14 July, 2005

Braves tap into local rivalry

As if local baseball fans need anything more to get them excited about the Cape Cod Baseball League action in their midst, the Bourne Braves and Wareham Gatemen are giving them an added bonus this summer: a pennant race during the regular season.

The Braves and Gatemen, who represent towns enveloped in a rivalry steeped in intensity, are duking it out for first place bragging rights in the Western Division of the CCBL.

The Braves and Gatemen have been bettered overall in league play only by Orleans, which has 15 wins. While the Braves played catch up to pull ahead halfway through the first month, the Gatemen have turned it on recently to make it a race in the standings. Both teams are 6-4 in their last 10 outings, with Bourne dropping a heartbreaker to Cotuit Monday night.

Convinced that the Braves will get back on the winning path and break the stalemate, Braves' pitching coach Brian Pew is pleased with what he's seen from his throwers. The CCBL veteran says he expects the Braves bullpen to settle in now that some adjustments have been made.

"When the guys first got here some of them were off their form. They hadn't been throwing for a few weeks and that makes a difference," says Pew. "But we've gotten some solid starts, guys who went 6, 7, 8 innings. Now the bullpen is starting to take the burden off."

The Braves are planning to use throwers like Mike Crowder in relief, hoping that resting some arms will serve them well in the second half of the season.

"We're getting solidity out of the pen," says Pew. "We need a couple of guys who are rested and can throw fastballs for a few innings." The Braves are third overall in team pitching.

Brad Lincoln (Houston) has been a bright spot on the mound and in the batter's box for the Braves. Seventh in the league with a .311 batting average, Lincoln is fourth overall in on-base percentage with a .411 average. A southpaw, Lincoln has a 1.47 ERA in five starts.

Bourne has also been buoyed by the work of left-handed pitcher Forest Cory III (William & Mary), who is playing for the first time in the CCBL after throwing in the Coastal Plains League the last two years.

Cory has been strong for the Braves in his four starts and in two games of relief. Leading the league in innings pitched, the southpaw has a 1.16 ERA, putting him in the top 10 of pitchers in the league.

Pew credits the team's catchers - Josh Stinson and Blake Murphy - with calling solid games and being the unsung heroes of the important tandem from mound to plate.

That chemistry extends to the team as a whole, says Pew. "We're very fortunate to have a group that has gelled very well. We're young," he says, "with a lot of freshmen and sophomores. But these guys are relaxed and easy going and they just love being here."

The same dynamics that have brought the Braves this far in the first half of the season will be the things that will carry them to the end, says Pew. Simply speaking, it's about playing smart baseball.

"Fundamentals. The things you learn when you're 6 years old. Good defense, bunting, good baseball sense. Those are the things that make a difference at this point."

And for Bourne fans, if the Braves can stay atop the standings - and ahead of Wareham - that's a bonus.