Game 1:
Carmen Mlodzinski (South Carolina) retired the Gatemen in order in the first inning but didn’t fare as well in the second inning. Matt McLain (UCLA) made his way to 2ndbase on an error and was sent home from a Benjamin Sems (Kansas) RBI single.
Brandon Pfaadt (Bellarmine) took over for Levi Prater (Oklahoma) in the 4thinning. Prater’s final line was 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO. Trei Cruz (Rice) smoked a 2-run home run over the right field fence making the score 2-1 in favor of Falmouth.
“I felt good I got ahead early in counts and mixed in my off speed pitches to keep batters off balance pretty well” Prater said. “I felt a little bit of rust early on when trying to use my breaking ball but I figured things out pretty fast.”
Pfaadt worked his way out of a jam in the 5thinning. 2 straight singles and an error put runners on 2ndand 3rdand no outs. Pfaadt went to record 2 straight strikeouts to escape unscathed. Mlodzinski recorded his 3rdstraight 1-2-3 inning in the 5thinning.
Tanner Bibee (Cal State Fullerton) relieved Pfaadt in the 6thinning. Pfaadt’s final line was 2.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO. Zach Deloach (Texas A&M) came into the game 0-8 against the Gatemen but hit a home run in the 6thinning giving Falmouth a 3-1 lead. Deloach is hitting a league leading .376. Troy Claunch (Orgeon State) and Tim Tawa (Stanford) hit RBI singles stretching out the lead to 5-1.
Mlodzinski’s night was over after 5 innings. Mlodzinski was lights out on the mound posting a final line of 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO against the best offense in the CCBL. The Gatemen offense came alive in the 6thinning. Mike Antico (St. Johns) was walked and got to 2ndon a wild pitch. Teter sent home Antico on an RBI single cutting the lead to 5-2.
The Gatemen failed to do anything in the 7thinning losing 5-2. Mlodzinski was awarded the win for his efforts, Sean Mullen (UCLA) closed out the game earning a save, and Pfaadt earned the loss.
Game 2:
Similar to the first game Wareham struck early. Teter sent home a run on RBI single. Dallas Beaver (South Carolina) hit a single, Chad Stevens (Portland) was hit by a pitch, and Matt Rudick (San Diego State) made it 2-0 on an RBI single. Sems made it all the way to home but Stevens was tagged out at third to end the inning.
In the 2ndinning the offense kept rolling for the Gatemen. Drew Sims (Utah Valley) was hit by a pitch and Matt McLain (UCLA) sent him home on a double making the score 3-0. Cole Stetzar (St. Josephs) worked his way into some double in the 2ndinning.
A walk and a single put runners on 2nd and 3rdafter a stolen base with only 1 out. Kelvin Kendall (UCLA) cut the Wareham lead to 3-1 hitting a sacrifice fly. That run ended Stetzar’s night as William Fleming (Wake Forest) took the mound. Stetzar’s final line was 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO.
The Commodores came back within 1 run in the 4thinning as Jackson Coutts (Rhode Island) hit an RBI single. With runners on the corners the Gatemen avoided any more damage as Jacob Teter (Florida Southern) completed a beautiful double play.
Things went downhill for the Gatemen in the 5thinning. Kevin Kendall (UCLA) hit a 2 run home run making it a 4-3 game. It looked as though the Gatemen were down for the count but they bounced back in the 7thinning. McLain advanced to a first on a walk and stole 2nd. Beaver got hit by a pitch and Benjamin Sems (Kansas) sent home the tying run on a single.
Extra innings did not go the way Wareham wanted. Jason Ruffcorn (Oklahoma) came in for the 8thinning. Ruffcorn struck out 2 batters and gave up 1 hit but the hit was a 2 run home run hit by Baron Radcliff (Georgia Tech) into the left field bleachers. The Gatemen failed to complete a comeback in the bottom half of the 8thinning losing 6-4.
Logan Hoffman (Northwestern State) earned the loss, Austin Langworthy (Florida) was awarded the save and Ruffcorn got the loss for the unfortunate 8thinning. It was a costly day for the Gatemen dropping from 1stplace in the West Division to 3rdplace.
“You would think playing Falmouth so much the past week would help give us a better read on them but the Cape League is such a revolving door it is hard to get a good read on any team” hitting coach coach Rob Selna said. “Team have been pitching us differently recently. Teams are becoming more accustomed to our offense but the runs and hits will come.
The Cotuit Kettlers clinched a playoff spot improving to 17-13-3, Falmouth improved to 17-12-1, and Wareham fell to 17-15-1. The Gatemen are back in action Wareham travels to Bourne to play the Braves tonight at 6:00 p.m.
Photo by: Kristin Ostrowski
