Whitecaps Survive Extra Innings in Wareham

For the second consecutive night, Brewster took a lead into the ninth, when their bullpen decided to make the game interesting. And for the second consecutive night, Brewster worked through a challenging bullpen and won. The way it happened did change from Friday night in Hyannis to Saturday night against the Wareham Gatemen at Spillane Field.

​Brewster, again, scored first and took the lead. The game was a pitcher's duel for the first four innings, as Brett Conine (Cal State Fullerton) and Konnor Pilkington (Mississippi State) combined to allow only one baserunner through the first four innings of play. Brewster notched the first run of the game in the fifth when Zach Gahagan (North Carolina) led off with a single, advanced on some small ball plays, and scored on a wild pitch. The Whitecaps got another run in the 6th when Brent Rooker (Mississippi State) singled in Julian Infante (Vanderbilt) to put Brewster ahead 2-0.

​Like Friday night, Brewster got an outstanding performance from their starter. Konnor Pilkington retired the first 12 batters he faced and did not allow a baserunner until the 5th inning. He would ultimately get 7 strikeouts in 7 innings of work and allowed only one run. That came on a blast by Adrian Tovalin (Azusa Pacific) in the 7th inning.

​Also like Friday night, Brewster's bullpen struggled to close the door. Wyatt Burns (Samford) had some good pitches, but struggled in his first outing in the Cape League and loaded the bases. Hansen Butler (UNC) came on in relief. He threw a wild pitch, and Cole Freeman (LSU) scored to tie the game 2-2. No one scored in the 9th inning for either team, and the game went into extra innings.

​In the 10th inning, Brewster's offense broke through the Gatemen. Julian Infante dropped a single into center field and  Ryan Gridley (Mississippi State) came around to score and put Brewster ahead to stay. And they tacked on two more runs on an RBI double by Nick Dunn (Maryland) and a single by Brent Rooker. Hansen Butler pitched around a 1 out walk in the 10th to seal the victory.

​With the win and Chatham's loss, Brewster now has a four point lead for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Division. Brewster returns home to Stony Brook for a game against the Bourne Braves on Sunday at 5pm.