CHATHAM, Mass. – With no outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Chatham Anglers had the bases loaded. Jonathan Adelmann (Bucknell) had worked himself into a jam that seemed nearly impossible to escape.

“I was missing low with my fastball,” Adelmann said. “We went to a lot of spin instead.”

Once he switched his pitches up, the New Jersey native was lights out. He retired the next three batters he faced, including two strikeouts.

“Getting out of the jam feels great, landing one pitch at a time and getting a win for the Ketts,” he said of the team’s 4-2 win over the Anglers Tuesday night.

The Kettleers got on the board early, with their first run coming in the second inning. With two runners on, Luke Matthews (Kent State) laced a base-clearing single to right field to give the Ketts a 2-0 lead.

The Anglers answered almost immediately with a solo shot off the bat of Reed Stallman in the bottom half of the inning, cutting the Kettleers lead in half at 2-1.

Although his third inning of work was clean, Ryan Buckler (Florida Atlantic) found himself in a pickle in the fourth. After back-to-back walks, the Massachusetts native was pulled in favor of Gavin Jones (Kent State). Chatham tied the game at two a piece with a sac-fly to left.

In a true pitcher’s duel, both side’s bats were nearly silent thanks to a perfect outing from Kyle Remington (Illinois).

In three innings, Remington fanned two batters and did not allow a base runner.

“If you try to work and dance around (the hitters), you’re more likely to make a mistake pitch,” the right-hander said of his approach. “A big thing is letting them rip a little bit.”

It wasn’t until the tenth inning that the tie finally broke.

Off the momentum of Adelmann’s escape, Nolan Stevens (Oklahoma) brought league-mandated ghost runner Ryne Farber (Auburn) home on a single to right, giving the Kettleers a 3-2 lead in extras.

“I’m not trying to do too much or hit a home run,” Stevens said. “You just have to get the guy to third to give your team a shot to take the lead.”

Matthews perfectly placed a bunt in front of the mound at Veterans Field to provide an insurance run and give the Ketts a 4-2 lead.

Cotuit stuck with Adelmann on the mound in the tenth inning to close the game out.

“His stuff was good, he just made some bad pitches,” manager Loren Hibbs said. “We stayed within his pitch count and he ended up being the right decision.”

Adelmann retired the first two Anglers he saw before intentionally walking Stallman. A long flyout to left field had fans holding their breath before Andrew Wiggins caught the ball just a few feet from the wall to end the game.

Notes

Luke Matthews has been swinging a hot bat lately. In the last week, he leads the league in RBI (9).

The Kettleer bullpen continues to dominate batters. Cotuit relievers are second in the league in ERA (3.53).

Looking Ahead

The Kettleers return to Lowell Park tomorrow to face Yarmouth-Dennis at 5:00 p.m..