Whitecaps Escape Opening Day with 5-5 Tie.

By Maxwell Paul McLaughlin
YARMOUTH, M.A. - Even though it wasn't the result the Whitecaps wanted to start their season, it was a good feeling getting back to Cape Cod summer baseball.
  
The Cape Cod Baseball League deciding to cancel their season last year was a big blow to all the players, coaches, and personnel involved with the league. Especially Whitecaps Manager Jamie Shevchik.

“What we missed out on last year was devastating,” Shevchik said.

​Shevchik as well as all the other players and coaches had to wait over a year to get to today and just playing was a win in itself.

The Whitecaps went down 1-0 to the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the bottom of the second with a run coming in off of a fielder's choice.

To start the third inning Alex Freeland(UCF) drew a walk and then Colin Davis(Wofford) laid down a sacrifice bunt to push Freeland to second base. The next batter up was Richie Schiekofer(Rutgers) and he was hit by a pitch and before you know it the Whitecaps had two men on. 

​Enter Will Simpson(Washington).

With already a single on the day, Simpson hit a scorcher to the second baseman in which the second baseman was unable to handle it bringing in a run to tie the game at one apiece.

Simpson had been one of the few bright spots for the Whitecaps offense going 3-4 with an RBI

“It was a great experience being out here and I was happy I was able to get some base hits,” Simpson said.

In the very next at-bat, Jake Thompson(Oklahoma State) was hit by a pitch loading the bases for Clay Owens(USC). 

Owens hit a routine grounder to the first baseman in which he bobbled then threw it past the man covering first resulting in the Whitecaps scoring two runs.

Then the next few innings besides some pitchers changing the score had not until Cooper Weiss(Coastal Carolina) had come to the plate in the eighth inning.

Weiss crushed a ball over the left-field fence to give the Whitecaps the 4-1 lead. 

Of course right when the Whitecaps scored you know the Red Sox had to as well. The Red Sox put up two runs in the bottom of the eighth to cut the Brewster lead to one heading to the ninth.

In the top of the ninth, the Whitecaps struck again with a run-off another error by the Red Sox which they had no shortage of. The Whitecaps were heading to the bottom of the ninth with a 5-3 lead and Brian Fitzpatrick(Rutgers) looking for the five-out save.

With one out in the inning the Red Sox put some hits together and tied the game at five. After that Fitzpatrick settled down and got the final two outs and the Whitecaps escaped the ninth inning with a tie.

“When you blow the lead and it results in a tie it feels like a loss, but it wasn't so we can go into tomorrow with a clean slate,” Shevchik said. “ Playing Cape League baseball is the most important thing right now,”.

The Brewster Whitecaps will be at home on Monday, June 21 at 5 pm taking on the Bourne Braves.