COTUIT, Mass. — Bourne entered its Saturday contest against Cotuit with a chance to clinch home-field advantage for the first round of the playoffs after solidifying a berth on Friday with a victory over Falmouth.
The Braves got run support early just like they did against the Commodores, tacking on four runs in the second inning.
Early offense had aided Bourne to many victories this season, and it happened once again, as the Braves earned home-field advantage at Doran Park for the first round of the postseason with a 7-4 win over the Kettleers.
Bourne got it going early in the second, loading the bases with nobody out after a single from Sebastian Mexico (Louisiana Tech), and Jason Torres (Alabama) and Drew Wyers (Mississippi State) both got hit by a pitch. An RBI walk from Ryan Cooney (Oregon) got the scoring started.
Then Kade Lewis (Wake Forest) knocked in the next run on an RBI single. Following an RBI force out hit in play by Braden Holcomb (Vanderbilt) and an RBI single from Cal Sefcik (Cincinnati), Bourne left the frame with a 4-0 lead.
The Braves tacked on another in the third, starting with Torres reaching on a throwing error by Camden Johnson (Wichita State) at third base. Mark Quatrani (Notre Dame) then got hit by a pitch, which was followed up by Cooney reaching via force out that had Torres get out at third.
Gavin Kelly (West Virginia) continued his streak of being one of the hottest bats in the lineup, drilling an RBI single to score Quatrani to make it a 5-0 game.
Cotuit then got on the board in the fourth, as Jack Natili (Cincinnati) reached on a single, then got to third on a one-base knock from Nolan Stevens (Mississippi State). Natili scored on a balk from Joe Colucci (Virginia), which was followed up by an RBI single from Landon Beaver (UAB) to cut the deficit to 5-2.
The Kettleers built a rally in the seventh, starting with a pair of singles from Tagger Tyson (Louisville) and Johnson, which loaded the bases after Ryne Farber (Texas State) got hit by a pitch. A wild pitch from Joshua Reed (Angelo State) scored Tyson, but the bases became juiced once again as Caden Bogenpohl (Missouri State) reached on a free pass.
An RBI double play hit by Natili scored Johnson, cutting the Bourne lead to 5-4.
Then the Braves loaded the bases in the ninth for Mexico, after a Holcomb walk, Sefcik single, Jon LeGrande (St. John's) bunt single. Mexico delivered, drilling a two-run double off the right center field fence to score Holcomb and Sefcik to extend the advantage to 7-4.
Packey Bradley-Cooney (Miami) closed it out for the Braves, clinching the 7-4 victory and the first round of the playoffs at Doran Park.
Bourne Braves Player of the Game
Cal Sefcik went 5-for-5 at the plate with an RBI, continuing to be a spark for the Bourne offense with his whopping .429 batting average.
Key moment
The four-run second inning was the offensive attack for the Braves, providing enough early offense for Cotuit to fall just short of.
A look ahead
Bourne (19-18-2, 40 points) will return to Doran Park on Sunday for the final game of the regular season to face Y-D (19-16-3, 41 points ). The last time the two teams met the game ended in a 4-4 tie.
First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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