Article By: Joseph McLaughlin

Falmouth, Mass — It was nothing but blue skies at Guv Fuller Field as the Wareham Gatemen exited the bus to visit the ballpark for one last time in the regular season. They got set to face the Falmouth Commodores for the fourth time this season.

The Gatemen have seen success against their West Division rival, winning two of the previous three matchups. After losing 2-1 to Cotuit on Friday, Wareham was looking for a win to get back into the win column, and they got exactly what they were looking for. 

The Gatemen (18-15) shut out the Falmouth Commodores (13-19-1) by a score of 3-0 on Saturday. The win was the Gatemen’s first shutout victory of the season, and it maintains a four-point lead over second-place Bourne in the West Division. 

The game started scoreless through the first two innings, but the Gatemen offense broke through in the third. Second Baseman Brayden Randle (Ole Miss) led off with a double to center field, then advanced to third on a throwing error to put a run 90 feet away for the Gatemen.

In the next at-bat, Right Fielder Colby Turner (Michigan) reached first base on a fielding error, bringing home Randle to put the Gatemen on the board. Later in the same inning, the Gatemen loaded the bases and Shortstop Chris Ramirez (California Baptist) drew a walk, scoring Turner to make it 2-0 Wareham.

Then, Center Fielder Hayden Yost (Florida) crushed a single to score First Baseman Chris McHugh (NC State) to extend the Gatemen’s lead to 3-0. Designated Hitter Caden McDonald (Florida) also almost scored, but was thrown out at home. 

Yost grabbed the late hit in the bottom of the ninth in Friday’s 2-1 loss to Cotuit and delivered another strike to bring home a run. It was a night where the offense rebounded, being aggressive from the start.

“We were just trying to get out to an early lead like we try to do every game. But we were able to execute there with the bases loaded, which was huge, and got us out to an early three-nothing lead,” said Yost. “I just try to stay ready. You never know when your number will be called on a day you're not starting. So I just tried to stay ready, and fortunately, I was able to execute last night coming in to pinch hit.”

The star of the show, however, was Starting Pitcher Josh Butler (Arizona State). The Sun Devil, who has been reliable for the Gatemen all summer, provided his best start on the Cape, going six innings scoreless, allowing only one hit, and striking out three batters. He had several three-up three-down innings, which created a solid foundation for the Gatemen to build off of.

“Those three-up three-down innings feel like a breath of fresh air. It takes the weight off your shoulders and it helps out the team, too. So it's a good feeling. That's the goal every time I go out there, is to set the tone and give our guys a chance to score some runs and do it quickly,” said Butler.

“We pitched a good game last night, and we scored a run late, there was a fight at the end, just some timely mistakes, but today we bounced back. Butler did an unbelievable job. It set the tone for everything. It was a first shutout of the year for us, which we've been close a handful of times, but it feels good. That was a game we needed right there,” said Gatemen Field Manager Ryan Smyth.

Butler has become a reliable starter in recent outings, and now, with other star starters like Tate McGuire and Cooper Consiglio being released this week, it is perfect timing for a Gatemen starting rotation that needed a solid arm to lead it off.

“When it's my turn to pitch, it's my turn to pitch, and I go out there and do the best I can. But you know, it's exciting. I think we're in a good spot as a team, and I'm excited to keep rolling as we go forward,” said Butler.

“He's been pretty good for us all year. That was the best we've seen him throw, and with each start, he's learning more about himself. He was at 60 pitches through six innings, that’s total efficiency. I think he had two or three six-pitch innings, and he put the ball wherever he wanted. He was filling up the zone. He was ahead in counts. He was getting early outs, weak contact, so it was all around a phenomenal job by him,” said Smyth.

After the third, the Gatemen’s offense did not score, but it did not need to. Falmouth could only collect three hits on the night while committing three errors in the field. Relief pitchers Lazaro Collaera (Miami), TJ Schlageter (Louisville), and Tony Pluta (Arizona) all came in and shut down the Commodores. 

From top to bottom, it was a return to the Gatemen’s brand of baseball. It was a gritty and dominant performance.

“I think it's just the mentality of this team. You know, we don't let one loss define us, and we show up to the park the next day ready to go and hope to get the best result we can,” said Yost.

“This team's just a gritty team, they are resilient. Randle got us going there and then Turner had a couple of really quality at-bats to just put the ball in play to get some runs, and ended up finding his way on base via the error. But again, the intent was there to just put a run on the board for this team. Once you see somebody do it, then the next guy wants to do it, and so forth. We gave a couple of at-bats away, but overall, we hit enough when we needed to, and were able to get some runs across the board,” said Smyth.

The win is crucial for the Gatemen, as is every game in this final stretch of the season. They find themselves still ahead of second place in the West by two points. Now with seven games remaining, they inch closer to a second consecutive playoff birth.

“Good to get a win, especially in a Division game. But again, this one's over with and we've got Hyannis tomorrow,” said Smyth.

They have one more game on Sunday before a day off on Monday, followed by six straight games to close out the season. They will face another division opponent in the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, at home. First pitch for that game will be 6:00 p.m. at Spillane Field in Wareham.