing Andrew Pinckney to dive home safely for the first run of the game.
Falmouth added another run in the bottom of the third, extending its lead to 2–0. Second baseman Peyton Stovall drove in Travis Chestnut with an RBI groundout to second base.
Wareham got on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth inning, tying up the game at 2–2. Third baseman Deric Fabian lined a two-run single to left field, scoring Ryan Campos and Carter Graham. The game-tying knock came with two outs in the frame.
Hartle turned the game over to the bullpen after the end of the frame. Pitching coach Mike Landry said he was impressed with Hartle’s fourth outing of the summer, despite yielding the game-tying hit.
“He’s been pretty consistent throughout the year for us at attacking the zone and being able to get hitters out,” Landry said. “A couple balls snuck through on us today. But as always, I think he did a very good job out there.”
The pitchers from both clubs then dazzled, posting zeros on the scoreboard until the top of the ninth inning. The ’Dores were kept hitless from the end of the third inning until the eighth, as 13 consecutive batters were retired. Left fielder Luke Boyers broke this hitless stretch by leading off the frame with a single up the middle.
The Gatemen crossed the plate twice in the ninth, giving the club a 4–2 lead over the Commodores. Fabian hit a ground ball to first base that got past Jacob Walsh, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Left fielder Hogan Windish then drove a two-run double to right-center field, bringing home Owen Diodati and Fabian.
Before the rally, three Commodores’ relievers combined to blank the Gatemen for the next four innings. Landry said he was impressed by the effort from the club’s bullpen on Sunday night, despite falling to Wareham late in the game.
“It was great,” Landry said. “Will Johnston came in there and did a good job of holding his frames and so did Garrett [Coe]. Just one pitch made the difference, in Levi [Wells’] case tonight. Other than that, I thought he did a great job too. That’s the way the game goes sometimes.”
This would end up being the final score, as the ’Dores were kept scoreless in the bottom of the ninth.
The loss drops Falmouth’s record to 10–14–2 on the season. The Commodores will participate in a workout day at Fenway Park on July 11. The club will then return to action at 6 p.m. July 12, as it will host the Bourne Braves at Arnie Allen Diamond at Guv Fuller Field.
Note: Featured image by Charlotte Macht.
Click here for Sunday night’s box score.
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Tommy Mumau can be reached at tmumau@ithaca.edu. Follow him on Twitter @tommymumau13.
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