FALMOUTH, MA — Gavin Turley was desperately chasing down Trey Lipsey’s short pop fly.
Two runners in scoring position, both of whom took their places on Cody Delvecchio walks, were already starting to make strides toward the plate. Turley dove at the ball in left field with hopes to avoid any damage for Falmouth in the tenth inning of a win or go home game 2.
The attempt fell just short. Rounding the bases came Brandon Eike and Erix Snow, and one-half of an inning later, Hyannis (2-0) had secured a 9-7 victory over Falmouth (0-2) in game 2 of the west division semifinals.
“Obviously everyone was hoping our prior lead was going to sustain us, but it didn’t work that way,” Commodores Manager Jeff Trundy said after the loss. ” The bases on balls hurt us late. That said, my mindset is more on the players than the game. What they showed us through the course of the summer means so much to me more than they’ll ever know.”
In a game that ultimately was Falmouth’s last in the 2023 season, Trundy’s team continuously battled throughout. The Commodores put tallies on the scoreboard in six of ten innings, with seven different players – Turley, Travis Bazzana, Walker Janek, Tyler MacGregor, Barry Walsh, Nathan Humphreys and Luke Heyman – notching at least one hit.
“There’s an unbelievable group of people in Falmouth,” Bazzana, who recorded three knocks in four at-bats, said. “From the coaches, the GM and the front office, all the way down to the interns and players. I’ll remember it forever and hopefully keep these relationships intact for a long time.”
Falmouth struck in each of the first five frames. Following a Turley double and pair of walks, MacGregor induced a Commodores’ run through a bases-load sacrifice fly to left field. Heyman then recorded a fielder’s choice play with two outs, but due to a late tag out on baserunner Janek, Bazzana managed to run home safely prior to the inning’s end.
Carrying Falmouth’s momentum into the bottom of the second, Cade Clemons scored on another Turley two-base hit. MacGregor, Bazzana and Walsh would also touch the plate throughout the next three innings.
The Harbor Hawks, though, would come back furiously with a five-run stretch between the seventh and eighth. In the former, a Jonathan Gazdar single and Cameron Smith put out moved home Brody Donay and Lipsey. The latter, meanwhile, saw Brandon Eike, Nick Mitchell and Lipsey score.
Falmouth managed to tie the game on a Heyman single to third in the top of the ninth, but Hyannis put things away a frame later on Lipsey’s game-winning double.
“They’re ‘Dores forever,” Trundy said of his team. “They embrace that. It means so much to me that the player’s look at this as something that’s life-changing. I have a great deal of respect for every single one of them.”
Delvecchio received the loss for Falmouth pitching-wise after conceding the game-winning hit as well as four walks. Michael Barnett, Scout Updike, Parker Coil and Stephen Quigley also all made appearances on the mound.
For Hyannis, reliever JB Middleton earned the win with a run allowed through just over a frame, while closer Kros Sivley captured the save in the tenth. Starter Hayden Frank, meanwhile, was pulled in the fourth after surrendering six knocks, five scores and four walks.
Falmouth finishes up its season with a first-round elimination for a second consecutive year. The Commodores, which compiled a 24-18-2 regular season record, posted their most wins in a single campaign since 2019.
“Every team carves its own niche,” Trundy said of the 2023 Commodores. “This team refused to die, never quit and had a blast with one another. I was even astonished by all the players coming and going about how they stayed together as a night group. All the things you would hope for a team, this group did. I love them, and I always will love them.”
The Commodores Corner 