Last night, the Bourne Braves had their season hanging by a thread in the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Western Division Finals. After appearing to be in the drivers seat following an 11-5 Game 1 victory on Friday night, the Braves were on their heels. In Game 2, the Braves were held to just two hits […]
Last night, the Bourne Braves had their season hanging by a thread in the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Western Division Finals. After appearing to be in the drivers seat following an 11-5 Game 1 victory on Friday night, the Braves were on their heels. In Game 2, the Braves were held to just two hits in a sobering 9-1 loss on Saturday night.
The first 8 innings of Sunday’s Game 3 proved to be just as frustrating for the Braves. Cotuit struck early and had a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 5th inning. Despite scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the 5th, the Braves couldn’t hold the lead and gave up two runs in the top of the 7th.
Trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the 9th, the Braves were two outs away from heading home. Cotuit appeared destined to play spoiler and send the No. 1 seeded Braves, who were on the cusp of making their fifth straight Championship Series, packing. The Braves had nobody one base and appeared to be out of luck.
And then Ryker Waite stepped up to the plate. Waite was no stranger to the base paths on Sunday night. Earlier in the bottom of the 6th inning, Waite smashed a triple to right center field with two-outs.
With one out in the bottom of the 9th and his team’s season on the line, Waite ripped a single to left field to ignite the Braves rally. After the next batter Mark Quatrani (Cornell) struck out swinging, Waite advanced to second on a single from Ryan Cooney (Oregon).
What happened next saved Bourne’s season. With two outs, Jason Torres (Alabama) singled to left field and Waite raced home and crossed home plate to tie the game at 5. Just after Waite crossed home plate, Cooney was thrown out trying to advance from first to third. If Waite had been any slower, the ballgame is over and so is the Braves season. Waite went 2-3 with a triple, 2 walks, and 2 runs scored on the night.
IT'S A TIE BALLGAME AND WE ARE GOING TO EXTRAS!!!
— Bourne Braves (@BourneBraves) August 11, 2025
JASON TORRES (@AlabamaBSB) WITH THE RBI TO TIE IT UP!!!@DevonJarvis_
End 9 | 5-5 pic.twitter.com/7XpUNdpELP
n extra innings, Bourne once again appeared to have run out of luck. In the bottom of the 10th, Braden Holcomb struck out looking with a runner on second to end the inning. Holcomb had a game to forget at the plate went 0-5 with two strikeouts on the night.
Then in the bottom of the 11th, Waite walked, advanced to second on a base hit, advanced to third on a sacrifice fly, but could not get home after Torres flied out to center field with two outs. It seemed, once again, the Bourne had its chance and could not get over the hump.
Bourne played with some more fire in top of the 12th inning after Cotuit’s first two batters reached on a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Things got even more dicey after a wild pitch left runners on second and third with nobody out. After Bourne’s Will Whelan (Minnesota) got a strikeout for the first out, the Braves went to the bullpen. Packy Bradley-Cooney (Alabama) then induced a line out to second base and got a foul-tip strikeout to escape the jam.
In the bottom of the 12th, some luck finally went Bourne’s way at the plate. To kick off the bottom frame, St. John’s Jon LeGrande singled to left field, the ball was bobbled, and LeGrande sprinted to second base. Then, West Virginia’s Gavin Kelly roped a single down the left field line to bring in the game-winning run and send Bourne to the championship with a 6-5 victory.
While Kelly will get the accolades for his game-winning hit, and deservedly so, his at-bat came to be because of a clutch base hit and hustle from Ryker Waite in the bottom of the 9th inning. Simply put, if Waite doesn’t bust his ass towards home like Diego Pavia towards the sticks on third down, the Braves get eliminated.
Situational hitting and fundamentals are two hallmarks of Tim Corbin’s baseball program. Both were on full display from Waite in the bottom of the 9th. The pint-sized infielder already filled up the stat sheet over the summer, batting .287 with 4 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs, 17 RBI, a .417 slugging percentage, and an .826 OPS. Waite’s numbers not only earned him a 2025 Cape League All-Star selection, but were also among the league leaders. Overall, Waite finished seventh in batting average, sixth in slugging percentage, and fourth in OPS. When you put those numbers next to Waite’s clutch and fundamental display from last night, the sophomore certainly has Tom Corbin’s attention heading into Fall Ball.
Tonight, the Braves face off against the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in Game 1 of the CCBL Championship Series at Doran Park in Bourne. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. EST. Although no starters have been set for either team, expect the Dores’ Matthew Shorey to get the ball in either Game 1 of Game 2. Shorey was dynamic all summer for Bourne with a 2-1 record, a 2.37 ERA in 5 starts and 30 strikeouts to just 13 walks. Vanderbilt fans can stream the games on https://www.capeleaguetv.com.
Will the Braves run continue? That remains to be seen. But if Bourne wins another championship, Ryker Waite’s hit and base running should be the first clip on the commemorative video.
Category: General Sports
