COTUIT, Mass. — Cotuit's offense has been lackluster over the last four games, scoring just 10 runs in 38 innings. However, the bats came to life on Wednesday, and that's how the Kettleers beat the CCBL's No. 1 team, the Harwich Mariners.
The Ketts scored eight runs on 16 hits while dominating one of the best starters in the league on their way to an 8-3 win to move into third place in the West Division. While the offense reigned supreme over Harwich's elite pitching staff, Cotuit did a good job on the mound itself.
The Kettleers gave up just three runs while punching out six batters to keep the opposition at bay for most of the game.
"Our guys were very focused during our pregame preparation, and it showed in the game. We had some really good swings and did some good things," Cotuit manager Loren Hibbs said. "[Max Haug] competed and got us where we needed to get to, and our bullpen was good again. I'm happy for our guys."
The Kettleers' bats bullied Tom Chmielewski (North Carolina) in the bottom of the first. They began the frame with four consecutive hits, two being RBI knocks to put Cotuit up, 2-0.
With runners at the corners and one out, Dean West (UCLA) laced an infield single off the pitcher's glove to score another run. The Ketts plated another two runs on a single and a sacrifice fly to bat around and bring Cam Johnson (Oklahoma) up to the plate for the second time. He laced the first pitch of his at-bat into right field to score the sixth run of the inning, giving the Kettleers a huge lead.
That was the end of the line for Chmielewski, who surrendered seven hits and six runs before recording the first three outs.
Caden Bogenpohl (Missouri State) continued attacking the Harwich pitching staff in the bottom of the second inning, leading off with a no-doubt solo homer that traveled 410 feet, extending Cotuit's lead to 7-0.
Both offenses went silent for the next two innings until Harwich finally showed life in the top of the fifth. They strung together three straight singles to load the bases with one out, leading to the Ketts pulling Max Haug (George Washington) after 4 2/3 innings of shutout baseball.
Dylan Scudder (Bryant) was the new arm, and he surrendered a two-run double to Aiden Robbins (Seton Hall) to put the Mariners on the board. The tall righty bounced back and retired the final two batters to end the frame.
In the next inning, Patrick Fultz (Wright State) led off with a single before scoring on an RBI single two batters later to cut the lead to 7-3.
Cotuit countered with a run in the bottom of the seventh. Luke Lavin (Stanford) collected a one-out single, then scored on Nolan Stevens' (Oklahoma) ground-rule double, his second RBI hit of the night.
“It felt good to add that insurance run in the seventh. One of the pitches I’ve struggled to hit all season is a changeup. I’m usually good at hitting fastballs,” Stevens said. “All summer I’ve had trouble with the changeup, but I was able to stay back on an 0-0 count and get a hit, it’s a good feeling.”
That score all but ended the ballgame as the Ketts led by five runs with Jonathan Adelmann (Bucknell) on the bump. The tall right-hander was lights out over the final two innings, giving up no runs or hits while striking out a pair of Mariners on the way to an 8-3 Cotuit win.
Notes
Sean Martinez (Boston College) made his Kettleers debut on Wednesday and went 0-for-2 with a walk but scored a run.
Bogenpohl hit a solo home run in the second inning, his second long ball in as many days.
Zan Von Schlegell played first base against Harwich, the first time in his baseball career that he played the position.
Looking ahead
On Thursday, Cotuit is on the road against the Orleans Firebirds for the two teams’ final regular-season matchup of 2025. First pitch from Eldredge Park is at 6:30 p.m.
