The Bourne Braves won Cape League season opener behind pitching of Connor Wietgrefe

BOURNE – The Bourne Braves aren’t going to relinquish their Cape Cod Baseball League crown easily.

The two-time defending champions Braves started the season with a convincing 9-4 win on Saturday over the Orleans Firebirds, who they beat to win the championship last August in what was a fiery matchup.

They showed all the talent of a team where it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them standing tall once again because they’re going to be tough beat and they’re not going to beat themselves.

“Coming out of the gate you can be a little rusty but honestly, these guys played well,” Bourne manager Scott Landers said. “It feels good to come out and do a really good job offensively and on the mound. It was a total team effort.”

Despite just three extra base hits out of 11 in the game, Bourne’s six-run fourth inning came via way of smart at bats. They had just one error in the field, which came late in the contest.

Five scoreless innings

The Braves had hits from eight different players in the victory over the Firebirds, including a 2-for-3 performance from Arizona State’s Isaiah Jackson, but what stood out was five scoreless innings pitched by Minnesota’s Connor Wietgrefe.

“It was great,” Wietgrefe said. “I had the defense behind me, and they made some great plays in big situations and that helped a lot. There were a couple double plays that got me out of what could have been longer innings.”

The lefty struck out six batters, walked none and gave up just three hits in his Cape League debut.

“He went five innings on 65 pitches, and he had all his pitches going and pounded the zone,” Landers said of his ace. “He’s a really good arm when he’s commanding like that.”

The Braves found themselves in a battle early with Firebirds pitcher Evan Truitt matching Wietgrefe pitch for pitch. They broke the deadlock when Jackson hit a line drive to right field, and that woke the team up.

Vanderbilt’s Braden Holcomb then sparked the fourth-inning onslaught with a single that split the first and second basemen. The dugout was abuzz with each batter stepping to the plate.

“These guys are rivals during the spring but now it’s our job as coaches to blend them together to be a team,” Landers said.

An unexpected journey

Wietgrefe has found himself on the Cape after an incredible junior year with the Gophers, where he was a First Team All-Big Ten selection and a Dave Winfield Pitcher of the Year award winner this past season.

His journey to Minnesota came to a stop at North Iowa Area Community College in the National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association circuit. There, he compiled a 5-1 record in seven starts and 13 appearances.

It served as a crucial step for Wietgrefe and his development as a pitcher.

“I didn’t perform as well as I needed to in high school to go play at the Division I level and I feel I learned a lot there,” he said of his year in Mason City, which is about 125 miles north of Des Moines.

One of the things he learned was pitch design, which is the act of fine-tuning and improving different components of a pitcher's repertoire to enhance performance and outwit opposing batters. Oh, and he added velocity.

“That’s where my career turned in the right direction,” he added.

Since transitioning to Minnesota, he’s ranked highly in major categories, including being second in the conference in ERA at 2.77. He allowed just 24 earned runs (fourth), 35 total runs (ninth), and was one of just nine players in the Big Ten that pitched a complete game.

He’s got all the tools to be an impact pitcher wherever he goes, and the Braves will further cultivate one area he enjoys, and that’s winning.

“That’s huge,” Wietgrefe said. “I want to win in everything I do, so coming to this winning culture fits my drive perfectly.”

Allen Gunn is a high school sports reporter for the Cape Cod Times. You can contact him at agunn@gannett.com and follow him on X at @allentgunn.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Bourne Braves set to chase another Cape League championship