Writers’ Player of the Game vs Falmouth Commodores: Eric Snow
By: Matt Coates
“As a team, if we keep doing this, we’ll have a good shot at winning this thing,” Eric Snow said.
It’s hard to argue with that logic after watching the Hyannis Harbor Hawks crush the Falmouth Commodores 13-6 on the opening night of the Cape Cod Baseball League Playoffs.
On a night when the offense dominated, the Hyannis second baseman had a large hand in that. Snow earns the Writer’s Player of the Game award in this huge victory to open the playoffs for the Harbor Hawks. Snow finished his night going two-for-two with three RBIs, three runs scored, and two walks.
The first of those two hits, a monster shot over the head of Gavin Turley in left field for a two-run homer. Snow was in a full count against Falmouth starter Braden Davis in the bottom of the third inning, finding a pitch to hit on the payoff. His shot into the trees beyond the left field fence effectively blew this game out of the water, giving the Harbor Hawks a 7-2 lead.
“[Snow] had a big home run there when the score was still pretty close to kind of put the game out of hand,” head coach Eric Beattie said. “[Snow] had a great night.”
In 101 regular season at-bats, Snow only managed one home run, a grand slam against the Cotuit Kettleers in mid-July. He matched that season total in his first at-bat of post-season play, helping put the Commodores to bed in game one.
However, that wasn’t the only production that Snow was good for in this matchup. He worked a five-pitch walk in his first plate appearance and then earned himself another walk in the fifth inning.
After both of those walks, Snow would come around to score for his team. In the second inning, he crossed home plate with the help of his middle infield partner Jon Jon Gazdar. A Gazdar single over the second base bag allowed Snow to score from third, and helped Hyannis retake the lead 3-2. Snow got on his horse in the bottom of the fifth inning, hustling all the way home from first base on an errant throw from the Falmouth pitcher to the first baseman.
Snow may have had some added motivation leading to this stellar performance. His father made the trip up from Forsyth, Georgie, surprising Snow for the playoffs.
“It was awesome,” Snow said. “I looked over in the stands in BP and I saw him. He told me he wasn’t coming so it was awesome, a good surprise.”
Snow was able to use that visit to fuel his epic performance. He finished his night with a single in the sixth inning, on the sixth pitch of the at-bat. The two-out single up the middle brought in Brandon Eike from third base, giving Snow his third and final RBI of the night.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Snow was removed from the game to give other players some in-game at-bats with the Harbor Hawks firmly in the lead.
This was Snow’s fourth WPOTG award this season. After appearing in 34 regular season games with Hyannis, Snow is one of six offensive players with over 30 games played this summer.
This performance out of Snow will make it hard to keep the middle infielder out of the lineup. He, alongside the rest of the Harbor Hawks team, will travel to Guv Fuller Field in Falmouth on Saturday, August 5, looking to wrap up this series in two games.
Matt Coates can be reached at coatesm@misericordia.edu or followed on Twitter @MattCoates14
