Writers’ Player of the Game at Falmouth Commodores: Trey Lipsey
By: Jason Boué
Saturday’s Writers’ Player of the Game during the second inning: Sitting on a ball bucket, eating sunflower seeds.
Saturday’s Writers’ Player of the Game during the top of the tenth inning: Hitting a clutch 2 RBI double to give Hyannis the lead.
Trey Lipsey came off the bench to play hero in Saturday night's playoff win, with a hand in six of the Harbor Hawk’s nine runs. Lipsey finished his night going 2-2, with two runs scored, four RBIs, two stolen bases and a punched ticket to the West Division Finals.
“My name was called and I’m glad I was able to answer,” Lipsey said. “I heard my name was in and I just ran out there and kind of blacked out.”
Lipsey started his night as a ball magnet, getting plunked for the seventeenth time this season in the top of the seventh. He came around to score on a Cam Smith sac fly, bringing Hyannis within two.
His spot in the order came around again in the eighth, this time with two outs and the tying run on second. Lipsey laced a single, bringing Brandon Eike and Nick Mitchell around to square the game up at six. The speedster then went to work on the basepaths, stealing second and third to put the go-ahead run 90 feet from home. A well-executed rundown allowed Lipsey to cross the plate, putting Hyannis up 7-6.
Falmouth would end up tying the game to send it to extras, but all that did was give Lipsey the chance to finish them off. In the top of the tenth with the bases loaded, Lipsey floated one into shallow left where it dropped just in front of the left fielder, allowing Eike and Eric Snow to score.
“[Trey] just didn’t give up,” manager Eric Beattie said. “He made sure he put the ball in play.”
It’s a luxury to bring a player like Lipsey as a substitute, and manager Eric Beattie took advantage, calling on the 2023 CCBL All Star in the fourth inning to replace Will Taylor.
“It feels really good to have 13 really good players… It was time for Trey to come in,” Beattie said. “It ended up paying off.”
Lipsey’s heroics sent Hyannis on to the second round for a rematch of 2022’s West Division Finals against the Bourne Braves, which kicks off on August 7.
Jason Boué can usually be found with a backwards hat and a toothpick. You can reach him at jason.boue@icloud.com or follow him on Twitter @JasonBoue
