Two 2022 champions lead the Bourne Braves to the brink of a repeat in Cape League baseball

ORLEANS — The 2023 Bourne Braves are one win away from their second consecutive Cape Cod Baseball League title following their 6-4 win over the Orleans Firebirds in game one of the Championship Series on Friday at Eldredge Park.

In a league of the "stars of tomorrow," it was multiple members of the "yesterday's" title winning team, that stepped up when it mattered.

Josh Kuroda-Grauer (Rutgers) arrived late in the summer of 2022, making nine appearances down the stretch en route to the title.

But come the 2022 Championship series, Kuroda-Grauer failed to leave his mark.

Across the two-game sweep, "JKG" as he's affectionately known, failed to record a hit, RBI or run in the two games. This year's championship series would get off to a completely juxtaposed start.

Kuroda-Grauer was everywhere in the game one win for the Braves. The second baseman finished with a game high three RBIs for the Braves, and finished the night 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, and two runs scored. He also made plays defensively up the middle including a highlight diving catch late in the game.

By his own admission, Kuroda-Grauer struggled this season. He hit under .200 for the regular season, had no home runs, and only drove in seven runs in 26 games.

"I know I struggled mightily in the regular season, but I wiped it all and kept the same confidence I've always had in myself going into the playoffs," he said.

Since the postseason began, he's been on a tear. He has had at least two hits and an RBI in each of Bourne's six playoff games so far, and has surpassed his regular season totals in both home runs (2), and RBI (13) in less than a quarter of the games.

"I give so much credit to my coaches and all of my teammates for still trusting me when I wasn't at my best," Kuroda-Grauer said.

Like Kuroda-Grauer, Vanderbilt's Bryce Cunningham also was a member of last year's title-winning team but didn't make an appearance in the Championship series.

Friday night, he got the start in game one, and showed up big for his team.

Cunningham pitched five innings for the Braves and gave up three earned runs. He picked up the win after his offense picked him up with three runs in the top of the fifth inning, and he shut the door with a scoreless bottom of the frame.

"It felt amazing," Cunningham said about pitching in the Championship series. "Good group of guys behind me, (and) we just had fun and competed the whole time."

Manager Scott Landers said he was impressed by the way Cunningham navigated the little bits of trouble he found himself in.

"He did great," Landers said. "He had the one inning where he let up two runs, but he minimized for us, and then when we really needed him to go shut down the fifth, he did that. (He) emptied the tank right there."

Cunningham's catcher in game one was Coastal Carolina's Derek Bender. After the game, Bender gave credit to the Bourne starter's approach.

"He really battled for us, he's a hell of a competitor," Bender said. "Didn't get a chance to do it last year in the championship, so he wasn't going to leave himself out there to dry."

Kuroda-Grauer and Cunningham, along with Bryce Eblin from Alabama, are a part of the team leadership that Landers refers to as the backbone of this year's team.

"They're huge," Landers said of his second-year players. "They're the glue. They want another ring. They're the catalysts that make us go, and they're stepping up."

From an Orleans perspective, the loss stings, but isn't the end of the world. Manager Kelly Nicholson stressed that to his team after the game.

"I was just telling them, it's hard to go through the playoffs undefeated, and you don't have to go undefeated to win it," Nicholson said.

The Firebirds outhit the Braves 9-6, and were led by James Madison's Fenwick Trimble who finished with three hits, including a solo home run, and scored three runs.

Despite the loss, the Firebirds' first of the postseason, there's a silver lining.

"These guys have been talking about how cool it would be to win it at home, and we have a chance to do that," Nicholson said. "But we've got to get back here on Sunday. Obviously we'd like to have game three at home, but we've got to go take care of business tomorrow."

Game two gets underway Saturday night from Doran Park at 6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Braves win game one behind Kuroda-Grauer, Cunningham