Gatemen players top league in offense at season’s end

Aug 10, 2016

Wareham’s own boys of summer are headed back home after one memorable season of baseball.

The Wareham Gatemen, an amateur team that plays in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League, were knocked out of the playoffs after a stunning, ninth-inning comeback by the Bourne Braves on Sunday in Bourne.

“I’m proud of our team,” said Gatemen Manager Andrew Lang. “They played hard all season, and I’m sure they’re disappointed with the playoff loss, but it was a good summer.”

The team indeed had much to celebrate this year.

After a rocky start, it secured its best regular season record (25-15-4) since 2001. The Gatemen entered the playoffs on a hot streak, winning 12 of its last 15 games.

Also, the Gatemen fielded two of the best offensive players in the league – second basemen Cole Freeman and catcher Colton Shaver.

Freeman, a senior attending Louisiana State University, earned the Thurman Munson Award for having the league’s highest batting average. Freeman started in 29 games this season, ending the season with a .374 batting average.

Freeman’s offensive prowess didn’t end with his bat, he also stole 13 bases during the regular season.

Joining Freeman as an offensive threat was Shaver, whose eight home runs and 29 RBIs bested every other player in the league.

A senior attending Brigham Young University, Shaver’s performance, alongside Freeman’s, meant the Gatemen had two players from the same team lead the league in home runs, RBIs and batting average – the first time a team achieved that feat since Falmouth did in 2013.

Coach Jerry Weinstein had praise for his players, saying they all put in a tremendous amount of effort.

“They are great, great kids,” he said. “They worked hard, they worked smart and were problem free. We didn’t have any issues. They got better, and it was a good summer for everybody.”