Wareham, Mass. – Cotuit Kettleers head coach Mike Roberts is known for his witty brand of ball that he calls “Backyard Baseball” where he loves to bunt, double steal, etc. A lot of the time, he catches flack for it being abnormal with today’s game of baseball. But on Wednesday against the Wareham Gatemen, it worked and was the reason that Cotuit would pick up the victory.

In the ninth, the ballgame was tied at 5 apiece with runners at the corners and two outs. Roberts called for the man on first, Max Belyeu (Texas), to act like he was stealing second and then get caught in a rundown to give the runner at third enough time to score.

Belyeu executed it so perfectly that when Jarren Advincula (Cal Berkeley) came to score, the throw was rushed and off target, allowing Belyeu to go to third. The Longhorn then came home to score on the next pitch, a wild one. Giving Cotuit just enough run support to squeak out a 7-6 victory over the Gatemen.

“We were very fortunate, we had the right guys on the bases when we pulled that off,” Roberts said. “Both guys are good base runners, and both executed it very well, so we got a run on that and another on a wild pitch. We needed it, didn’t play very well tonight but we got it done in the end and I congratulated the players because it was a good win.”

The game was wacky all around and it started in the first inning, a wild pitch by Cotuit along with two throwing errors, allowed two Gatemen to score. Just as it seemed like it would be one of those days, the Ketts struck back.

Matt Klein (Louisville) launched his first home run of the year in the third inning, a ball that just barely was able to skip over the wall. That would be followed by a clutch Nolan Nawrocki (South Carolina) RBI double to knot things up at 2.

Wareham would counter with a run of its own in the bottom of the third to reclaim the lead but there would be more fireworks to come.

Nawrocki once again delivered with a game-tying single in the fifth that would plate Tyler Cerny (Indiana), then Charles Davalan (Arkansas) would come into score on an RBI groundout.

“My teammates were getting on base and fighting in every at-bat so that was my goal too,” Nawrocki said. “I was just fortunate enough to get off some good swings in big spots and it paid off for the team.”

However, it would be déjà vu of the third inning all over again as Cotuit’s lead lasted just three batters when the Gatemen scored in the bottom of the frame. Following a seventh-inning run by Wareham, the Ketts would be on the ropes heading into the final two frames.

That’s when the outlandish delayed double steal and wild pitch would happen, erupting the Cotuit side of the ballpark and handing it a two-run lead.

Cam Schuelke (Mississippi State) would get into some trouble in the eighth inning but would be able to find his way out of it, sending the game to the ninth with Cotuit up 7-5.

The Kettleer offense went down in order, but Wareham would be the complete opposite. They plated a run on a double-turned-three-bagger due to an error and got just 90 feet away from another tie ballgame.

Cotuit pitcher Gabe Nard (Duke) battled with Sam White (West Virginia) for six pitches. But in the end, Nard got the best of the Wareham backstop, causing him to fly out and end the ballgame as Cotuit stole a game on the road against the Gatemen, 7-6.

“Wareham has been one of the best teams in the league over the last couple of weeks,” Roberts said. “So, this win should give our guys confidence, especially for playing on the road. We had guys in different spots today, like Nard as the closer, which he hadn’t done before. But this is a developmental league so you get to see what guys can do in certain situations. I was happy that guys like Gabe and Matt got experience in different roles, and I thought they did good with it.”

Looking ahead

Cotuit will continue its three-game road stretch on Thursday against the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, a makeup game from June 30. Following that and the road game at Harwich, the Ketts will come back to Lowell Park and face the Chatham Anglers on Saturday. Then play two more road games in a row at Orleans and Y-D, before getting an off day on Tuesday.

Notes

On Saturday, Cotuit welcomes back the magical 1995 CCBL championship team and will hold a few events around the same time for the former Kettleers.

With Wednesday's win, Cotuit improved to 2-1 against the West Division leader, the Wareham Gatemen, and stands just a game behind taking first place.

Nawrocki turned in a 2-for-4 day with two RBI, his fourth multi-RBI game of the season.