COTUIT, Mass. — The Cotuit Kettleers had their backs against the wall heading into Game 2 of the West Division Finals, trying to avoid a season-ending sweep. The odds were in their favor with Ryan Buckler (Florida Atlantic) on the mound and playing at Lowell Park.
Buckler dazzled with five shutout frames while getting great run support. The Ketts scored first on a two-run shot in the third inning, but tacked on seven more in the later innings to defeat the Bourne Braves, 9-1, forcing a Game 3 for the West Division crown.
“Bourne is crazy good offensively, but we put together a good plan. [Coach Tim O’Connor] does an incredible job with our pitching staff; he and I are on the same page about 98% of the time,” Cotuit manager Loren Hibbs said.
“We played really good defense and gave our offense a chance to get comfortable, and they did some good things late in the game.”
Cotuit broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the third when Luke Lavin (Stanford) drew a leadoff walk. Cam Johnson (Oklahoma) stepped up to the dish looking to do damage, and boy, did he deliver.
The corner infielder took the first two pitches before mashing one high in the sky and into the visiting team’s bullpen to give the Kettleers a 2-0 lead.
That was enough run support to allow Buckler to feel more comfortable and dominate the Bourne lineup. Over the next few innings, he was untouchable. The hometown kid finished his day going five frames of no-hit baseball with five strikeouts.
“I relied a lot on my off-speed stuff, used the changeup more than I have all year. [I gave up] five walks, which was the crazy part. But I threw zeros, so it worked out,” Buckler said. “Being comfortable and not letting the nerves get to me was key.”
Chase Carson (Charlotte) took his spot in the sixth and did not disappoint, posting back-to-back scoreless frames with only one hit given up.
A two-run lead was nice, but the Ketts needed to tack on more to put away the Braves, who weren’t going down without a fight.
Ryne Farber (Auburn) started it in the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff single. That was followed by a single and a walk to load the bases with one out. Zan Von Schlegell (St. Thomas) reached on a fielding error that scored a run and kept the bases juiced.
That’s when Cotuit began to pass the baton, scoring on a hit-by-pitch, a single and a sacrifice fly to extend its lead to 6-0.
Bourne finally got on the board in the top of the eighth with a leadoff triple and a fielder’s choice, but Cotuit continued to pile on. The Script C plated three more runs in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by a Nolan Stevens (Oklahoma) two-run double.
Carson returned for the ninth inning and sat down Bourne in order with a punchout to force a Game 3 on Sunday night at Doran Park.
Notes
In Buckler’s only two postseason outings, both against the Bourne Braves, he’s tossed 10 innings of scoreless baseball with nine strikeouts.
Over the past two games, the Kettleers have dominated the later innings offensively. They’ve scored 12 runs from the fifth inning and on.
Luke Matthews went 3-for-4 on Saturday, raising his postseason batting average to .563.
Looking ahead
Cotuit’s season is on the line again Sunday when it plays Game 3 of the West Division Finals against the Braves. First pitch from Doran Park is at 6 p.m.
