COTUIT, Mass. — No outs, a runner on first base and a tie ballgame in Game 2 of the first round. Landon Beaver (Alabama-Birmingham) stepped into the box looking to keep the line moving and snap his 0-for-4 day at the plate.
Wareham’s pitcher gets set, throws the pitch, and it’s crushed. Beaver hit three balls to the deep part of the yard during the same game, but they were short. Would this one clear the fence and advance Cotuit to the next round? Oh yeah.
The ball soared through the evening sky and into the visiting bullpen as the Kettleers’ dugout exploded in joy and mobbed Beaver at home plate.
That long ball sealed a 4-2 victory and series sweep for Cotuit, sending them to the West Division Championship Series.
“[Payton] Manca was really good again today and got us where we needed to be. I thought we were pretty good offensively early in the game, but got stagnant for a while,” Cotuit manager Loren Hibbs said. “[These kinds of games] are a great experience for our guys; you can’t simulate those situations. We used just about everyone available, and it’s a good team win.”
The Cotuit bats struck early in the bottom of the second with two massive runs to take some pressure off Manca (Florida State). It began with a leadoff walk from designated hitter Jack Natili (Cincinnati), then a Nolan Stevens (Oklahoma) double to put a pair of Ketts in scoring position.
Luke Matthews (Kent State) had a big Game 1, but he delivered again with an RBI single to right field, giving the Kettleers an early lead. The hometown team scored one more run in the frame on an RBI fielder’s choice to go up 2-0.
There was little offense past that inning, but Manca continued to dominate the Gatemen lineup. Aside from a few walks, the Seminoles hurler mowed down the opposing lineup.
He sat at 72 pitches entering the sixth inning but was still effective. Manca went 1-2-3 with a punchout to end his day after six shutout innings where he surrendered one hit and struck out four batters.
"I just wanted to continue attacking with my fastball early. They're one of the top hitting teams. So, if I keep attacking with the fastball, they will hack," Manca said. "The slider and changeup were in play, allowing me to attack and be aggressive."
Jonathan Adelmann (Bucknell) took his place and didn't skip a beat, throwing a shutout frame of his own to enter the eighth inning with the Ketts up 2-0.
It had been smooth sailing for the Kettleers up to this point. However, the eighth inning is where things started to slip away. Michael Gray (Pittsburgh) was the new reliever, and he gave up the first run of the game after a leadoff walk, stolen base and RBI single cut Cotuit's lead in half.
Luke Deschenes (Seton Hill) extinguished the fire, but even he had trouble the next inning.
Caden McDonald (Florida) opened the ninth with a walk, then advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Chase Krewson (Central Florida) made the Cotuit pitcher pay for it, lacing a game-tying single into right field.
The Script C brought in Kide Adetuyi (Florida Atlantic) to limit the damage, and he did just that, going 1-2-3 to keep the game tied. Just like the night before, we were headed to extra innings.
Adetuyi was surgical with his arsenal and looked borderline untouchable. Through the 10th and 11th innings, the FAU Owl retired six Gatemen in a row with a pair of strikeouts.
With the sun quickly going down, Cotuit needed to make something happen to ensure the game wouldn't be called early and resumed on Thursday afternoon.
Zan Von Schlegell (St. Thomas) did his part, collecting a leadoff single to bring up Beaver. It took him no time to do damage as he crushed the first pitch over the right field wall for a two-run walk-off home run, sending Cotuit to the West Division Championship.
"I'm on top of the world right now. I was on the barrel all day, but nothing was falling. I had confidence going into my at-bat," Beaver told Cotuit sideline reporter Brooke Killgore. "I got my pitch and hit it over the fence."
Notes
Beaver has been outstanding in his first week as a Kettleer, mashing a homer and racking up nine RBIs in five games.
Cotuit is heading to the West Division Championship Series, the second consecutive season it has made it.
Manca went six innings on 79 pitches, which is the second most he’s thrown in a single start this season.
Looking ahead
With Hyannis and Bourne playing in Game 3 of their series, Cotuit has an off-day on Thursday. If Bourne wins, it'll host Cotuit. But if the Harbor Hawks come out on top, the Kettleers will play host.
