McCully, Bourne Braves Slide Past Y-D Red Sox

Behind the arms of Bourne pitchers Nick McCully (Coastal Carolina), Dave Erickson (Uconn), and closer Eric Pettis (UC-Irvine), the Braves shutdown the hot bats of the Y-D Red Sox Thursday night at Red Wilson Field, winning a 3-2 pitcher’s duel.

The Braves added another chapter to their away-from-home dominance in Yarmouth-Dennis, improving to 13-10 overall and a league best 10-1 on the road.

“I think it’s just the blue jerseys, nothing to it,” said Bourne starter Nick McCully, attempting to explain his teams’ dominance away from Doran Park. “Maybe it’s the first base dugout.”

While it wasn’t his most dominant performance of the season, McCully was still sharp, allowing just four hits and two runs (both earned) over 6 innings in notching the win and moving to 3-0 on the season.

“I was locating my fastball real well and I found my cutter,” said McCully, who struck out seven Red Sox on the day. “If I can throw my cutter for a strike it really helps keep hitters off balance.”

McCully wasn’t the only Braves pitcher to record a few strikeouts, as set-up man Erickson fanned three batters in two innings of work and closer Pettis struck out two in earning the save in the ninth.

Red Sox starter Tyler Waldron (Pacific) breezed through his first three innings of work, sending the Braves down in order in each. Then in the fourth, working with a 2-0 lead, Waldron ran into trouble with the top of the Braves lineup.

Following a Jordan Henry (Ole Miss) single, a sacrifice bunt by Tyler Cannon (Virginia) and a single to left by shortstop Dusty Coleman (Wichita St.), left fielder Mark Krauss (Ohio) doubled down the first base line to cut the Red Sox lead in half. Then, after a long at-bat of fighting off two-strike pitches, second baseman Ross Wilson (Alabama) doubled to the gap in right-center field, scoring Coleman and Krauss to give the Braves a 3-2 lead.

Thanks to the Braves’ steady bullpen, three runs were all that was needed to knock off the Red Sox, as neither team would score again despite a threat Y-D threat in the bottom half of the fifth.

On a play that would puzzle even some of the more experienced scorekeepers, third baseman Tyler Cannon got the Braves out of a big jam, tagging out DeAngelo Mack (South Carolina) near third to end the inning, as the Red Sox were attempting a double steal.

The Red Sox never threatened again as Erickson and Pettis shut the door in the final three innings.

“We’re really playing well together now,” McCully added. “There is 20-something guys coming from all over the country to play together and we’re starting to look like a team.

The Braves return home to Doran Park on Saturday night to face the Brewster Whitecaps at 7 pm.