Déjà Vu All Over Again: Whitecaps Down Harbor Hawks 6-1 Behind McDermott's Gem

J.R. McDermott tossed five scoreless innings to lead Brewster to a 2-0 start on the season (c) Marielle McLoughlin 2017

​By: Aodhán Doyle
 
HYANNIS, MA – Standing just six-feet-tall and hailing from a Division II school, Whitecaps pitcher J.R. McDermott (Colorado Mesa) is certainly not the biggest guy in the Cape League.
 
But on the mound at McKeon Park in Hyannis on Thursday night, McDermott was a giant.
 
The right hander spun five innings of shutout ball to help lead the Whitecaps to their second win of the season in as many games, a 6-1 victory over the Hyannis Harbor Hawks which was eerily similar to the previous night’s contest in Orleans.
 
McDermott only allowed three baserunners, all singles, while striking out four. The Whitecaps starter used a curveball/slider combination to a Harbor Hawks lineup full of powerful left-handed hitters while also locating his fastball in the lower part of the strike zone.
 
Leaving the game with a 1-0 lead, McDermott got some extra support from his offense to ensure his first Cape League victory.
 
After tacking on a run in the 6th, Brewster’s offense exploded for three runs in the 7th.
 
Back-to-back walks by Chandler Taylor (Alabama) and Darius Hill (West Virginia) set up opportunities for Chris Givin (Xavier) and Christian Molfetta (Stanford) who delivered consecutive RBI singles, extending Brewster’s lead to 4-0.
 
After McDermott, Ryan Avidano (Georgia) and Joe DeMers (Washington) combined for three scoreless innings in relief, striking out four.
 
McDermott, Avidano, and DeMers are all on temporary contracts with the Whitecaps.
 
“They’re giving us a lot of tough decisions,” Whitecaps coach Jamie Shevchik said about his temp pitchers.
 
Similar to the previous night, Brewster received five shutout innings from its starter, and then used three relievers to close out the game. Brewster also led 6-0 going into the 9th inning in both games, before giving up a run and earning 6-1 victories.
 
Brewster had an opportunity to get on the board in the 1st after a Michael Curry (Georgia) double to left almost brought home Mickey Gasper (Bryant), but Gasper was thrown out at the plate after an excellent relay by Hyannis.
 
Steele Walker (Oklahoma) made his debut for Brewster Thursday night and while he went 0-5 at the plate, he showed strong defense in center field and recorded his first RBI on a 7th inning groundout.
 
WHAT’S NEXT: Brewster plays its third consecutive road game on Friday night in Bourne against the Braves. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.