Mariners blank Wareham 2-0, stop Gatemen win streak at 4
June 16, 2018 8:11 pm | by Andrew Lang
Mariners blank Wareham 2-0, stop Gatemen win streak at 4
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HARWICH- All good things must come to an end. On Saturday night, the Wareham Gatemen (4-1) suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Harwich Mariners (2-3) by a score of 2-0.
The Gatemen bats could not get anything going all night as they were held to just four hits.
CF Skyler Hunter had two hits, a bunt single in the first inning and another single in the eighth. LF Bryant Packard also singled and 3B Austin Shenton had a pinch-hit single in the ninth.
“When you have one bunt base hit through eight innings, you’re not going to win too many ballgames no matter how good your pitching is,” manager Don Sneddon said. “We hit some balls on the screw right at some people and that happens in this game.”
The good pitching for Harwich started with RHP Ty Buckner. Buckner started the game by throwing four innings without allowing a run. He struck out two batters, allowed one hit, and walked three.
Following his exit, LHP Danny Poidomani threw two plus innings and also did not allow a run. Poidomani pitched very well in this redemption type game.
In the Wareham home opener, Poidomani took the loss after he walked Isaac Collins who would later score the winning run on a Bryant Packard walk-off sacrifice fly.
In this game, the scoring for the Mariners began in the first inning. Harwich 2B Cam Thompson started the game off with a double. CF Zach Watson would then single putting runners on the corners and no one down.
SS Tanner Morris then hit a ground ball to the first baseman Andrew Vaughn. Vaughn fielded the ball cleanly and looked the runner at third base back to the bag. Once Vaughn did this, he threw to the SS Bryson Stott and he stepped on the base and tried to turn the double play.
As soon as Vaughn threw to second, Thompson broke for home and ended up scoring. Stott’s throw on the back end was too late, and Morris reached first safely.
This would be the only run that Gatemen starter, LHP Easton Lucas (0-1), would allow. Lucas pitched three innings striking out two with five hits allowed and took the loss in his Gatemen debut.
Easton Lucas (23) made his Wareham debut tonight. Photo by Caroline O’Connor.
“Lucas has good ammunition. He’s just got to throw more strikes and he will. With pitchers you need to get the first outing out of the way and then let them get into a groove,” pitching coach Jim Lawler said.
In the sixth inning, the Mariners loaded up the bases with one out. RHP Cody Carroll was in for Wareham and tried to work out of the jam.
Carroll picked up a big strikeout of Watson setting up a showdown with the Mariners’ three-hole hitter and two down.
The three hole hitter, Tanner Morris, won this challenge as he reached base safely on a four-pitch walk. Morris recorded his second RBI of the night and gave the Mariners a 2-0 lead.
Following the Morris walk, Sneddon made a pitching change, ending the night for Carroll. Carroll threw 2.2 innings allowing one run on the evening.
RHP Tyler Keysor came into a bases loaded, two out jam and promptly got 1B Andre Lipcius to strikeout to end the inning. This was Keysor’s first of five strikeouts on the night.
“Keysor threw outstanding today. We put him out there bases loaded and he gets out of that which was huge,” Lawler said.
“He just kept throwing strikes. That was a great outing. Maybe the best outing we’ve had all summer.”
Keysor’s final line read one walk, five strikeouts, and no runs allowed over 2.1 innings.
The Gatemen had opportunities in both the seventh and eighth to score runs but squandered them both.
Stott and 3B Luke Roskam had back-to-back walks to start the seventh and it looked like Wareham might break out of their funk.
Isaac Collins entered the game as a pinch hitter for catcher Gian Martellini and was looking to move the runners along.
Collins fouled off two bunts attempts before he was forced to swing away with two strikes. The unsuccessful bunt attempt proved costly as Collins then bounced into a 4-6-3 double play.
“Fundamentals are huge at this level, in this game. If we don’t have those down, we don’t win ballgames,” Sneddon said.
The inning ended without much ado as RF Dominic Clementi grounded back to the pitcher to end the threat.
In the eighth, Wareham had a chance again to do some damage. The Gatemen had the bases loaded with two outs and Stott at the dish.
Stott had a favorable 3-1 count and took a big hack but fouled the pitch away. On the next pitch, Stott grounded out to the second basemen as the Gatemen again left runners on. In total, the Gateman left 12 men on base and went scoreless for the game.
Final: Mariners 2, Gatemen 0
Next up: The Gatemen (4-1) will play a doubleheader at home Sunday afternoon against the Orleans Firebirds (1-3) at Clem Spillane Field in Wareham.
First pitch of the doubleheader is at 4:00 p.m. Game two begins 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
