BOURNE, Mass — When the Kettleers meet up with the Braves, it typically doesn’t go their way. In their three meetings, they tied once, and Bourne won twice. Well, now three times. After a back-and-forth contest, the Kettleers fell 9-8 on Wednesday.

With the game tied in the eighth inning, Cotuit pitcher Luke Smyers (Alabama) walked in Bourne’s ninth run. The Kettleers had a chance to respond in the ninth inning with Owen Paino (Ole Miss) on third base, but they couldn’t bring him home as they dropped their third game in a row.

Despite the result, there were several positive takeaways. Cotuit found ways to battle back and stay in it, and several players put together performances to be proud of.

Paino and Chase Kroberger (Alabama) impressed with two hits each, which encouraged Cotuit coach Rob Cooper.

“It took some time for (Kroberger) to kind of finally see the ball and get going, and he wasn't overthinking things, and Paino, same thing,” Cooper said. “Very few guys come right into the league and are swinging the bat good. (It’s) just getting used to using wood and seeing this type of pitching every night.”

It felt like no matter how well the Kettleers were swinging the bat, the Braves were unfazed. They scored two runs to tie the game in the seventh inning. A double from Burke-Lee Mabeus (Oregon) and a wild pitch from Smyers knotted the score at eight runs.

Before Bourne tied it up, the Kettleers held an 8-6 advantage after a strong sixth inning. Dawson Park (LSU) notched an RBI single to get the Kettleers within one run (6-5). Sam Christiansen (Alabama) then whacked a triple that drove in two and allowed Cotuit to retake the lead.

Hogan Denny (Indiana) added an RBI single, and the Kettleers found themselves ahead by two runs after Bourne’s four-run third inning had put the Braves ahead 6-4.

The Kettleers started the game strong, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Paino recorded an RBI double with two outs on the board to give Cotuit its first run. With bases loaded, Will Plattner (Alabama) stepped up to bat. He had celebrated his birthday the day before, but he gifted the Kettleers with a double that brought in three more runs.

Andrew Costello (Wake Forest) and the Braves crashed the party at the bottom of the frame, with Costello smashing a home run to score two runs and chip away at Cotuit’s lead. For Cotuit pitcher Adam McKelvey (Georgia Tech), it marked the third time in a row he has given up a home run in the initial frame.

The Kettleers next face Yarmouth-Dennis at 4:30 p.m. EDT Thursday in Cotuit.