The trip to Martha’s Vineyard did not go as planned for the SteepleCats on Wednesday, as they dropped their matchup against the Sharks, 9-2.

The game was certainly closer than the final score showed, however, as the ‘Cats kept it close in the early innings, until a big bottom of the 5th allowed the Sharks to pull away for the victory. Starter Kellen Moore (Lafayette) was able to keep the Martha’s Vineyard bats at bay for the first few frames, and the bats kept the Sharks pitching on the ropes, putting pressure on them in most of the early innings. However, it was not to be for the ‘Cats on a foggy Martha’s Vineyard evening, who now drop to 0-4 in the season’s early going.

After a scoreless first inning, Martha’s Vineyard started the scoring in the 2nd on a clutch 2-out RBI single from Kevin Hall (Alabama-Birmingham). He drove in Jack Kamin (Tufts), who had been in scoring position for most of the inning before finally being driven in. The Sharks would add on another run almost immediately afterwards, as Austin Pierzynski (Alabama-Birmingham) scored when a throw attempting to throw out Hall stealing got into the outfield. Moore had nearly wriggled his way out of the jam, inducing two strikeouts with Kamin on second and Pierzynski on first, but was unable to escape the frame unscathed.

The ‘Cats would strike back in the fourth inning, with Evan Meier (Mount St. Mary’s) scoring on an RBI double from Alex Barrist (Lafayette). North Adams had been working solid at-bats all game against Martha’s Vineyard’s pitching, and were finally able to cash in off of James Beasley (Princeton), who had entered the game that inning. They would add another off of Beasley the next inning, when Nick LoBello (Towson) scored on a Parker Camelo (RIC) groundout.

Just as North Adams would tie it up, Martha’s Vineyard would break the game open the very next inning. Moore had been very effective in his previous two innings, facing the minimum in both, but in the 5th, Martha’s Vineyard was able to break through and ultimately force him out of the game. The Sharks would send 10 batters to the plate in the inning, scoring six of them, with Moore being replaced in the middle of the frame by a debuting Trey Power (Alabama State).

The rest of the game would go by mostly quietly, with an exception taking place in the 8th inning. With Nolan Currier (Salem State) on the mound in his second inning of relief, Bryan Sornas (Holy Cross) homered to left center field, capping an explosive night of offense for the Sharks at nine runs.

Even with a loss, the ‘Cats can still take away lots of positives from the contest. For large stretches of the game, the pitching more than held its own against a potent Sharks offense. The hitters, too, took competitive at-bats and certainly gave the Martha’s Vineyard pitching staff a run for its money.

After a day off, the SteepleCats return to Joe Wolfe Field on Friday for a matchup with the Upper Valley Nighthawks, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m.