OSTERVILLE – Using a combination of the power game and a smattering of old-school “small ball,” the host Cape Cod Academy baseball nine came back from a 4-0 deficit to beat the tough Sturgis East squad Tuesday afternoon, 8-6.
Cape Cod Academy’s Danny Crossen notched the save and hammered a three-run homer to help lead the Seahawks to an 8-6 comeback win over Sturgis East Tuesday afternoon.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports Photos
Down 4-0 heading into the top of the fifth inning, Cape Cod Academy sophomore Dan Crossen hammered a 385-foot, three-run home run to re-energize the Seahawks and get them back into the game.
“We battled back,” said head coach Bob Haff. “We got a great relief effort from Jake Siegel… and of course Danny (Crossen) closed it out. For these kids it was great because we came back from 4-0 and that’s what we keep preaching. You just keep playing, there’s no score clock in this game. You just keep playing. You play, you play, you play.”
Sturgis East (3-4) did not necessarily relent, either, as it tacked on a run in the bottom of the fifth to make it 5-3, but in the top of the sixth the Cape Cod Academy boys rolled with the momentum of Crossen’s earlier blast to plate four runs and take a 7-5 lead.
On a combination of singles by 8th grader Jacob Siegel and Louis Devesto and four walks, mixed in with a couple of well-executed suicide squeeze plays, Cape Cod Academy (2-1) found itself in the driver’s seat for the first time of the entire affair when the dust finally settled on the top of the sixth.
Siegel, who had come on in relief of his older brother Ben Siegel, retired the Sturgis East side in the bottom half of the sixth, leaving one man stranded. That set up Crossen to come on in the seventh frame and pick up the save. Crossen struck out two but not before giving up singles to Kyle Coolidge and Joey Colesano that narrowed the deficit to 8-6. Jacob Siegel picked up the win.
“You’re not always going to come back but I tell you what if you quit you’re not coming back,” Coach Haff said. “I think this was a great lesson for us today. It’s a young, young team and I tell you what, they battled.”
Sturgis East’s Cooper Gavin watches the flight of his pop fly in The Storm’s 8-6 loss to host Cape Cod Academy. Jack Massari is behind the plate.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports Photos
Coolidge and leadoff man Ryan Havey each had multiple hits for The Storm. Senior catcher Jack Massari went 2-4 with a key RBI-single in the top of the seventh inning that afforded the Seahawks a much-needed insurance run. Crossen went 2-4 with three RBI and Jacob Siegel added a 2-3 day at the plate to go along with the relief victory on the mound.
Cooper Gavin started on the hill for East but Jared Joy took the loss in relief.
Cape Cod Academy hits the road Thursday (April 30) to face Cape Cod Tech in Harwich at 4:00 pm while Sturgis East tries to get back on track at Nantucket on Thursday at 4:00 pm at Nantucket High School.
— Sean Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm
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