BOURNE, Mass. — Even though the Cotuit Kettleers found themselves down 8-0 early, the offense slowly chipped away at the large hole in the fifth inning and onward.
However, the Bourne Braves’ towering lead was too much to overcome, and Cotuit dropped Game 1 of the West Division Finals, 11-5.
The Braves got to Kettleers starter Nick Wimberly (Florida Atlantic) early, putting up a three-run second with an RBI double from Jon LeGrande (St. John’s) and RBI singles from Gavin Kelly (West Virginia) and Kade Lewis (Wake Forest).
The third inning wasn’t any better for Wimberly, as the right-hander was pulled after back-to-back wild pitches, one of which gave Bourne a 4-0 lead.
Dylan Scudder (Bryant) relieved Wimberly with runners on the corners and two outs.
A stolen base and back-to-back singles by Kelly and Lewis gave the Braves a 7-0 lead.
Bourne tacked on one more run at Scudder’s expense in the fourth with an RBI single from Luke Costello (Wake Forest).
The Kettlers' bats could not seem to attack Braves starter Joe Colucci (Virginia), who held the visitors hitless into the fifth inning when Landon Beaver (UAB) led off the frame with a single.
“He’s just a good pitcher,” Cotuit manager Loren Hibbs said of the Cavalier. “He was able to locate off-speed, and that makes it harder.”
Beaver scored on an RBI double by Jack Natili (Cincinnati) in the inning to plate the Kettleers’ first run of the game. Natili advanced to third on a passed ball, allowing him to score on a groundout by Nolan Stevens (Oklahoma).
Cotuit added on one more run in the fifth with a single off the bat of Ryne Farber (Auburn), cutting the Bourne lead to 8-3.
The Braves answered immediately in the bottom of the fifth at the hands of Gavin Jones (Kent State). The Golden Flash loaded the bases before walking in a run and giving up an RBI single to make the score 10-3.
Will Newell (Georgetown) was tapped to escape the two-on, one-out jam. He struck out the first two batters he saw, ending the threat.
The Kettleers scored another run in the sixth with another RBI groundout from Stevens, and the Braves did the same from Lewis in the bottom of the inning to make the score 11-4.
The bases were relatively empty until the top of the ninth. Back-to-back walks and a hit-by-pitch issued by Saxon Roberts (Auburn) loaded the bases for the Kettleers with two outs.
Sean Martinez (Boston College) was hit to bring Cam Johnson (Oklahoma) home and cut the Bourne lead to six. However, Beaver went down swinging with the bases juiced to end the game, and Bourne took a 1-0 lead in the series.
The Kettleers return to Lowell Park on Saturday at 4 p.m. for Game 2 of the series, with Ryan Buckler (Florida Atlantic) getting the starting nod facing elimination.
