COTUIT, Mass. – On Christmas in July at Lowell Park, the Wareham Gatemen scored four runs in the seventh inning on their way to a 4-2 win over Cotuit, earning a place on the Kettleers’ naughty list.
Despite a stellar outing from starting pitcher Rob Evans (Miami), the Kettleer offense couldn’t seem to take advantage of late opportunities and fell 4-2 to the Wareham Gatemen.
Evans bounced back after a three-run outing against Falmouth July 11, throwing 4.2 innings of no-run, six-strikeout work.
“Strike-throwing ability,” Evans said of what was working on the mound tonight. “If I could take a first-pitch strike that’s going to be an out, I’ll take it. That’s understanding there’s no need to overdo it.”
The Cotuit offense took an early 1-0 lead in the second off of an RBI-groundout from Case Sanderson (Nebraska). From there on out, bats on both sides were nearly silent, with the exception of a single sprinkled in every so often.
It wasn’t until the seventh inning that the Wareham bats came to life and took the game over.
Ryan Egan (Fordham) was tapped to relieve Evans in the fifth for his Kettleer debut. Even though the Connecticut native threw a spotless six, he quickly found himself in a two-on, one out jam.
Another fresh face jogged out of the bullpen in Zane Starling (North Florida), in hopes to prevent damage from the Gatemen.
Christopher Ramirez (Cal Baptist) singled on the first pitch he saw to tie the game, but the second out was recorded on the same play when Easton Winfield (portal) fired a dart to catcher Jack Natili (Cincinnati) to gun down the leading run at home.
Brayden Randle (Mississippi) followed up with an RBI single to give the Gatemen their first lead of the game.
The lead quickly doubled when Hunter Carns (Florida State) sent his second home run of the season over Winfield’s head in center, giving Wareham a 4-1 lead.
The Kettleers found themselves in a bases loaded, one-out opportunity in the eighth inning. Like his teammate in the second inning, Dean West (UCLA) tacked on a run on an RBI groundout, cutting the score to 4-2.
That was all Cotuit would score in the inning, as West was caught stealing and Ryne Farber (school) struck out to end the best chance the team had all night.
“We didn’t take advantage of some of the opportunities we needed to,” Kettleer manager Loren Hibbs said. “We gave ourselves a chance in the eighth and ninth innings, but we have to do a better job (in) one through seven.”
The Kettleers will hit the road to face the Harwich Mariners at 6:30 p.m. in the team’s final game before the All-Star Break.
