ORLEANS — In their first playoff game in 11 years, the Harwich Mariners wasted no time making up for lost time.

Joe Sanders hit a three-run home run in the first inning, starter J.J. Hoover struck out 12 in a performance that was nothing short of splendid, and Harwich survived a late scare to top Orleans 4-3 in game one of the CCBL East Division championship series at Eldredge Park Saturday night.

“Hoover was a horse, and he’s had a solid outing every time he’s taken the mound this summer,” Harwich Field Manager Steve Englert said. “And Joe has come up with some huge hits for us this year. There’s no question he’s one of our MVPs.”

The team’s actual MVP, DJ LeMahieu (.290, 13 RBIs) was recently diagnosed with mononucleosis and went home over the weekend. But the Mariners, who finished the regular season winning five of their last six games, didn’t miss a beat without their all-star shortstop. 

Shaver Hansen doubled to lead off the game, moved over on an error and scored on Tommy Medica’s slow-rolling infield hit. Two batters later, Sanders sent Brad Stillings’ 2-2 offering over the fence in right centerfield to quickly put the Mariners in front 4-0. 

“He [Stillings] threw fastballs the entire at-bat, and I was able to connect on one and thankfully it got out,” said Sanders of his fifth home run of the year and first away from home. 

The early cushion comforted Hoover, who struck out Angelo Songco and Kyle Spraker to get out of a bases loaded jam in the first, and the West Virginia righty fanned Songco to stymie the Cardinals who had runners in scoring position in the third. 

“A lead like that just relaxes you. You can go out and pitch your game and it’s low pressure,” said Hoover, who held Orleans to six hits and two runs (one earned) in seven innings. “I felt real good, my stuff was working tonight. Sometimes you don’t have the stuff, but I had all four pitches working, my fastball, curve ball, slider and change up.”

Orleans put its first run on the board in the sixth when Mike Murphy hit a two-out solo homer to right-center. The Cardinals used that momentum, and a little bit of luck, to score two more in the eighth.

Alex Hassan (3-for-4) singled down the first base line, moved up on Nate Freiman’s first-pitch swinging single off reliever Willie Kempf, and scored when Songco’s shot back up the box took a bad bounce off Hansen. Spraker followed with a sacrifice fly to center to make it a 4-3 game, but Steve Kalush closed the door on the Cardinals with a 1-2-3 ninth. 

“It’s so important to get that first one,” summed up Englert. 

In retrospect, it was equally important that Harwich put up as many runs as they did early, as the Mariners managed just one hit after their first-inning fireworks. That was as much a credit to Stillings, who fanned four over six innings and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third, as it was Orleans right fielder Tim Wheeler, who robbed Sanders of a second home run in the eighth with a leaping catch at the wall. 

Wheeler’s web gem drew the most cheers from the Cardinals’ fans, but the Mariners’ faithful had the last laugh after witnessing Harwich’s first post-season win since 1997.

“The past is the past and there’s nothing you can do about it,” Englert said. “I’m just happy for the people of Harwich and glad they didn’t give up on me after we had such a bad season last year.”

Harwich went 14-28-2 last summer, but that seems like eons ago with the team red hot and on a seemingly unstoppable streak. 

“Guys come up here to showcase their talent,” said Hoover, “but I think the special thing about our team is that we want to win, and we’re here to win it all.”