Writers’ Player of the Game vs. Bourne Braves: Trey Lipsey
“Playoff Trey” does it again, coming through with a game-winning hit for the second game in a row
By: Mike Maynard
It has been extremely rare to see back-to-back Writers’ Player of the Game selections in the 2023 season, but Trey Lipsey’s two-game stretch has come at the most opportune time possible.
Similar to the rest of the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, Lipsey had a little bit of a slow start to Monday night’s game against the Bourne Braves. The team was down 5-2 heading into the fifth inning, with Lipsey 0-1 at the plate.
“We started off losing, but no one was scared,” Lipsey said. “We just wanted to take it one pitch at a time.”
The bottom of the fifth inning was where things changed for Hyannis and Lipsey alike. After putting up three runs in the inning and tying the game up at five runs apiece, it was time for Lipsey to join in on the fun.
Coming up to bat with Brandon Eike standing on second base and two outs, Lipsey watched a ball bounce a few feet in front of home plate. The second pitch of the at-bat was a much better one to hit and the Ohio State outfielder gave it a ride.
The fastball caught a lot of the plate and launched off of Lipsey’s bat into the opposite field. The ball flew high in the air down by the left field foul pole but stayed fair. Bourne’s left fielder didn’t have enough real estate to make a play on the ball, watching it clear the fence for a two-run homer.
Lipsey (@LipseyTrey @OhioStateFB) bomb to take the lead💣🔥 pic.twitter.com/D84U1lqgMt
— Hyannis Harbor Hawks (@harborhawks) August 8, 2023
“I was just looking for a fastball,” Lipsey said. “I put a good swing on it, and it went out.”
The two-out blast was crucial to the win in game one for the Harbor Hawks, giving them a 7-5 lead that they held through the rest of the game.
Lipsey now has two game-winning hits in a row for Hyannis, but there hasn’t been much change in his approach offensively in these big moments. He’s just being aggressive and trying to swing at strikes.
Lipsey’s confidence in the big moments down the stretch will hopefully only increase with each day that passes. The Harbor Hawks will be relying on him as well as the rest of the lineup to hopefully pull through in similar ways that he has when there are scoring opportunities.
Game two of the series will be a huge one for both teams to see if their seasons will get any closer to the end goal of a championship. Thanks to the help of Lipsey, the Harbor Hawks know they have at least two games left.
It’s possible he could come through again and make it the first WPOTG three games in a row but only time will tell. First pitch of game two will be Tuesday, Aug. 8 in Bourne at Doran Park at 6 p.m.
“We want to start off early [Tuesday night],” Lipsey said. “A big thing we want to do is score the first run, so we’re going to try and do it.”
Mike Maynard can be reached at mikemay62@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @mikecmaynard