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July 16, 2021 8:53 pm | by GatemenNews
By Barrett Hodgson
The Orleans Firebirds visited Spillane Field to take on the Wareham Gatemen on July 16th. The teams both came in desperately needing a win and Orleans walked out with the 5-4 victory.
The Firebirds finally got the scoring started during the top of the 6th inning. Peyton Chatagnier (Mississippi) ripped a one out single to give Orleans a base runner. A wild pitch allowed him to advance into scoring position at 2nd base. An injury in the outfield prompted Luke Keaschall (San Francisco) to hit in the three spot. Keaschall took advantage of his opportunity and ripped an RBI single up the middle to give the Firebirds a 1-0 lead.
Wareham struck right back in the bottom of the 6th, taking the lead away from the Firebirds. After two quick outs, Jack Brannigan (Notre Dame) reached on a hard hit single. Gatemen slugger Owen Diodati (Alabama) stepped in and crushed a 2-run home run over the right center wall to give the Gatemen a 2-1 lead.
The starting pitchers from both teams put on special performances before turning the ball over to the bullpens. Wareham starter Adam Mazur (Iowa) was tremendous, giving up just one run in his five and two-thirds innings of work while striking out 8. Orleans starter Hayden Thomas (Texas A U Corpus Christi) was equally as impressive, tossing five innings of scoreless ball while striking out five.
Orleans quickly retook the lead in the 7th. Tyler Locklear (Virginia) led the inning off with a single, and then Julio Marcano (New Jersey Inst of Tech) was hit by a pitch. The runners advanced to 2nd and 3rd on a throwing error by the catcher. Garet Guillemette (USC) dribbled an RBI single between 1st and 2nd to put runners on 1st and 3rd. He advanced to 2nd on a pitch that got away before Chatagnier hit a ground ball that scored Marcano. A throw and some interference with the 3rd basemen allowed Guillemette to advance to home plate and score. Cory Acton (Florida) then drew a walk and stole second base. This allowed Keaschall to step up and he delivered yet again with another RBI single giving the Firebirds a 5-2 lead.
The Gatemen responded again in the bottom half of the 7th. Kellum Clark (Mississippi State) doubled to left to get Wareham going. Kade Kern (Ohio State) then hit a ground ball to shortstop and the throw snuck under the 1st baseman’s glove. This scored Clark and allowed Kern to advance to 2nd base. Sean McClain (Arizona State) ripped an RBI single up the middle that scored Kern and made the score 5-4.
The Gatemen were unable to tie the game up as Nick Wallerstedt (Arizona State) shut the door for the Firebirds. Wallerstedt came in and delivered a six out save without yielding a run.
The Wareham Gatemen will be at home again Saturday July 17th, as they look to take down the Division leading Bourne Braves.
