Cotuit, Mass. – After a 1-2-3 top of the eighth inning, it seemed like a normal ballgame at Lowell Park. Cam Johnson (Oklahoma), Tagger Tyson (Transfer Portal), and Luke Lavin (Stanford) were due up.
But then, the game was over. Both teams were confused about what was happening. How can you start an inning and not finish it? The Kettleer coaching staff quickly got out of the dugout to plead for an answer on why the umpires let Falmouth bat but not Cotuit; there was no answer.
With this abrupt ending and the umpires leaving the park, the Ketts had no choice but to shake hands and go home. After a shocking ruling that it was too dark, the Commodores defeated Cotuit 7-6 in the middle of the eighth.
“I respect the league office and what they’re doing. But this situation doesn’t make any sense. We have not gotten an explanation as to why [the umpires called the game early], other than it was too dark, I guess,” says Cotuit manager Loren Hibbs.
The Kettleers quickly got on the board in the first inning when they loaded the bases with Luke Matthews (Kent State) coming to the plate. The shortstop delivered a clutch two-out hit that plated two runs before a throwing error from home plate to second base scored a third run.
“I think he threw me all heaters, so that was nice. He left a heater middle-in on a 3-2 count, and I put a good swing on it,” Matthews said.
Johnson was due next and ripped an RBI single into left field, allowing Matthews to score and put Cotuit up 4-0.
That comfortable lead quickly evaporated when Cotuit starting pitcher Rob Evans (Miami) struggled in the second inning. The Hurricane hurler gave up three runs on two hits, a pair of wild pitches, and a walk before limiting the damage to just that on a groundout to end the frame.
The Kettleer bats went down quietly in the bottom of the third, but Hibbs did not. After arguing balls and strikes between innings, the Cotuit skipper was rung up and sent into the coach's office at Lowell Park.
In the bottom of the fourth, Lavin collected a one-out single, followed by Dean West (UCLA) and Ryne Farber (Auburn) walking to load the bases with Jack Natili (Cincinnati) at the plate.
Natili has been huge to the Kettleer offense all week, batting .625 with 14 RBIs. He kept that trend going with a two-run single up the middle to extend Cotuit's lead to 6-3.
Heading into the fifth inning, Evans was pulled after four innings in his Ketts debut. The pitcher who took his spot was Jonathan Adelmann (Bucknell), also making his debut with the Script C.
The RHP ambushed the Falmouth bats, going 1-2-3 with two strikeouts on eight pitches. He came out for his second inning in the sixth and was dominant again. After two frames of shutout baseball, he was taken out for Chase Carson (Charlotte).
The new reliever immediately gave up the three-run lead after surrendering five hits and four runs while only getting two outs. Charlie Walker (Northeastern) took his spot and retired the final Commodore of the frame, but not before Falmouth took a 7-6 lead.
After a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh, Walker returned for his second inning. The reliever threw a shutout frame with a pair of strikeouts to bring Cotuit's offense back up, or so we thought.
The umpiring crew met briefly during the half inning and called the game due to darkness. Acting manager Kevin Frady and pitching coach Tim O'Connor appealed the decision, but the crew left with no explanation.
Due to the ruling, the Kettleers lost 7-6 to Falmouth after 7 ½ innings of play.
Notes
Jack Natili had another RBI hit today. In the last week, the Cincinnati backstop is batting .625 with five home runs and 14 RBIs.
Three newcomers made their Cotuit debuts today, all on the mound. Rob Evans and Jonathan Adelmann combined for six innings while Chase Carson threw just 2/3 of an inning.
Looking Ahead
The Kettleers are at Bourne on Saturday. The two have played twice thus far, with the season series tied. First pitch from Doran Park is at 6:00 p.m.
