HYANNIS, Mass. — Many sports venues are known to have gimmicks, and the parks in the Cape Cod Baseball League are no exception. Kettleers fans are all too familiar with the chants of “Have a hit” that play over the speakers at Cotuit, but they heard a different sound on Tuesday at McKeon Park.
KC and the Sunshine Band’s “That’s the Way (I Like It),” which plays every time the Harbor Hawks hit a home run, played not once, not twice and not even three times. The chorus rang out four times as Hyannis used its homers to claim a 5-3 win over the Kettleers.
“The ball carries here (and) travels, so you have to do a good job with your pitches,” Cotuit coach Rob Cooper said. “A ball that probably isn't out at Lowell Park goes out here, so it's just part of the game.”
The Harbor Hawks, who lead the league in home runs, smashed four — Matt Ineich (West Virginia) did so in the first inning, Jordan Lodise (Central Florida) in the third and Trey Hawsey (Louisiana Tech) in the fourth and sixth.
As Hyannis fans celebrated to the sound of KC and the Sunshine Band’s disco and funk jam, a hush fell over the Cotuit fans, who sat in quiet disbelief.
The Kettleers silenced the song in the fifth inning, giving Hyannis a taste of its own medicine. Jesse DiMaggio (Dallas Baptist) recorded his first homer of the season, drilling a fly ball to left center field to cut Cotuit’s deficit to 4-1.
“I just wanted to see something I could get extended on, some kind of pitch where I could get my hands out front and just let it fly,” DiMaggio said.
“I was pretty excited. I mean, I didn't think it was going out for a while, but thankfully we're playing where we are today, so it was fun.”
DiMaggio added a single in the ninth that drove in two more runs, bringing the Kettleers within two (5-3).
“He's been here from the beginning, so you're starting to see him understand how to repeat a swing and (work) with a wood bat and all that stuff,” Cooper said.
Various sounds could be heard as the Kettleers took on the Harbor Hawks — the bat connecting with the ball, words of encouragement from Cotuit fans trying to spark a rally and groans of frustration when the rally came up short.
One of the more consistent sounds was “That’s the Way (I Like It).” While the Harbor Hawks couldn’t get enough of the hit song, the Kettleers would probably be happy to steer clear of KC and the Sunshine Band for a while.
Cotuit will seek to snap its two-game losing skid when the Kettleers face the Anglers at 7 p.m. EDT Wednesday in Chatham.
