The Bourne Braves are still here.
After a lopsided loss to Cotuit in game one of their best-of-three West Division finals series, the top-seeded Braves were undeterred. They came back with two straight wins, clinching a trip to the Cape Cod Baseball League championship series with a 5-1 win on Sunday.
Bourne was the best team in the league from day one, racing to a historic start and cooling down only a little. Still, it’s hard to maintain that level, especially when as some key players departed. And especially with a streaking Cotuit team on the other side. Particularly at the plate, the Kettleers were playing better than anyone in the league over the final week of the season, a trend that continued in the 15-6 game one win.
Bourne has shown many of those extra traits that make great teams great this summer – comebacks, streaks, late-inning magic. This was one more example. Bourne regrouped from the loss for a 10-4 win in game two, then finished it out with a strong all-around performance in the decider.
Cotuit took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning. The Braves immediately answered and then some, scoring five runs in the bottom half of the inning. The strength of Bourne’s full lineup was on display, as four players – including the eight and nine hitters in the order – drove in a run. Dalton Rushing (Louisville) went 2-for-4 with an RBI and is hitting .417 in the playoffs. Hunter Jump (Kentucky), Colby Thomas (Mercer) and Peter Burns (Boston College) also knocked in a run.
The five runs were more than enough for Bourne’s pitchers. Late addition Matt Jachec (Indiana State) proved to be a perfect reinforcement in his second start. He struck out nine and allowed only an unearned run in seven strong innings. Benjamin Ethridge (Southern Mississippi) tossed a scoreless eighth before Bourne handed the ball to the league’s best closer. Eric Adler (Wake Forest) pitched a perfect ninth, ending it with a strikeout that sent the Braves to the title series.
It’s the end of the road for Cotuit, who did a great job putting things back together after a slump in mid-July. The defending champs did that label proud.
But the summer of Bourne rolls on.
The championship series begins Monday night as the Braves host Brewster. It’s a rematch of the 2017 Cape League finals, which the Whitecaps won. It’s also the first championship meeting between division winners since 2005, when Orleans beat Bourne.
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